Last week, the US Senate unanimously approved SC Republican Jim DeMint's amendment to the FDA reauthorization bill stating the agency must have risk assessment and solution strategies in place with the manufacturer of RU-486 within seven months after the bill takes effect.

Pro-aborts in the Democrat-controlled body must have finally conducted a self risk assessment and determined they were close to being labeled as anti-women's health and safety if they didn't do something about RU-486....

Only last month, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee rejected Sen. Tom Coburn's amendment mostly on party lines, 12-8, to suspend sales of RU-486 altogether. This is very serious.

The abortion industry, mindless of women's health if it interferes with abortion, bulldozed FDA approval of RU-486 during the waning Clinton days in 2000 via an acceleration process supposed to be reserved for "life-threatening illnesses."

RU-486 is interesting in that it doesn't protect against life-threatening illnesses, it causes lives to end, and apparently not just preborn children. Perhaps the FDA became confused.

Since its rush approval, RU-486 has been linked to the deaths of at least seven American women, most due to toxic shock syndrome from the deadly bactium Clostridium sordellii, which may be an emerging risk of using RU-486.

The much publicized death of 18-year-old Holly Patterson in 2003 from RU-486 should have moved the FDA to pull RU-486 off the market, but it did not. It merely added a list of risks to RU-486's label.

The FDA has now received reports of 1,050 additional women who experienced adverse events from the RU-486 regimen including 9 life-threatening incidents, 232 hospitalizations, 116 blood transfusions, and 88 cases of infection, according to DeMint.

Holly's story was also on a site called The Cemetery of Choice. Lots of stories of legal abortion deaths. I never knew there were so many.

Should we ban tampons too??

What for?

Cameron -

Your ignorance is showing again.

There is a difference between Menstrual TSS and Non-Menstrual TSS.

Also Cammeron- As far as menstrual TSS, we DID ban certain materials that were used in the manufacturing of tampons. There was a risk, we addressed it. It was not as if our government said "oops just add a super special warning label and leave in the bad stuff". They removed the "bad stuff" AND gave a warning lable. Doing so cut the risk of Menstrual TSS very effectively.

Good-ole slick Willie Clinton, abortion never had a better friend

jasper,Bill sure was abortion's BFF. He had to be. He couldn't keep his OWN pants on. He sure marched Gennifer Flowers down to the abortion clinic before she could say "I'm pregnant." Hillary is another staunch Choice supporter ! I do not like either one of them.

"There is a difference between Menstrual TSS and Non-Menstrual TSS."

Would you care to grace us ignorants, gestator of 3 in particular, with an elaboration on these differences, and why said difference might somehow, tenuously at it may be, be meaningful with respect to the case for banning RU486?

FYI Gestator of 3, the TSS suffered by holly was a result of a non-FDA approved method in which one of the hormones is placed directly into the vagina. TSS for tampon users is about 5 deaths a year and between 5-10 in every 100,000 users suffering various side-affects... not unlike the inter-vaginal RU486 numbers. Like sex... there's ussually some risk when you stick something in there, no matter what it is.

Cameron,There you go again with the name calling. It's hard to take you seriously.

Cameron, Didn't want to go there, but now I'm a goin. Cameron, Who likes abortion? Answer.... Irresponsible Men!!!!!!

Cameron, What was Holly? Some abortionist's experiment? You seem to be okay with the fact that she is dead. You seem to blow it off very casually. What a nice guy. Poor Christen Gilbert got the same treatment from your group.

