Doctors Urge Australia Parliament to Not Approve RU 486 Abortion Drug

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 7, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Doctors Urge Australia Parliament to Not Approve RU 486 Abortion Drug Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 7, 2006

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A group of doctors in Australia has urged members of the nation’s parliament to not approve the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug responsible for killing women worldwide and injuring countless thousands more. Meanwhile, a new poll shows a majority of Australians are opposed to abortion.

Australians Against RU 486, an ad hoc group created to oppose the Thursday vote on the issue, released a letter from 86 doctors who said the risks associated with the pills is "unacceptable."

"Given recent evidence in the United States, including the deaths of at least 11 women and a mortality rate 10 times that of surgical abortion, we believe that RU486 poses a significant medical risk to Australian women," the doctors said.

The doctors who signed the letter work as GPs and obstetricians in rural and metropolitan practices across the nation.

Meanwhile, a new survey shows a majority of Australians oppose abortions.

Conducted by independent research company Market Facts on behalf of the Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations, the survey showed 51 percent of Aussie residents opposed abortion in most circumstances when it is used.

Federation spokesman Alan Baker said 98 percent of the 91,000 abortions annually in Australia are performed for financial and social reasons, which the respondents opposed.

Another 53 percent of residents of the island nation said they did not want abortions to be funded with their tax dollars through the country’s Medicare program.

Some 78 percent opposed tax funding of late-term abortions and 67 percent opposed funding any abortions after the first-trimester.

“Its clear Australians are uncomfortable with the level of abortions in this country and especially the use of their tax dollars to fund late term abortions," Baker said. “We want politicians to come up with a creative policy to give women the financial and social support they need in order to keep their children."

The poll also found 79 percent believe abortion can cause physical and psychological problems for women and 95 percent supported counseling before an abortion can be performed.

Catholic bishop Anthony Fisher, of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, also warned that the abortion drug should not be legalized because he worries it will increase the number of abortions.

"The move to chemical abortions … is (a) new development of major social and ethical import and not merely a pharmacological matter," he said.

"Australians are deeply concerned that the abortion rate is already too high and clearly this new treatment will not help to reduce abortion," he added.