National Right To Life – The nation’s oldest and largest pro-life organization today warned that a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow expanded use of the abortion drug RU-486 doesn’t mean an increase in safety for women using the abortion method. In response to the FDA’s action, the following statement may be attributed to National Right to Life Director of Education and Research Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D.

Many suspected that today’s announcement by the FDA was a long time coming. Despite a record of at least 14 known deaths, and thousands of women suffering significant adverse events, the FDA relaxed safety standards and modified the protocol for mifepristone/misoprostol chemical abortions that had been in place since September of 2000.

Certainly, none of the modifications is of any benefit to the unborn child.

For women, the mifepristone/misoprostol combination comes with significant cramping, bleeding, and other gastrointestinal side effects (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea) that are expected parts of the chemical abortion process.

While it may be claimed that these side effects are supposed to be reduced with the new protocol, chemical abortions simply do not occur without significant bleeding, cramping, etc. That these side effects are similar to signs of ruptured ectopic pregnancy, serious infection, or may be the prelude to significant hemorrhage that could be missed by patients or even doctors expecting these as part of any chemical abortion would still appear to be a problem under any protocol.

It is clear whose interests it is the FDA is serving. It isn’t the women, and it isn’t the babies.