Abortion Drug Has Killed Two More Women, FDA Reissues Warnings 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 17, 2006
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday that the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug has killed two more women. That brings the total number of women who have died in the United States up to seven and the abortion pill has injured at least 850 more.
"At this time we are investigating all circumstances associated with these cases," an FDA statement said.
In the statement, obtained by LifeNews.com, the FDA said Danco Laboratories, which manufactures the abortion drug, informed the agency of the deaths.
In talking about the two additional deaths, the unnamed FDA official said the agency repeats its warning to doctors to be on the lookout for dangerous bacterial infections the abortion drug can cause.
"[A]ll providers of medical abortion and their patients need to be aware of the specific circumstances and directions for use of this drug and all risks including sepsis when considering treatment," the FDA said.
The location of the two women who died recently was not disclosed, but they follow on the heels of four women who have died in California.
The women received instructions from Planned Parenthood to take the second of two pills in the abortion drug process vaginally instead of orally as recommended by the FDA. Researchers say using the drugs vaginally can contribute to a lethal bacterial infection called sepsis
The deaths of the two women appear to be consistent with the deaths of the California women.
In the statement, the FDA reiterated its instructions that the abortion drug should be used orally.
Pro-life groups were upset by the news and renewed their call for the FDA to take the abortion drug off the market immediately.
Nikolas Nikas, president of the Bioethics Defense Fund, stated that "the FDA should have the courage to ban this human pesticide that kills both women and their unborn children."
The seventh death was of a woman in October 2001 who died after using the abortion drug on a tubal pregnancy. The RU 486 pills, also known as mifepristone, are specifically not supposed to be used in cases of an ectopic pregnancy because of dangerous health risks to women.
Dr. Randy O’Bannon, director of research at National Right to Life, said he worries the tally of abortion deaths and complications has been underreported.
"The system waits for prescribers to call and report adverse events to the distributor, but [an abortion center] may never see or hear from a woman again once she leaves their door," he explained.
"How many women never tell their families they’ve taken the abortion pill? How many are not even able to tell the doctor in the ER," he wondered.
The FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control is organizing a public workshop on May 11 at the CDC Conference Center in Atlanta to discuss the problem of the abortion drug leading to women’s deaths and injuries.
