Pro-Life Advocates Say Abortion Pill Study Misleading, Drug Hurts Women 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 16, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life advocates are disappointed by slanted media coverage of a new study by American and Danish researchers. The study analyzed whether the abortion pill causes more subsequent pregnancy problems than a surgical abortion, but media outlets are running stories saying the study called the drug safe for women.
Wendy Wright, the president of Concerned Women for America, says the study and the news coverage of it doesn’t give women the whole picture.
"This study is misleading because it did not compare those who had either surgical or chemical abortion with women who have not had an abortion," Wright told LifeNews.com. “This study is like comparing whether it is worse to burn your hand on a gas stove or an electric stove. You still end up burned.”
She said a better study would have focused on the damage the abortion drug causes women who take it, rather than comparing various methods of abortion.
"Medical experts have acknowledged that RU-486 is ten times more likely to cause fatal infections than surgical abortion. This study did not take into account the direct risk that comes from chemical and surgical abortions," Wright added.
Dr. Donna Harrison, of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, agreed with Wright’s statements.
She said there are "many more studies have concluded that there is a definite association between pre-term birth and low birth weight" and abortions.
Dr. Harrison also pointed out that the American College of OBGYNs "acknowledges abortion as a risk factor for pre-term births and low baby weight in subsequent pregnancies."
Cheryl Sullenger, of Operation Rescue, also criticized the media for claiming the abortion drug is okay for women.
"Reporters are drawing the erroneous conclusion that this study means RU 486 is completely safe," she told LifeNews.com. "That’s not what the study says, and nothing could be further from the truth."
"Women who have had abortions have greater risks of miscarriage and infertility than women who have not had abortions. It is no accident that the study refused to compare these two groups of women," she concluded.
