FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 19, 2021
Contact: Prudence Robertson, [email protected] | 240-672-2828
Science Shows Chemical Abortion Complications Are a Growing Threat to Women’s Lives & Health
Washington, D.C. – Pro-abortion Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are pushing to permanently roll back longstanding federal safety regulations on abortion drugs, after the Biden administration announced earlier this year it would not enforce the requirement of an in-person doctor visit for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) criticized the move in a statement:
“Biden-Pelosi Democrats have exploited the pandemic as an excuse to roll back FDA safety regulations and turn every pharmacy and post office into an abortion center – a long-term goal of the radical abortion lobby. Now all pretense is removed,” said SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “With at least a fourfold higher rate of complications compared to surgical abortion, chemical abortion drugs are not safe for women or their unborn children. The profit-driven abortion industry would leave women to fend for themselves, without medical supervision, to face risks such as severe bleeding, infection, incomplete abortion, and in some instances even death.
“Pro-abortion Democrats’ agenda is reckless and extreme and the strong majority of Americans oppose it. We are grateful to all our allies in Congress and the states who are truly following the science, fighting back by advancing legislation to safeguard the vulnerable.”
Chemical abortions constitute a growing percentage of U.S. abortions. A Charlotte Lozier Institute analysis of the latest abortion data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services shows that, in that state alone in 2019, there was an almost 25% increase in chemical abortions, as well as a dramatic increase in incomplete abortions, which often require surgical intervention.
A recent national study, written in part by CLI scholars, examined cases of death and severe adverse events after chemical abortions nationwide, especially focusing on mifepristone, the first drug used in the two-part chemical abortion process.
The study analyzed complications which occurred between September 2000 and February 2019 in the U.S.:
- More than 20 women died of complications from chemical abortions.
- More than 500 life-threatening complications were reported.
- Nearly 2,000 “severe” complications were reported.
The study authors also estimated that complications are significantly underreported in the U.S., with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxing reporting requirements even further in 2016.
SBA List is a network of 900,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
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