FDA Conference Will Study Infection Deaths From RU 486 Abortion Drug

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Feb 14, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

FDA Conference Will Study Infection Deaths From RU 486 Abortion Drug Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 14, 2006

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it will convene a panel of experts in May to determine why the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug has caused severe bacterial infections that have resulted in the deaths of four women and injuring hundreds more.

Some 15 to 20 scientists who have studied the infections will be asked to present their findings at the conference, scheduled for May 11, the FDA told the New York Times.

An FDA official told the newspaper the conference will be held at the Centers for Disease Control main office in Atlanta and those wanting to attend must register by April 15. The official said government authorities are concerned about protests and security because of the controversy surrounding the drug.

"We hope to keep the focus on the science," the official told the Times. "We’re holding this in a secure government facility for a reason."

Four California women died after using the abortion drug and contracting infections of Clostridium sordellii. Because the bacteria causes problems so quickly, and without the normal telltale signs, the FDA has placed its highest black box warning label on the abortion pills.

Last summer, a Brown University researcher announced he has developed models to explain why women died after using the abortion drug.

According to professor Ralph Miech, MD, Ph.D., the abortion drug triggers a bacterial infection in a woman’s cervical canal that doesn’t normally occur. The bacteria thrives on the decaying tissue from the dying unborn child and impairs the woman’s ability to fight off the infection.

He said the antiprogesterone effects of mifepristone also cause changes in the cervix that allow C. sordellii, a common vaginal bacteria, to enter the cervical canal.

That could be exacerbated by instructions from Planned Parenthood to women to use the drug vaginally instead of orally. The FDA recommends oral use, but the national abortion business frequently tells women to disregard that instruction.

Miech’s research confirms admissions from both the FDA and Danco, the maker of the drug, that women may not show signs of the infection until it’s too late.

Three of the American women who died after using the RU 486 abortion pills had the C. sordellii bacteria present in their systems upon investigation. The status of the other two American women who have died from using the drug women is unknown.

The county coroner who examined the body of California teenager Holly Patterson, who died in September 2003 after using the abortion drug she obtained at a Planned Parenthood business, said the bacterial infection brought on by the abortion pills caused her death.

Wendy Wright, of Concerned Women for America, a pro-life women’s group, says the drug should be pulled from the market while its safety is inspected. CWA and numerous other pro-life groups have endorsed Congressional legislation to do that.

"Women trust that the FDA is doing its job to protect our health," said Wright. "To continue this trust, the FDA should withdraw its approval of RU-486 before more women die."