Those who view the abortion pill RU-486 as immoral are bound to jump on reports to the FDA of two more deaths from sepsis linked to use of the pill, for a total of five deaths of U.S. women since the pill went on the market in 2000. But the four sepsis cases were in women who used the hormone pill "off-label" in an effective but unrecommended manner eg inserting it in the vagina.
The true risk of the pill should be measured against the real risks of infection from surgical abortion and of childbirth itself (pregnancy is particularly dangerous for young teens). According to the AP, Steven Galson, head of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Regulation, made that comparison:
The abortion pill remains safe enough to stay on the market, Galson stressed. The rate of sepsis is about 1 in 100,000 uses of the Mifeprex system, comparable to infection risks with surgical abortions and childbirth.
"There are no alarm bells going off with this rate," he said.
In the U.S. the maternal death rate remains high and largely intractable: on average 12 deaths per 100,000 live births according to the CDC. For black women in the U.S. the maternal death rate is almost three times higher than that.
I'm hardly suggesting that women take abortion pills to avoid the risk of childbirth. Just saying that being female and fertile involves extra risk however you decide to manage a pregnancy.
VIA Girl in the Locker Room!
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