Letters to the Editor
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RU486 - safe or not?
The thing to remember with the RU486 scare stories is that RU486's safety has to be compared to other possible outcomes of an unintended pregnancy.
All medical procedures have some risk, and this is a fact of life that is often lost in stories about abortion. While abortion clearly carries some risk, there is also risk in carrying a child to term. While I don't have the research or data, I recall that the risk to the woman is greater in carrying a child to full term and giving birth. Abortion is the safer procedure in this regards.
And no, I don't think a clump of cells is life worth protecting. If you truly believe that, then I hope you are seriously anti-war and a vegan. Worse things are being done in your name than abortion.
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I don't understand this issue
It seems that all of the women who have died have used RU-486 as a vaginal suppository. This is NOT how the manufacturer recommends it be used. So, WHY IS IT BEING USED THIS WAY? Why not take it orally? And why haven't we heard about multiple deaths from RU-486 in Europe? Are they also using it in this off-label way? Are there death's there as well? And the most important question: Why doesn't anybody seem to care that young women may be dying unecessarily because of an off-label use of a prescription drug? This goes way beyond abortion politics. There is a great story here if anyone (from Salon?) would like to cover it.
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Point of clarification
Medical abortion requires the use of two medications. Mifepristone is always taken first, and always taken orally. Misoprostol (Cytotec) is taken a day or two later and can be taken orally, or inserted vaginally. I'll note that misoprostol is also commonly used in hospital delivery rooms to induce labor. In that setting, doctors generally insert it vaginally, probably because you can get the uterus to start contracting faster if you apply the medication directly to that organ, rather than running it through the digestive system first.
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the reason it is given vaginally
is because misoprostol can cause severe vomiting and diarrhea when taken orally. The intestinal muscles contract just like the uterus.
Of course, while this side effect is very uncomfortable, it is not life-threatening, so if oral administration is safer (as it seems to be), then it will be something women have to consent to to elect that option.
In the case of postpartum hemorrhage, misoprostol is given rectally (and in a higher dose, whereas the labor induction dose is 1/8 to 1/16 of the medical abortion dose). Since postpartum hemorrhage is life-threatening, any side effect is worth it at that point.
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Not quite true that Doctors have stopped recommending vaginal miso
There is not good evidence to suggest that the vaginal administration of misoprostol is related these infections. It's true that Planned Parenthood has decided to change their protocol in advance of better data, but many other reputable providers have not including the National Abortion Federation. Though medical abortion with Mifeprex may be riskier than early surgical abortion, 1/100,000 and 1/1,000,000 respectively, it is much safer than childbirth and may be the only option available to some women with limited access.
Additionally, not only does oral administration of misoprostol cause more side effects, it is also markedly less effective than the evidence-base vaginal administration protocol and leads to more incomplete abortions and a higher risk of other types of infection and/or need for surgical d&c.
There is still not enough data to determine why these infections are occurring, but there is also no scientific consensus relating them to vaginal misoprostol. It is also worth noting that nine other women have died of Clostridium sordelii in the past few years, 8 related to child birth and one non-pregnant woman.
These infections are a matter of women's health, not just abortion politics.
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one good reason to think before you get knocked up
in fact, a great reason for women not to be sluts