Ru-486 Abortion Drug Exposition
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RU–486? Are you crazy? Otherwise know as the abortion pill, RU-486 has been at the centre of a controversial debate since the disconcerting and rather questionable introduction of a bill to legalise its use here in Australia. Not only does this drug eradicate the unborn child, it poses critical health risks to the woman, and in some cases even death. How much would you risk?
To begin with, I am not reprimanding those who choose to have abortions. I am merely providing factual evidence about the dangers of RU-486.
RU-468 is a drug that induces miscarriage if taken in the first trimester of pregnancy. It is advertised as a less invasive and non-surgical means of abortion; but supporters of the drug have failed to acknowledge the serious and documented health risks associated with RU-486.
The drug works by blocking the action of the hormone progesterone, which is vital in maintaining a successful pregnancy. After initial administration, RU-486 typically takes up to 5 days to terminate the pregnancy. If, for some reason, it fails to eradicate the pregnancy then the baby has a significantly increased chance of being born with acute defects. However, its the effects RU-486 has on the women that are most concerning.
In 2001, a trial study of the drug uncovered startling revelations about just how grave the effects of RU-486 were. Ninety nine percent of trial patients experienced at least one of the following side effects: Severe abdominal pains and chills, cardiovascular complications, rigorous, nausea, migraines, vomiting, prolonged heavy bleeding, skin rashes and violent diarrhoea. Eight out of every fourteen women were hospitalised with menacing infections, uterine haemorrhaging or massive blood loss. Over half of those women required blood transfusions or emergency surgery. In 10% of the women who use RU486, the drug fails to kill the developing child. These women usually have to have follow-up surgery.” 1
Eight RU-486 related deaths have occurred in recent years, and 676 “adverse event” reports were filed with the FDA (U.S.A. Food and Drug Administration). Out of the eight dead, two were due to toxic shock type syndrome which is in these cases, according to expert Dr. Ellen Wiebe, was “directly linked to the use of the abortion drug RU-486”.
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Two women who barley survived the grim effects of the drug likened their experience of days of copious bleeding to that of a running tap; “[it was] like a faucet was turned on. There was a steady stream of blood for days”. 2
In addition to the physical side-effects the women experiences, there is also an appalling psychological ordeal she must go through. This procedure forces the woman to live with her abortion for a minimum of a week, as that is how long the drug takes to work. These psychological side-effects can be much more damaging in the long run, with many of the experimental patients of RU-486 ending up in continual counselling. One woman was hospitalised at a latter stage in the trial for depression after she attempted to commit suicide.
When the drug was first introduced to the world, it was hailed