Heather4life,

Believe me, if Holly had died as the result of an illegal abortion, the abortion advocates would be howling like banshees. Witness what happened when Becky Bell was alleged to have died from an illegal abortion. It was on 60 minutes, in People Magazine, and the feminists were wailing. Never mind that we were never told exactly how this "illegal abortion" took place or that medical experts who examined the evidence referred to the claim of an "illegal abortion" as "... this incredible lie". It didn't matter that Becky's closest friend and confidant was convinced that no abortion, legal or illegal, ever took place but that rather Becky had had a miscarriage, the same conclusion the medical experts came to. Was there any kind of police investigation as to who was performing illegal abortions and what were the results? It did not matter that all evidence pointed to Becky's death resulting from a lethal form of pneumonia, the same kind that killed muppeteer Jim Henson and nearly killed actress Elizabeth Taylor. The abortion movement had a martyr and were going to play it for all it was worth, facts be damned.
Holly and Christin's deaths are sadly, not politically expedient for the abortion cause, they're in fact an embarassment about which the less said the better.
Yes Bill Clinton, despite his own despicable antics including flashing, pardon me, when Bill Clinton flashed Paula Jones it was called "propositioning", and sexual abuse and assault, was nonetheless a feminist favorite and abortion supporter. Small wonder there was no problem "bulldozing" the approval of RU486 through the FDA. Claims that RU486 was some kind of miracle cure for various diseases were used to con the public and were totally bogus. Our Senator, Russ Feingold, even wrote me recently telling me how RU486 could be used to treat these diseases! I respectfully told the good Senator he needs to better inform himself and dispense with this fallacy.
We now have women dead and injured. Why is anyone surprised? The safety and lives of women came second to a politcal agenda.

Mary,Did you know that to this very day, the pro choice crowd is still exploiting poor Becky? Her poor parents were thrust into the limelight, against their will, from the pro choice crowd. Did they not hear that Becky's actual cause of death was pneumonia? I still see them waving her picture around at rallies shouting "Never Again!!"

That's my point Heather4life, facts be damned. Why aren't they waving pictures of Holly? Because her death isn't politically expedient for the abortion cause. As for Becky's parents, I feel they were grief stricken people trying desperately to make some sense out of their daughter's very sudden and totally unexpected death and could be easily exploited. Our hearts can only go out to them.

Mary,how right you are.I remember hearing about the Becky Bell case, and I believed it. I believed that she'd died from an illegal abortion. However,I couldn't remember authorities ever arresting anyone, and the details about the so called "abortion" were "sketchy." I ended up doing my own researching, and that's when I found out about the pneumonia. It seemed as though every pro choicer jumped on that band wagon. Even former abortionist, Bernard Nathanson, said that Becky did NOT die from an illegal abortion.

I was hoping for an idiot to pop in with the Becky Bell BS. You people will stoop to any lie for your ends. Seriously, what’s next? Holly had immaculately conceived??

Marry sez....

“It didn't matter that Becky's closest friend and confidant was convinced that no abortion, legal or illegal, ever took place but that rather Becky had had a miscarriage, the same conclusion the medical experts came to.”

Coroner sez...

"There is evidence of recent pregnancy with recent partial abortion. The uterus is enlarged consistent with current pregnancy of age approximately 2-3 months. The cervix is dilated uniformly without evidence of mucosal or submucosal injury. Extruding from the cervical os is hemorraghic and necrotic red-tan and grey-brown tissue consistent with products of conception."

Mary sez....

“Becky's death resulting from a lethal form of pneumonia”

Becky's mother sez....

“The coroner performed an autopsy and called us. "Your Rebecca Suzanne died from an illegal, botched abortion; dirty instruments had been used." And Bill said "No, no, not Beck." I said, "No, no, no, not my Becky. Oh my God, not Beck." I told Bill that I did not want people talking about Becky. We grew up in a small community. Everybody idolized us. We were the perfect couple -- the perfect family. I didn't want people to call her a whore. We agreed to say that Beck died of pneumonia. It wasn't a lie. The death certificate listed the cause of death as septic abortion with pneumonia.”
Karen Bell (Becky’s mother)

While proximal, pneumonia was the secondary cause of death, and not the ultimate cause of death.

Speaking of exploiting death... isn't that pretty much the whole thing for you all??

LMAO

“The coroner performed an autopsy and called us. "Your Rebecca Suzanne died from an illegal, botched abortion; dirty instruments had been used." And Bill said "No, no, not Beck." I said, "No, no, no, not my Becky. Oh my God, not Beck." I told Bill that I did not want people talking about Becky. We grew up in a small community. Everybody idolized us. We were the perfect couple -- the perfect family. I didn't want people to call her a whore. We agreed to say that Beck died of pneumonia. It wasn't a lie. The death certificate listed the cause of death as septic abortion with pneumonia.”
Karen Bell (Becky’s mother)

I don't see anywhere that it says she died from a self-induced abortion...which would lead me to believe that a "doctor" botched said abortion, which wouldn't bode to well for your side, now would it?

Mifepristone abortifactant is a large dose of synthetic steroid that supresses the immune system. If post abortive women are immunocompromised in some way, there is increased susceptibility to infection.

The British nursing drugs bible, The BNF, states - uterine infections reported with the use of this drug.

The FDA has had to make changes to it's labelling of mifepristone packaging to warn of excessive bleeding, risk of serious infection, sepsis, and death.

Cameron,

LMAO

You sure do laugh a lot.
Like I said. Comic relief.

Cameron, google Becky's name. The cause of death was pneumonia.

Cameron, The coroner said that Becky's uterus was sooth and glistening. Nope,no sign of abortion. Only miscarriage.

meant smooth and glistening

Cameron, give me that site where you got your info. I'll look at it.

Information compiled by Carolyn C. Gargaro

Why would an organization continue to exploit the death of a young girl to further their pro-choice agenda? NARAL continues to lie about the tragic death of Becky Bell. In addition to continuing to post false information on their web site, they also to promote a book entitled, Choices: Women Speak out About Abortion. In their summary of the book, NARAL contends "Becky Bell [was] an Indiana teenager who died from an illegal abortion after her state-mandated parental consent." One has to wonder why NARAL feels compelled to lie to women about abortion and save them from knowing the facts.

In addition, I attended a special AOL chat (due to the 25th Anniversary of Roe V. Wade) in January 1998 with Kate Michelman, President of NARAL. When asked directly about Becky Bell, she still claimed that she died from an illegal abortion. How can pro-choicers still lie about this when all the facts prove this assertion to be false? I encourage people to contact NARAL and ask them why they continue to lie about this.

The True Becky Bell Story
Becky Bell was a 17-year old Indiana girl who reportedly died of an illegal abortion on September 16, 1988. "Pro-choice" and Feminist organizations, especially Planned Parenthood and Eleanor Smeal's "Feminist Majority Fund," immediately seized on Becky Bell's death and stated as fact that it was directly caused by Indiana's parental consent laws. They dubbed Becky the "first known victim of parental consent laws" and launched massive media campaign and enlisted her parents to hit the talk show and lecture circuit to denounce parental notification and consent laws all over the country - the law that they claimed "caused Becky's death." As Ms. Magazine put it, "She Died Because of a Law." [1]

This received a lot of media attention for awhile, until the National Right to Life Committee got a copy of the post-mortem report, which showed no sign of either induced abortion or infection in or near the reproductive organs. What the report did show was that Becky Bell died of a deadly and fast-acting form of pneumonia, similar to that which killed Muppets creator Jim Henson, which had neither originated in nor had affected the reproductive system. She had contracted this especially lethal form of pneumonia at about the same time that she had a miscarriage

Various doctors have confirmed that Becky Bell did not die from an induced abortion. Dr. John Curry, former head of the Tissue Bank at Bethesda Naval Hospital, reviewed the coroner's pathology report. He noted that the report listed massive infection in Becky Bell's lungs and in other areas of her body, but there was no evidence of infection on the outside of her uterus or within it. He also stated that the germ that killed her was a common pneumonia germ "... which is unlikely to originate from a contaminated abortion procedure." [2]

The physician who personally examined Becky's body, Dr. John Pless, head of forensic pathology at Indiana University Medical Center, stated that "I cannot prove she had an illegal abortion. I cannot prove she had anything but a spontaneous abortion [miscarriage]." [3]

Former abortionist Dr. Bernard Nathanson also concluded, after examining the medical evidence, that: "There is no infection in or around the uterus, no pus, no odor to the uterus, and no peritonitis. The serosa of the uterus is described as "smooth and glistening. In the case of a septic abortion, this tissue would be shaggy and discolored ... Indeed, there is no evidence for an induced abortion at all: no marks or stigmata of instrumentation in the genital tract ... In short, the cause of death here was probably overwhelming pneumonia unrelated to the abortion/ miscarriage." [4]

Finally, Dr. Curtis Harris, president of the American Academy of Medical Ethics, consulted in detail with four leading specialists in the fields of infectious disease, infertility, pathology, and obstetrics/gynecology. The opinion of these five national experts was unanimous : That Becky Bell had an incomplete miscarriage ( not an induced abortion); that her uterus was not marked or infected at all; and that the cause of her death was pneumonia brought on by the aspiration of vomit, and that this pathology was not related to the miscarriage in any manner. [5]

Shortly after NRLC started distributing copies of the autopsy report and calling for a review of the coroner's report concluding the death was a result of a "septic abortion" (which the post-mortem contradicted), Mr. and Mrs. Bell dropped out of sight and Eleanor Smeal never said another word about it.

Less than six months after Becky Bell's death, Erica Richardson, a Maryland sixteen-year-old, died from a legal abortion. [6] Erica underwent the abortion without her parents' knowledge or consent. Where is NARAL's outrage at Erica's death? Perhaps there is none because her death did not further their pro-choice agenda.

It is a tragedy that Becky Bell died, but is also a tragedy when the pro-choice movement purposely lies and exploits her death to further their own agenda.

Becky Bell was a pretty girl -- blonde hair, blue eyes, looking every inch a cheerleader. After a pregnancy scare, her parents told her that if she ever did that to them again, they'd throw her out of the house. So when 17-year-old Becky learned that she really was pregnant, she turned to her best friend Heather for help. Together they explored her options. If Becky were to get an abortion in Indiana, she would have to tell her parents. After being threatened with being thrown out of the family home, Becky rejected that option. Perhaps Becky could drive to Kentucky for an abortion. Perhaps she could go to a home for unwed mothers in California. Becky seemed undecided.

Perhaps it was the stress of the pregnancy that knocked Becky off the wagon. She had been through drug detoxification already. But off to a party she went, to forget her troubles, be with the people she thought were her friends. Becky couldn't even remember what drugs she did at the party. She passed out in her own vomit. That's probably where the pneumonia got started.

Desperate to find some meaning in their daughter's death, the Bells latched onto the term, "septic abortion." Perhaps, like most laymen, they didn't realize that a miscarriage is a form of abortion -- what's called a "spontaneous abortion." That still leaves the mystery of where the work "septic" came from, since Becky's reproductive tract was healthy and free of injury or infection. But however the idea arose, Becky's family decided that Becky must have sought an illegal abortion. Abortion advocates caught wind of the story and recruited the Bells as spokesmen against parental involvement laws.

While Becky Bell's death was indeed tragic, it had nothing to do with abortion. Becky died because of her drug use. Clearly, the issue of teen drug use needs to be addressed. Meanwhile, teenagers continue to die from legal abortions while pro-choice advocates whistle past the graveyard.

There has to be some explanation of why there is all this hue and cry over a girl who died of an imaginary abortion, and so much indifference to girls who die from real abortions. I'm still waiting for the pro-choice to explain what the real reason is.

Oh MK, We can always count on you !!!!!

I think I'm going to go with the coroner report I cited ... from a PROLIFE WEBSITE... attempting to missrepresent by leaving out cause of death... and with what Becky's parents have to say. Botched abortion... probably self-induced... such as whipping-up a concoction of illegally obtained drugs.

Cameron,you did it again. Facts please!!!!!

Thanks Heather.
That guy drives me to distraction!

He drives me to drink...*sipping beer*

reference number five from the wikipedia entry on Becky is where I got the incomplete coroner report... "why can't we love both" or something like that.

Cameron is like SoMg. When you ask him for facts,he bails.

