2 More Women Die From Abortion Pill

2 More Women Die After Taking Abortion Pill
NY Times

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By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: March 17, 2006

Two more women have died after taking RU-486, the abortion pill. Officials said that they did not know what caused the deaths. Four other women died from a rare and highly lethal bacterial infection after taking abortion pills.

Since reports of drug problems are voluntary, the number of women who have died after taking abortion pills may be higher than the reported total of six.

In a statement, the Food and Drug Administration said that the agency was "investigating all the circumstances associated with these cases."

The statement repeated warnings that women who undergo medical abortions should be vigilant for any signs of trouble. If they suffer from nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea and weakness with or without abdominal pain more than a day after taking abortion medicines, they should immediately be given antibiotics.

The four previous deaths were all caused by Clostridium sordellii infections. Such infections can be difficult to diagnose because victims often do not have fevers.

Such infections could possibly be prevented if patients were given antibiotics as a preventative. But antibiotic therapy has its own set of risks, and so far officials say the risk of infection from C. sordellii is so slight that it does not merit such a precaution.

"We do not know whether these new deaths were caused by sepsis or, if they were, if they were caused by infection with Clostridium sordellii," the statement said.

The government has already scheduled a scientific conference on May 11 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to discuss C. sordellii and a related bacteria, Clostridium difficile, that has caused outbreaks of diarrhea and colitis in hospitals and nursing homes across the nation.

Both bacteria generally live in the soil and human intestinal tracts. Both thrive in environments with limited oxygen. When these bacteria infect the bloodstream, they can produce a toxin that causes something akin to toxic shock syndrome.

The Food and Drug Administration has already added strong warnings to the label of RU-486, or Mifeprex. But officials say they have no idea whether Mifeprex makes patients vulnerable to infection from C. sordellii.

Mifeprex has been used in more than 500,000 medical abortions in the United States since its approval in September 2000. The risks of death from infection after using the pill are similar to the risks after surgical abortions or childbirth, officials said.

The F.D.A. statement also emphasized that abortion providers should stick to the officially approved regimen when giving Mifeprex and an accompanying drug, misoprostol.

In the United States, most physicians instruct women to insert misoprostol vaginally instead of orally. The F.D.A. has not approved this regimen, but it is not unusual for doctors to use drugs differently from how they are officially approved. Studies indicate that this regimen is effective, requires a lower dose of misoprostol, and allows women to undergo the most emotional and painful part of the procedure at home.

What is unknown is whether this unapproved regimen may somehow contribute to bacterial infections.

Monty Patterson, whose 18-year-old daughter, Holly, died on Sept. 17, 2003, from a C. sordellii infection after getting a medical abortion, has long argued that Mifeprex predisposes women to such infections by suppressing their immune systems. He wants the drug withdrawn.

"How many women have to die needlessly before this drug is removed from the market?" Mr. Patterson said.

I can not agree more, How many more woman must die before this insturment of "female impowerment" is taken off the market.