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| RU-486: Neither Private nor Safe | ||
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• "Most FDA drugs take a minimum of five years and cost an average of $125 million in research. [Whereas] the Population Council claims it spent only $8 million on RU-486. - Dr. Richard Glasow, an expert on RU-486[24] • During RU486's questionable approval process, the FDA failed to test adequately and establish safeguards (present for every other drug on the market). For instance, although the FDA historically requires blind testing, randomized tests, and control group comparisons to ensure unbiased assessments, these standards were absent from the US and French clinical trials and studies that the FDA used to approve RU-486. In addition to the deficient clinical trials, the manner in which RU-486 was speedily evaluated is also problematic. In the late 1990s, RU-486 was fast-tracked under a special "restricted distribution" (called "Subpart H") reserved for drugs offering cures for life-threatening illness. Drugs approved under "Subpart H," because they treat life-threatening illnesses, often have harsh side effects and are offered as a last alternative to death. Unlike AIDS or cancer, pregnancy is not a "life-threatening illness" and, thus, should not be treated as one.[32] • Furthermore, in addition to the suspect evaluation process, the doctors evaluating RU-486 tainted its short road to approval. A group of eleven doctors reviewed the process, yet their backgrounds reveal bias. The vast majority (eight doctors) were pro-choice, and some were linked directly to abortion organizations.[32] • The watchdog group Judicial Watch released a report revealing that President Bill Clinton forced the approval of RU-486, in keeping with his pro-abortion agenda. The report includes letters to Clinton from Ron Weddington, an attorney in Roe v. Wade, obtained through a Freedom of Information request. Weddington urged Clinton to push RU-486 in order to "start immediately to eliminate the barely educated, unhealthy and poor segment of our country," in hopes of fostering a "better educated, healthier, wealthier population." He added, "We lost a lot of ground during the Reagan-Bush era."[36] • RU486 requires several doctor visits and the woman will deliver the child anywhere - at work, in a grocery store, at a day care center. She will see and handle her baby's remains. She will have to take her baby's body to be checked to make sure every piece came out. If a portion is left inside, she will get an infection that could be fatal.[18] | ||
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• After taking three RU486 tablets in the doctor's office, the woman goes home. This drug blocks progesterone from getting to the baby literally starving it to death. Thirty-six to 48 hours later, a hormone-like prostaglandin is injected into the woman, causing her body to expel the dead baby. If she does not abort at this time, she must go home and wait. Seven days later, the woman returns for an exam to make sure the baby has been expelled and to monitor her bleeding. If the procedure has failed, the woman must then undergo a surgical abortion. The procedure requires four clinical visits and access to emergency medical facilities in the event of complications. [24] | ||
• Women who took RU486 in clinical trials experienced such common side effects as painful contractions, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pelvic pain and spasms, and headaches-as well as the trauma of seeing their aborted baby. Some women have even been hospitalized and required surgery and/or a blood transfusion. In most cases, women endured prolonged bleeding, anywhere from 9 to 30 days. One out of 100 women will require a D&C - a surgical procedure as the result of RU486. What's more, RU486 is only effective during the fifth to seventh week of a woman's pregnancy -- just when the baby's heart begins beating.[24] | ||
| •
Planned Parenthood said there were "no complications" in the testing of 238
Iowa women. Yet one physician
testified before the FDA that his patient had lost over half her blood volume,
requiring emergency surgery and transfusions.[24]
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• Some
women have died from infections resulting from taking RU-486.
A recent study in The Annals of Pharmacotherapy explains that RU-486 reduces a
woman's immune system, allowing a rare bacteria to fester (it feeds off the baby's
dead tissue). It spreads rapidly, causing the woman's organs to shut down. The
women don't experience the usual warning signs, such as a fever.[35]
•
In response to the threats created by RU-486, Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.)
and Representative Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) Introduced "RU-486 Suspension and Review
Act" (S 11, H.R. 1079) in Spring 2005. The goal is to take this abortion drug
off the market and to direct the General Accountability Office to investigate
the questionable approval process. A companion bill in the Senate is S. 511. The
proposal has 81 cosponsors in the House but only 11 in the Senate.[32,33,37] | ||
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