All,
please go to -- http://chargetiller.com/

this is tiller the baby killer from Kansas. Valerie has a post about him today on her blog.

jasper,Thanks. I signed the petition.

Ditto

Cameron,

You need to google Becky Bell as Heather4life suggested. Its also obvious that you are unaware of the fact that "abortion" is a term we use all the time in the medical community in reference to miscarriage. An abortion can be spontaneous(miscarriage) or induced, what you are more familiar with. You make my case by pointing out that the cervix was uniformily dialated and there was no evidence of musosal or submucosal injury! That sounds very much like a miscarriage, i.e. spontaneous abortion. Thank you.
Septic abortion can mean septic miscarriage in medical terminology. Women who miscarry can and do become infected. Becky's parents had no medical background and could easily have misunderstood this fact, as you obviously did. The coroner falsified a report? Couldn't he face criminal charges for that? Also, I have never heard of a coroner calling the family, its usually the police or the family doctor who are notified first, and they inform the family. Was there any kind of investigation into this death, as there most certainly should have been if it was determined to be an illegal abortion. What were the results of that investigation? There is far more to this story than you'll ever get from the media Cameron so I advise you do some very serious investigating of your own and keep an open mind.
I understand the coroner retracted this claim of a botched abortion later on when confronted by other evidence.
The perfect family? There is no such animal. Cameron, out of respect to Becky and her family I'll let you do your own investigating.
You were talking about some idiot exploiting the Becky Bell BS? That sure sounds like your friends in the abortion establishment.

Signed it.

Cameron,

You talk about a concoction of illegally obtained drugs. What evidence is there of this in the autopsy or blood tests? You made the case in your post for a spontaneous miscarriage.

On rereading Cameron's post I must correct myself. The coroner did not falsify the report. I took "we" to mean the coroner and the Bells decided to say she died of pneumonia, when apparently "we" meant just the Bells.

Heather4Life:

Not only irresponsible men, but cowardly men too!

Jill, you wrote: "RU-486 is interesting in that it doesn't protect against life-threatening illnesses, ..."

A MEDLINE search turns up articles on using RU-486 (aka mifepristone) to treat disease (not for abortion):

Koivisto-Korander R, Leminen A, Heikinheimo O. Mifepristone as treatment of recurrent progesterone receptor-positive uterine leiomyosarcoma.
Obstet Gynecol. 2007 Feb;109(2 Pt2):512-4.

Also, 6: Grunberg SM, Weiss MH, Russell CA, Spitz IM, Ahmadi J, Sadun A, Sitruk-Ware R. Long-term administration of mifepristone (RU486): clinical tolerance during extended treatment of meningioma.
Cancer Invest. 2006 Dec;24(8):727-33.

Regulating mifepristone (RU-486) won't prevent any medical abortions because there are too many already-approved compounds that can be used instead (methotrexate being the most popular.) But you might interfere with someone's treatment for uterine leiomyosarcoma or meningioma.

Medical decisions like this should not be made at the behest of ignorant right-to-lifers.

SOMG, I should have added, "for the purpose for which it was approved...."

Anyway, it's all a big waste of right-to-life money, this fuss about mifepristone. Like the PBA ban it's totally symbolic.

Cameron -

"Would you care to grace us ignorants, gestator of 3 in particular, with an elaboration on these differences, and why said difference might somehow, tenuously at it may be, be meaningful with respect to the case for banning RU486?"

Since no one answered this question I will do it. I do have to say Cameron, it is amazing that you want us to do all your research when you don't document facts, but when I post something that is common knowledge you require proof.
Your ignorance is getting old...

Menstrual TSS is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.

Non-Menstrual TSS is caused by Streptococcus pyogenes.

Now, these women were diagnosed with Clostridium sordellii which is a pregnancy related TSS. It is extrememly rare and most cases occur with women who have underlying conditions. These conditions are from people who lack specific antibodies to fight off infections. Who would lack these antibodies? Anyone with diabetes, cancer, autoimmunie diseases are at highest risk.

