Pro-Life Advocates Want Vote to Pull Abortion Drug RU 486 After Women Die

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Mar 30, 2006   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Pro-Life Advocates Want Vote to Pull Abortion Drug RU 486 After Women Die Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 30, 2006

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A group of pro-life lawmakers and organizations have had enough. On the heels of an announcement two weeks ago from the FDA that two more women have died from using the RU 486 abortion drug, they held a press conference Wednesday demanding a vote on a bill to yank it form the market.

Rep. Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland and Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, both Republicans, have introduced measures in the House and Senate to take the abortion drug off the market while the FDA investigates the deaths of seven women in the U.S. who have died from using the drug.

“It’s appropriate that the Congress intervene and remove this drug from the market until it goes through the proper testing procedure," Bartlett said during the press conference.

"If it were any other drug company, the manufacturer would have pulled it from the market," he explained.

The pro-life groups and members of Congress who participated lamented the fact that the FDA has not removed the drug itself even though the total number of women who have died from it worldwide now stands at ten.

"[T]his drug that endangers women’s lives remains available despite ongoing investigations and continued warnings that have made it clear that the drug is not safe," Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana said.

Called Holly’s Law, the measure is named after California teenager Holly Patterson, who died in September 2003 just days after using the abortion drug she obtained from a local Planned Parenthood center.

Deirdre McQuade, spokeswoman for the pro-life office of the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, asked the House to vote on the proposal as soon as possible.

“How long will Congress stand idle while more women suffer and die from RU-486? Mifeprex must come off the market now," she said.

“It is time to take a close second look at this potent, risky and poorly scrutinized abortion drug. Women deserve better from their federal government,” McQuade said.

Other organizations participating in the congressional press conference included Concerned Women for America, Susan B. Anthony List, National Right to Life Committee, Democrats for Life, and Americans United for Life.

Republican Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Jean Schmidt of Ohio, Joe Pitts and Melissa Hart of Pennsylvania and other lawmakers participated as well.

The measure is H.R. 1079, the ‘RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of 2005.’

TAKE ACTION: Contact your senators and representative and urge strong support for Holly Law to taker RU 486 off the market. Find contact information at https://www.house.gov or https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm.