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Today's News & Views
May 11, 2006
Important
Conference
Underway
in
Atlanta
"Worried
about
a
bacterial
infection
that
led
to
the
deaths
of
at
least
five
[actually
at
least
six]
women
who
took
the
abortion
pill
RU-486,
scientists
from
the
nation's
leading
public
health
agencies
will
gather
in
Atlanta
today
for
the
first
meeting
in
10
years
on
the
drug's
safety."
Skip
to
next
paragraph
New
York
Times,
May
11
"The
deaths
linked
to
RU-486
have
created
an
unusual
split
in
the
small
world
of
abortion
providers,
a
growing
number
of
whom
say
that
they
will
not
dispense
the
drug.
The
risk
of
death
with
pill-based
abortions
now
appears
to
be
about
10
times
that
of
surgical
abortions."
Same
story,
written
by
Gardiner
Harris
By
the
time
you
read
this
edition
of
TN&V,
scientists
and
researchers
from
the
Institutes
of
Health,
the
Centers
for
Disease
Control,
and
the
Food
and
Drug
Administration
(FDA)
will
have
completed
their
first
day
of
discussion
in
Atlanta,
Georgia.
Their
focus
is
on
the
role
of
Clostridium
sordellii,
a
virulent
bacterium,
in
the
deaths
of
at
least
six
women
following
a
RU-486
induced
abortion
and
eleven
other
women
who
died
after
either
giving
birth
or
miscarrying.
There
are
a
number
of
inter-related
issues.
Let
me
try
to
tackle
three
of
them
and
begin
by
placing
the
conference
and
the
issues
raised
in
the
larger
context.
1.
Dr.
Randall
K.
O'Bannon,
NRLC's
Director
of
Education
and
Research,
has
written
exhaustively
about
RU486.
His
insights
and
admonitions
have
been
first-rate.
He
has
constantly
reminded
us
of
something
often
overlooked:
a
"RU486"
abortion
involves
not
one
but
two
drugs.
RU486
(known
as
Mifeprex
or
mifepristone)
is a
steroid
used
to
kill
the
unborn
child.
A
second
drug,
a
prostaglandin
(known
as
Misoprostol),
is
given
separately
to
induce
contractions
to
expel
the
dead
baby.
In
the
latest
issue
of
NRL
News,
now
winging
its
way
to
your
home,
Dr.
O'Bannon
keenly
notes
that
abortion
supporters
are
trying
to
place
all
the
blame
for
the
abortion-related
deaths
of
these
women
on
the
prostaglandin.
But,
in
fact,
going
back
as
far
as a
1991
book,
pro-abortion
feminists
[!]
were
warning
that
RU486
is
potentially
very
dangerous
to
women,
not
the
least
reason
of
which
is
because
it
suppresses
a
woman's
innate
immune
system.
It
is
unclear
how
extensively
RU486's
dangers
will
be
discussed
in
Atlanta,
but
initial
press
accounts
have
largely
glossed
over
its
role
in
the
deaths
of
these
six
women.
2.
In
the
RU486
context,
there
is
the
question
of
what
is
the
mechanism,
if
you
will,
by
which
the
bacterium
Clostridium
sordellii
contributes
to
these
women's
deaths.
Some
are
arguing
it
may
be
because
more
women
are
inserting
the
prostaglandin
vaginally
rather
than
taking
it
orally.
Only
the
latter
protocol
is
approved
by
the
FDA.
"The
tablets
are
small,
and
women
don't
necessarily
know
where
their
vagina
begins
and
ends,"
Dr.
Phillip
G.
Stubblefield,
a
well-known
pro-abortion
professor
of
obstetrics
and
gynecology
at
Boston
University,
told
the
Times.
The
idea
is
if
women
are
not
carefully
they
can
"contaminate
the
vagina
with
the
bacteria,"
he
explained.
Even
Planned
Parenthood,
for
example,
quietly
changed
its
protocol
after
the
sixth
death.
PPFA,
the
largest
abortion
provider
in
the
world,
now
uses
a
protocol
which
has
women
taking
the
prostaglandin
orally.
Another
key
abortion
organization
has
seen
the
light.
"After
the
deaths,
the
National
Abortion
Federation's
insurer
insisted
that
its
clinics
use
the
F.D.A.
protocol
when
providing
abortion
drugs
or
face
the
loss
of
their
medical
malpractice
insurance,"
according
to
the
Times.
Two
years
ago,
the
FDA
required
that
RU486
labels
carry
strong
warnings
regarding
the
risks
of
infection.
However,
other
well
known
abortionists
dismiss
this
connection
and
continue
to
tell
their
abortion
patients
to
use
the
prostaglandin
vaginally.
3.
Then
there
is
the
issue
raised
by
the
deaths
of
eleven
other
women
from
Clostridium
sordellii.
According
to
the
Associated
Press,
"The
risk
posed
by
C.
sordellii
remains
murky.
In
studies
and
letters
published
in
the
New
England
Journal
of
Medicine
in
December
and
April,
researchers
detail
eight
other
women
who
died
of
C.
sordellii
infection
after
giving
birth,
vaginally
or
by
Caesarean
section.
Also
counted
are
two
additional
deaths
following
miscarriages
and
a
final
death
linked
to
infection
during
the
woman's
menstrual
period."
Finally,
as
noted
in
the
beginning
,
some
abortionists
are
refusing
to
do
RU486
abortions
altogether.
It
is
not
just
the
deaths
alone,
one
presumes,
that
is
making
abortionists
wary.
"In
addition
to
the
highly
publicized
deaths,"
the
Associated
Press
reported,
"the
FDA
said
it
has
received
reports
of
950
cases
of
adverse
reactions
to
the
pill,
including
18
cases
of
severe
infections
in
women
who
required
hospitalization
and
antibiotics."
We
will
keep
you
up
to
date
as
the
conference
unfolds.
If
you
have
any
questions
or
comments,
please
send
them
to
Dave
Andrusko
at
dandrusko@nrlc.org. |
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