Go here: http://www.theannals.com/cgi/content/abstract/aph.1G189v1

DATA SYNTHESIS: The mechanisms of action of mifepristone were incorporated into the pathophysiology of septic shock due to C. sordellii. Mifepristone, by blocking both progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors, interferes with the controlled release and functioning of cortisol and cytokines. Failure of physiologically controlled cortisol and cytokine responses results in an impaired innate immune system that results in disintegration of the body's defense system necessary to prevent the endometrial spread of C. sordellii infection. The abnormal cortisol and cytokine responses due to mifepristone coupled to the release of potent exotoxins and an endotoxin from C. sordellii are the major contributors to the rapid development of lethal septic shock.

oh, and Cameron you said "the TSS suffered by holly was a result of a non-FDA approved method in which one of the hormones is placed directly into the vagina. " Your information is, again, incorrect. From the CDC http://www.cdc.gov/women/pubs/tss.htm

"The Food and Drug Administration, CDC, and local and state health departments continue to investigate the cases of four women in the United States who died after medical abortions during 2003–2005 with Mifeprex® (mifepristone, formerly RU-486) and intravaginal misoprostol. "

Aren't you tired of always being wrong?

@Valerie: I know this is a bit off-topic, but how are you this evening?

In any event seven cases sounds pretty rare to me. How many mifepristone abortions have been done in the USA so far, does anyone know?

SOMG, DeMint's press release stated: "The reported risk of death associated with RU-486 is ten times greater the risk associated with surgical abortions. The death rate associated with surgical abortion is one in a million. By contrast, the reported risk of death associated with RU-486 is higher than one in 100,000."

SOMG - The other problem is with this form of TSS there is usually a very high fever, but for some reason none of these women had a fever. Some have questioned if women have died of this and it the cause of death was overlooked because the symptoms can look like other problems. Severe flu, Pneumonia, dehydration, sun poisoning...

Rae -

Thanks for asking! I am exhausted from a exciting game of golf-tennis that my son and I invented today. I can't believe I am stil awake!

How are things with you?

;-)

That's still nearly an order of magnitude less than the 9.1 maternal deaths per million childbirths.

In other words, it's still rare.

@Valerie: I'm fine...sorta. I am pretty sure I bombed my calc final, but I am happy that I don't have to take Calc II for med school (get to take stats instead) and I am all moved home so no more evil dorm. :D

Golf tennis...I think I used to play that when I was little...hitting tennis balls with little kid golf clubs?

Rae -

My husband is trying to get through stats right now. He has gone back to college and is also trying to get his CQE. (certified quality engineer, I think) the CQE test is almost all statistics. I looked through some of his books. Don't get it. Give me algebra story problems before anything related to stats! I could never get through Calc, so I never tried. Thank goodness I never had to take it to be certified vet tech! I would never had made it! I hope you did better on the test than you think.

I was so happy when I was able to afford off campus housing! I shared a house with 3 other girls. The 4 of us had absolutely nothing in common, but it was a blast.

Golf-Tennis - We had the little plastic golf clubs and golfballs. He was on one end of the driveway, I was on the other. He drew a "net" down the middle and we just wacked that darn thing back and forth to each other. It was fun! I had to put the dogs inside though because they kept getting smacked by the ball. They aren't very bright dogs! I did have to hold my daughter for half of it, so it gave my son an unfair advantage. But, I think I lost a couple pounds in the process!

Thanks Valerie for the link and thanks for explaining this further. (Please see my post above. 6:29 p.m.)

Considering the risk of infection, and the devastating consequences arising from complications of infection, I find it incredulous that abortion providers have no qualms about giving RU486 to those who are at risk for infection (eg those with certain autoimmune diseases, those who may already be harbouring a low grade infection, STD etc)

Pregnancy in itself suppresses the immune system to a degree. It is extremely concerning that the further immunosuppressive action of RU486 does make it more likely for those who have taken it for abortive purposes, to succumb to any one of a large number of upper genital tract infections.

Despite numerous unanswered questions, many women have been given a drug, whose molecular mechanism and biological properties are not extensively researched, let alone understood.

