Planned Parenthood: Women Must Get Surgical Abortion if RU 486 Fails

State   |   Mailee Smith   |   Jun 24, 2011   |   9:45AM   |   Washington, DC

Just when you think that the abortion industry could not possibly get any slimier, you find something like this, from the Bronx Planned Parenthood web page

Here’s what you need to know about abortion services at this health center:

Abortion Pill (Medication Abortion)

Abortion pill (medication abortion) is offered up to 9 weeks after the start of your last menstrual period. If your last menstrual period was more than 9 weeks ago, read about our in-clinic abortion services below.

Abortion pill (medication abortion) services are available by appointment only.

Plan to be at the health center for 2-3 hour(s) for your entire abortion pill visit (medication abortion).

During the abortion pill (medication abortion) visit, you must agree—before you start—that you will have an in-clinic abortion if the abortion pill does not work.

After your abortion visit, you will need access to a telephone, transportation, and backup medical care available to you once you are home.

Let’s break this down.

The abortion pill (RU-496) is “offered up to 9 weeks after the start of your last menstrual period.” That’s 63 days. As AUL has reported many times before, the FDA only approved RU-486 up to 49 days after a woman’s last menstrual period. At 63 days, the RU-486 regimen is 23 percent ineffective; women must then go in for a second surgical abortion. So Planned Parenthood is offering RU-486 in a way that is ineffective 23 percent of the time—and when it fails, Planned Parenthood gets paid for two abortions on the same woman.

“Plan to be at the health center for 2-3 hour(s) for your entire abortion pill visit.” The FDA approved RU-486—which requires doses three days apart—for administration by and under the supervision of a physician. Then the woman is to come back approximately 14 days later for a follow-up appointment. If a woman is only in the clinic for 2-3 hours on the first day of administration, then clearly Planned Parenthood is not following the safety protocol approved by the FDA.

“After your abortion pill visit, you will need access to … backup medical care available to you once you are home.” In other words, Planned Parenthood will do her abortion, but don’t expect its staff to help with any complications.

Now here is the real kicker: “you must agree—before you start—that you will have an in-clinic abortion if the abortion pill does not work.” A woman must agree—before her procedure starts—that if it fails, she will let Planned Parenthood do a second abortion.

What if, in the interim, a woman decides she doesn’t want to abort after all? Or, what if the woman decides she would rather be seen and treated by her own primary care physician or OB/GYN? What about “choice”?

From a legal perspective, the required agreement is totally bogus. A woman cannot contract away her emergency health care or her right to carry a pregnancy to term. But would the average woman know this? In the midst of an emotional and confusing time, a woman may want to keep her baby, or may not trust the clinic that botched her first abortion—but may think she is contractually bound to go back.

It’s just another example of the abortion industry placing profit above safety and bullying women into aborting their own children.

LifeNews.com Note: Mailee Smith is an attorney for Americans United for Life, a pro-life legal group that focuses on national and state legislative matters.