On March 30, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration relaxed rules governing the use of the abortion drug RU-486, expanding access to the procedure. Abortion proponents, who lobbied the administration to change the rules, applauded the action. Mifepristone/misoprostol chemical abortions, first approved in 2000, make up about one quarter of all abortions. The drug has claimed the lives of two million unborn babies in the U.S.
National Right to Life Director of Education and Research Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D, warns that the FDA’s new protocol serves the abortion industry, but not women and their unborn children. He warns, “It looks like this benefits the abortion industry and increases their potential customer base and revenues, but it’s not clear that anything here makes it safer for women in the long run, and certainly nothing about chemical abortion makes it safer for the unborn child.”
At least 14 women in the U.S. have died after taking the drug, along with dozens of deaths worldwide. The drug poses significant health risks, with 2,207 U.S. women having been injured by the drug. Planned Parenthood admits that at least one woman is seriously injured daily in the U.S. Complications include significant cramping, bleeding, gastrointestinal problems, serious infection, and death.
The new rules reduce the number of trips women have to make to a doctor from three to two, increase the number of days that women have to be able to use the drug from 49 to 70 days after the beginning of their last period, and reduce the dosage of the drug from 600 milligrams to 200.
The new FDA rules effectively nullify protective laws in states (Arkansas, Arizona, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas) that have passed legislation that requires original FDA protocols to be followed.