(Some) other causes for concern.

Little is known about possible teratogenic effects.

It is known that RU486 has been found in pre-ovulatry follicles;

RU486 can readily cross the blood follicle barrier of human pre-ovulatory follicles (Cekan et al 1988:131) This was establishes from an experiment on 21 healthy females volunteers of proven fertility who had requested sterilization at the department of Obs and Gyn at the university of Aberdeen. Pre- treatment they were administered with a single 100mg dose (6 times lower than abortificatant dose) of RU486. 34 hours later blood and follicular fluid were collected. The follicular fluid revealed a high concentration of RU486, more so than blood levels.

Women who have had less than straighforward menstrual and reproductive histories (ie PCOS, irregular periods, or past problem pregnancy etc) have been excluded from trials for RU486.

As an antigluccorticoid blocker RU486 affects the adrenal gland;

An early Geneva trial found that RU486 is not only an anti progesterone but an antigluccorticosteroid which can take the place of cortisone in the adrenal glands, and that contraindications emanating from this double action of the drug could be a problem (Lepiney, 1982:2) This suspicion was confirmed in the first toxicological study on monkeys, which led to adverse reactions in the adrenal glands.

As a progesterone blocker its action is not restricted to the uterine lining it also acts on the central nervous system. (eg the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system and the respiratory centre) In other words the whereabouts of RU486 and it metabolites outside the blood stream are insufficiently known.

The action of RU486 and especially it's interaction with prostaglandin is complex and far from fully understood.

RU486 interacts with both the hypothalmus and the pituitary, and as researchers admit the relationship between the pituitary and hypothalmus is poorly understood.

There is a list of contraindications with the drug - asthma, kidney disease, adrenal insufficiency, gasto-intestinal disorders, any woman who has recently taken steroids, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, smoking... In the UK RU486 is not to be taken past the age of 35.

Medical information paraphrased from RU486: Misconceptions, Myths and Morals, Renate Klein, Janice G. Raymond & Lynette J. Dumble.

Sarah -

Thanks for that info. WOW! That is an eye opener.

It looks to me that something even as simple as bad allergies can play an affect of the safety of this drug.

"It is known that RU486 has been found in pre-ovulatry follicles"

My knowledge in reproduction is based on breeding of dogs and cats, so this is a bit over my head. Would the above statement mean there could be problems with future fertility? or birth defects in future children? Do they have any idea how long the drug is present in the follicles?

Hi Valerie,

Very logical questions you ask, that i can't find clear answers to.

Information on the half life of mifepristone, (the time period by which one half of the active drug is broken down by the body and/or removed from the body,) is contradictory. One study has shown that it remains in the body for up to two weeks, others state 25 hours. Beyond this time period, I don’t know how long residual amounts of mifepristone could remain in ovarian follicles, and if exposure to mifepristone could damage them irreparably in some way.

Mifepristone delays or inhibits the development of ovarian follicles.

“The question must be asked whether and how inhibition will affect the thousands of immature eggs in a woman’s ovary that have been exposed to RU486. The mechanism by which is it exerts it’s action remains unknown”

“What will be the quality of an egg that has undergone previous chemical arrest? If a woman becomes pregnant after use of RU486, does she need to worry about RU486 residues/and or irreversible damage to her ovarian follicles? And what about cycle disturbances?”

RU486: Misconceptions, Myths and Morals Renate Klein, Janice G. Raymond & Lynette J. Dumble.

I don't know of any long term follow up study to monitor subsequent menstrual cycles and pregnancy after taking mifepristone.

There are 2 small studies, mentioned in the above book, (one on humans, the other on mice) which conclude that the presence of mifepristone in ovarian follicles inhibits in vitro fertilization to some degree, dependant on dose. (Messinis and Templeton 1988) (Juneja and Dodson 1990.) These studies did not state at what point the RU486 was used.

If RU486 abortion fails, and the mother goes to term with the pregnancy, a range of foetal abnormalities have been reported. RU486 consists of separate doses of mifepristone and misoprostol. I don’t know how many of these birth defects are caused by mifepristone, and how many are caused by misoprostol.

