Bob McCoskrie, leader of Family First New Zealand draws our attention to the first big published study comparing complications from the abortion pill (RU486) with complications from standard surgical terminations across the ditch in Australia,
The “audit” of nearly 7000 abortions performed in South Australia in 2009 and last year found that 3.3 per cent of women who used mifepristone in the first trimester of pregnancy – when most elective terminations occur – later turned up at hospital emergency departments, against 2.2 per cent who had undergone surgery.
And the rate of hospital admission jumped to 5.7 per cent for recipients of early “medical” abortions – using drugs – compared with 0.4 per cent for surgical patients re-admitted for post-operative treatment.
As a side-note of interest – in New Zealand, resulting complications are only recorded up until the time that mothers are permitted to leave the premises where their pre-born child was killed. Subsequent complications – later that day, or later that week – are chalked up as separate events and, conveniently, statistics for these subsequent complications are not collected. The article continues,
The findings will undermine a selling point of medical abortion – that the risk of complication is less than or equivalent to an operation – and play into the hands of opponents of the rollout of mifepristone, or RU486…
They found the incidence of serious complication was also higher for medical abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy. Two of the 5823 surgical patients suffered severe haemorrhage, involving the loss of more than a litre of blood. This equated to a rate of one in 3000, the study found. Four of the 947 women who had medical abortions had the same problem, lifting the rate to one in 200.
Hospital admission for infection was one in 1500 for early surgical abortion, against one in 480 for medical abortions, the study found. Dr Mulligan pointed out that the number of complications was so small it could be regarded as statistically insignificant.
But complications from second-trimester medical abortions – often done after the detection of fetal abnormality – happened in up to 33 per cent of the cases reviewed.
Professor de Costa, the Cairns-based obstetrician who set up the country’s first mifepristone program after playing a lead role in overturning a ban on its importation, said the complication rates in SA were low overall. He attempted to play down the findings of the study,
“I would emphasise… that these are the first figures for a procedure that is new for the people doing it and the abortion process occurs at home,” Professor de Costa said.”
It will come as no great surprise to pro-lifers that complications resulting from the use of RU486 are shown to be more prolific in this study. RU486 was invented by Dr Etienne-Emily Baulieu in France in 1980. He stated at the time that using the drug was not a simple procedure and was, “an appalling psychological ordeal for women” – because she has to live with her abortion process for a week, or longer.
The Family Planning Association of New Zealand recently applied for a license to commit RU486 abortions at its Hamilton clinic – with the stated goal of shortly afterwards rolling out the deadly drug to all of its 30 clinics around New Zealand. Congratulations to Ken Orr of Right to Life, whose tireless work leading the campaign against the FPA’s application has – for the time being kept mothers and their pre-born children safe from this dangerous child-killing drug.
