Chemical abortion endangers the mother, too

In the United States, nearly half of all abortions are now chemical abortions – abortions that occur through “medication abortion pills.” For years, the abortion industry has been aggressively pushing for expanded use of chemical abortion. But what are these killer pills and how do they work?

Chemical abortion consists of two pills taken hours apart. The first pill is mifepristone, also known as RU-486, which is given to deprive the baby of key nutrients and essentially starve it to death. After that, the woman is then given misoprostol, which induces labor by causing contractions, thereby expelling the baby, usually within 6-48 hours and oftentimes in the toilet. Up to 5-10 percent of the time, the drugs don’t work and the mother either needs a surgical abortion or a procedure for removing the dead infant and placenta.

In addition to literally killing unborn babies, these pills are also very dangerous to the mothers who take them. Chemical abortion pills cause complications four times as often as surgical abortion, and one study showed that “the risk of death appears to be 10 times greater with medical abortion than with surgical abortion.”

Side effects of the chemical abortion pill include an incomplete abortion (and the need for a subsequent surgical abortion), heavy and prolonged bleeding, infection, fever, and digestive system discomfort, among many other things. According to the FDA, from 2000 to 2018, a total of 4,195 adverse events were reported in relation to chemical abortion, including: 24 deaths, 97 ectopic pregnancies, 1,042 hospitalizations, 599 blood transfusions, and 412 infections (including 69 severe infections).

In fact, out of the over 20,000 drugs on the market today, only 57 are deemed sufficiently dangerous to require REMS (“Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies”). REMS help control the use of medications that have the potential for severe side effects. REMS also provide safeguards for women by requiring that a physician see the patient, provide informed consent, explain signs of adverse reactions, and much more. Notably, REMS for chemical abortion pills are also used to help rule out ectopic pregnancies – a highly dangerous condition that can make use of the chemical abortion pill fatal. The REMS also screen for the mother’s blood type. About 15 percent of the female population has an Rh-negative blood type that requires a preventative shot before chemical abortion. Women with that blood type who take chemical abortion pills can build antibodies that attack future children when blood mixes. Women need to be screened by a doctor to know whether this is a risk for them.

Despite the dangerous nature of these life-ending pills, on April 12, 2021, the FDA temporarily lifted restrictions on the chemical abortion pill due to COVID-19. The deadly pills can now be dispensed by mail. These aggressive efforts to decrease safety standards put women at risk of infection, infertility, serious injury, and even death.

Even if someone supports abortion, it should come as a shock that the FDA and powerful special- interest groups are pushing to loosen safety protocols for these dangerous drugs, thereby putting politics above health. The public should demand that their elected representatives keep the REMS in place for chemical abortion pills.

In addition, the public should know that there is an Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) process. APR consists of progesterone treatments that, if done soon enough, have a 64-68 percent success rate of stopping the abortion. To date, APR treatment has saved more than 2,000 babies, according to Heartbeat International.

PAUL M. JONNA is a partner with LiMandri & Jonna LLP and special counsel to the Thomas More Society. His practice focuses on complex civil litigation, including high-profile constitutional litigation and religious liberty cases. He is president of the San Diego Chapter of Legatus. He is married with six children.