As far as I know, with regards to future children, their health, and fertility are unknown quantities.

Sarah -

That is very scary! Wasn't there a medicine in the 1940's or 1950's that was given to women and it was their daughters that ended up having children with deformities? I may be remembering that wrong. But if it is true, then we won't know any long term damage that may be done for another generation.

I think that was Thalidomide Val.

They used it for morning sickness I believe...

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/thalidomide/first.html

Hey Valerie, I'm sure you're not remembering it wrong, I think something called DES was used in America. The 'daughters of DES' now have fertility problems.

Bernard Nathanson has come out and said that RU486 has similar properties to DES, but I'm really not sure about that.

It is scary, though. Approval for RU486 was rushed through, (without proper research) and Roussel Uclaf was a well dodgy company if i remember rightly.

Yes and Thalidomide too. Terrible.

Thalidomide was unique. Nothing like that could happen again, not today.

Mifepristone had a substantial use-record in Europe when the FDA approved it. Approval was totally justified.

SOMG,

7 deaths are rare? Why is it seven women dying and a high incidence of very serious complications is of no relevance to the abortion establishment but 1 alleged "illegal abortion" death has you people going ballistic? The answer to that is so obvious. Your political agenda promoting abortion comes first, the health and lives of women, second.

Mifepristone had a substantial use-record in Europe when the FDA approved it. Approval was totally justified.

Posted by: SoMG at May 9, 2007 01:20 AM

How long has RU 486 been used in Europe? Have we gone through a genreation yet? The mechanics of this medication isn't something that is 'basic'. This is a very complex drugs that is causing problems and since it affects the ovarian follicles it may take a generation or two too see some serious complications.

This isn't about killing an unborn anymore! This is about the health and wellbeing of the woman who is taking this drug! And quite possibly the health and wellbeing of future children!

WAKE UP!

Are you more concerned about killing a baby through chemical means than the health of the Mother? Talk about BS hypocrisy! I thought Health of the mother was suppose to be the #1 aspect of your cause! But I guess that it is only #1 when it suits the argument.

Mary and Val, That's the problem. Somg is not concerned.

Mary and Valerie, I couldn't have said it any better.

Valerie, you wrote: "Are you more concerned about killing a baby through chemical means than the health of the Mother?"

No, but I am skeptical of claims made by hysterical right-to-lifers.

And we don't need RU-486 to do non-surgical abortions; we can use methotrexate instead.

Are there any long term physical consequences?

This is simply unknown at this point. It is known that RU486 crosses the blood follicle barrier and gets into the follicular fluid surrounding a woman's ripening eggs. (51) What impact this will have on future pregnancies, or on children born later on, has not yet been adequately researched.

51. Janice G. Raymond, Renate Klein, Lynette J. Dumble, RU486: Misconceptions, Myths and Morals, Cambridge, MA: Institute on Women and Technology, 1991, pp. 75-76.

SOMG,

I don't think Valerie or I, or any others on this thread sound hysterical. The deaths and injuries are fact, not "hysterical claims" but documented fact. If you have a problem with hysterical claims, then speak to some of your friends in the abortion establishment. We had a discussion earlier on this thread about one of their more well-known hysterical claims.
The FDA bulldozed this drug through the approval process at behest of feminist darling and sex offender extraordinaire, Bill Clinton, to appease his feminist and abortion constituency. That serious complications and deaths are now showing up should surprise no one. I would remind you that Thalidimide also was used in Europe prior to coming to the U.S. so the fact that something is extensively used in Europe does not give it any special blessing.

I must agree. No hysteria here.

SOMG:
"And we don't need RU-486 to do non-surgical abortions; we can use methotrexate instead."

Good boy! I'm glad to see you can think.

That is a very good statement and one I want to know why isn't being the perferred method? See, pro-aborts, like yourself, are only proving that all you care about is abortion. You don't give a darn about the health of the woman.

I am not hysterical. I am just tired of women being treated like second class citizens in the name of feminism.

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