Salem, OR—On Wednesday, in response to a request by the U.S. distributor of RU-486, the Food and Drug Administration released new guidelines for “the abortion pill.” They modified dosages, changed the administration, reduced the number of office visits, expanded the prescriber pool, and extended the time frame when the drugs may be used.
Though this action was applauded by the abortion industry, the documentation demonstrating the impact on women’s safety has not been made publicly available. In 2011, the FDA acknowledged that at least 14 women have died and 2,207 women have been injured following an RU-486 abortion.
“What is obvious under these new guidelines,” Gayle Atteberry, ORTL executive director, said, “is that the abortion industry will be able to give this drug to many more women than before. Surgical abortions are resource-consuming for abortion businesses, whereas a medical abortion is as quick as an office visit. Costs will go down, income will go up.”
RU-486 works in two parts. Since Oregon has no restrictions on abortion, women could receive mifepristone on their first office visit. The mifepristone cuts off hormone receptors that tell the brain the body is still pregnant, essentially starving the baby of all life-giving support. A couple days later, the woman takes misoprostol, a labor-induction drug, at home. Cramping and bleeding are heavy.
“RU-486 has never been safe for the babies,” says Atteberry, “but we are also concerned for the women who are told they are about to have a ‘safe’ abortion. With these new guidelines expanding the abortion pill’s use to thousands more women annually, we are concerned that injuries and even deaths will also expand.”
For interviews or other media inquiries, please contact communications director Liberty Pike at 971-645-6585 or liberty@ortl.org.
