Abortion drugs killing more than expected

Women are dying while killing the unborn babies they conceive.

The prescribed "abortion pill" (known as RU-486, Mifeprex, or mifepristone) is responsible for the deaths of at least four women. While the cause of death of at least one woman is being debated, the pill remains on the market.

With the "morning-after" pill legalized for prescription purposes in the United States, it's no surprise that it's being used as leverage in the recent nomination of Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach to the head position of the FDA. Von Eschenbach was nominated by President Bush on Wednesday, March 15^th.

Another drug called "Plan B" is bringing more problems into the picture.

Plan B is different from RU-486, the so-called "abortion pill" that terminates pregnancies in early stages and was approved as a prescription drug in 2000.

Plan B stops the release of an egg from the ovary and may prevent the fertilization of a released egg, according to the FDA.
via chron.com

Lester Crawford, the former FDA commissioner, had promised that a decision on Plan B would be made, but resigned in September. When Crawford resigned, Bush made von Eschenbach acting FDA commissioner. The Senate must confirm his permanent appointment. Until the FDA decides to allow over-the-counter sales of Plan B, Democratic Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Patty Murray of Washington are blocking Dr. von Eschenbach's confirmation in the Senate.

"For more than two years, the FDA has dragged its feet on making a decision, putting ideology over science," Clinton said. "We will place a hold on the nomination of Dr. von Eschenbach until the FDA issues a decision on Plan B, yes or no."

Murray and Clinton support Plan B sales without a prescription.
via chron.com

The push for over-the-counter use of the drug has been going on since the FDA first approved its use in 1999, but brings new light to the ongoing argument about whether or not pharmacists should be forced to sell the pill.

...it seems there are some pharmacists who have moral objections to dispensing medication they feel would make them party to an abortion, or at least to the taking of a potential human life. Anti-abortion groups have latched on to their cause, noting that the decision to become a pharmacist doesn't obligate one to facilitate treatments he or she finds morally abhorrent. ... On the other side of the debate are the abortion rights groups. They want widespread access to these medications, arguing that ending a pregnancy essentially before it has begun ought to be more acceptable to anti-abortion groups than ending one when the fetus is more fully developed. We can't allow rogue pharmacists to leave women in a lurch (some not only refuse to fill prescriptions, they sometimes destroy them), they say. via FOXNews.com

More acceptable to end a pregnancy "before it has begun"? Why do they feel that it's better if it's still taking away a human life?

Abortion, as a service, and abortion drugs, as products, are not rights under the Constitution or any other governmental document. "The rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution are only guarantees against government trespasses. There is no 'right' to goods, services, or care that someone else has to provide," says Radley Balko.

Aside from the "morning after" pill debate, von Eschenbach is also expected to be questioned by pro-life lawmakers who want to know why the FDA has not pulled the dangerous RU-486 abortion drug from the market. It has been found to be responsible for the deaths of five women in the U.S. and eight worldwide and has injured over 850 women in the U.S. alone. via lifenews.com

Interestingly enough, there is more concern in these issues for the women who have chosen to take these medicines to rid their bodies of the children they have conceived and not the children, who are the "source" (because I refuse to say "problem").

"We don't really know all the circumstances surrounding these women's deaths," said Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president of medical affairs for Planned Parenthood. "We extend our deepest sympathies to the families ... of the women who died" (chron.com).