Abortion Advocates Tell Women to Misuse Ulcer Drug to Cause Abortions

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 7, 2004   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Abortion Advocates Tell Women to Misuse Ulcer Drug to Cause Abortions Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 7, 2004

Lisbon, Portugal (LifeNews.com) — Prevented from taking Portuguese women aboard their ship to distribute abortion drugs, operators of the Dutch abortion boat appeared on a Portuguese talk show and told women to misuse an over-the-counter ulcer medication to induce an abortion.

Appearing on the talk show "SIC 10 horas," Rebecca Gomperts, an abortion practitioner who founded the group operating the ship, told women to use the ulcer drug Misoprostol to abort a pregnancy.

However, makers of the drug, also known as Cytotec in the U.S. or Arthrotec in Portugal, have issued warnings saying it is not safe to use in abortions.

In August 2000, more than a month before RU-486 was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Searle, the maker of Cytotec, sent out a strongly worded letter, with the cooperation of the FDA, saying misoprostol "is not approved for the induction of labor or abortion."

The letter said misuse of the drug can cause adverse effects such as a ruptured uterus, vaginal bleeding and "maternal or fetal death."

Dr. Randy O’Bannon, director of education and research at the National Right to Life Committee, told LifeNews.com that the decision to promote Cytotec abortions was "highly irresponsible."

"What these people are proposing is not some revolution in women’s health, but something which promotes their radical abortion agenda quite possibly at the expense of women’s health," O’Bannon explained.

O’Bannon blames operators of the abortion boat for telling women to use the drugs and providing no followup care.

"The Women on Waves people promote it, but where will they be when the women are having their abortions, having complications, dealing with developmental malformations that may have been brought on by the drug," O’Bannon asked.

Cytotec is one part of the two-pill process that causes an abortion when a woman takes the RU 486 abortion drug. Another drug causes the starvation death of the unborn child while Cytotec expels the dead baby from the mother’s body.

The Women on Waves web site features clips of Gomperts encouraging Portuguese women to use the ulcer drug to induce abortions. Women are told the drug is available in pharmacies across Portugal.

No mention is made that Cytotec is just one part of the process and that the abortion-causing drug is not available.

Related web sites:
Misoprostol and Fetal Development Problems –
https://www.nrlc.org/news/1998/NRL7.98/ru.html