New Report: Legal Abortions Not Stopping Dangerous Self-Induced Abortions
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 5, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — To hear abortion advocates tell the story, legalizing abortion is supposed to stop the incidence of women engaging in dangerous self-abortions that could endanger their lives. A new report published Sunday in the New York Times makes it clear self-abortions continue despite abortion’s legality.
According to the report, women are resorting to the use of misoprostol, a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating ulcers — but not for abortions.
In fact the maker of the drug, also known as Cytotec, insists that it not be used on pregnant women or for abortions.
The drug is not meant for use by pregnant women because it can cause a miscarriage, though Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses have used the drug in certain circumstances.
The Times indicates that women in the Dominican community commonly use the drug to cause an abortion, relying on its ability to produce a miscarriage.
The new studies by Ibis Reproductive Health Services and Planned Parenthood talk about the rise in self-induced abortions and they blame them on women hailing from pro-life cultures who don’t want to go to an abortion business.
The studies say "that improper use of such drugs is one of myriad methods, including questionable homemade potions, frequently employed in attempts to end pregnancies by women from fervently anti-abortion cultures despite the widespread availability of safe, legal and inexpensive abortions in clinics and hospitals."
The Times indicates the phenomenon is exacerbated by a mistrust of the medical system by immigrants, fear of surgery, and a concern that they could be deported if found to be in the United States illegally.
Women resorting to self-induced abortions also have "a degree of denial over what is taking place" and refer to the abortion as "lowering" or "bringing down" a period instead of acknowledging that it is taking a baby’s life.
The women involved aren’t just using the misoprostol drug. They are also brewing homemade concoctions using aspirin, drinking strange brews, or having people assault them to cause a miscarriage.
The Times indicates the phenomenon of methods to self-induce an abortion is well-known and there are no signs of it stopping.
It also resulting in an increased number of women heading to the emergency room of local hospitals and medical centers complaining of incomplete abortions and post-abortion problems.
The Planned Parenthood study concluded that women in the Dominican community who are self-aborting “seemed to see inducing the termination of pregnancy, or abortions, as a part of the reality of their lives."
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