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AN UPDATE FROM LIFE
ISSUES INSTITUTE
RU 486 Not As Easy as Promised,
Say Women and Abortionists
"Abortion pill doesn’t live up to its hype," said the
headline of the May 22, 1994, Albany, New York Times Union.
The article described how euphoria has turned to caution as
women and abortionists learn more about what an RU 486 abortion
really means. Since that time a few news stories have begun
to provide a glimpse of the severe physical and psychological
pain that some women experience from a RU 486 abortion.
These important revelations stand in sharp contrast to the
overwhelmingly laudatory print and electronic media coverage
of RU 486 during the past decade. Another point of interest
is the number of women quoted who have had both surgical and
chemical abortions. While the reporter obviously selected
them in order to make a comparison between the two techniques,
including them also reinforces the pro-life position that
abortion is being used as birth control because these women
are having their second – or in some cases third –
abortion. The reporters usually utilize pseudonyms to protect
the women’s identities.
What Aborted Women Say
Patient #001, a 30-year-old blue-collar worker, Des
Moines Planned Parenthood RU 486 trial.
"I was very nauseous in a couple of hours [after taking RU
486]. I threw up constantly for three days. I went to work.
Luckily, there’s a restroom in my department. I moved
a little slower. Usually, I’m very upbeat, but I wasn’t
for those three days. It was like food poisoning. I couldn’t
keep anything down.
"I went in on Friday and took the second dose of medication
[the prostaglandin Cytotec]. After 15 minutes there was a
tiny bit of cramping, but less than menstrual cramps. After
two hours the cramps got stronger, and I started using a heating
pad on my belly. I went to the restroom. When I started to
stand, it was like a faucet turned on. There was a steady
stream of blood. I passed a golfball-sized blood clot that
scared me. I thought maybe it was the fetus.
"The cramps stayed steady. In the last 15 minutes of my appointment,
I was doubled over. The bleeding was very heavy, heavier than
a period. My mom drove me home. By this time, I was bleeding
severely, and I had diarrhea. It reminded me of the way you
bleed after you give birth. Maybe a woman that hasn’t
given birth might be a little more distressed.
"I aborted at 6:30 on Friday night. I heard it fall into
the toilet. It looked like a blood clot. I cried when I knew
it had passed - partly from relief, partly from sadness. I
knew it was over."
Source: Andrea Sachs, Abortion Pills on Trial," TIME
(Dec. 5, 1994), p. 45.
"Angie," unmarried 20-year-old with two children,
Des Moines Planned Parenthood RU 486 trial.
"I started to bleed like menstruation. But nothing really
happened until the next day. I was having deep cramping when
I went to the bathroom, and it was like turning a water jug
upside down. I looked at the fetus and was disgusted. I flushed
before I got sick to my stomach."
Source: Andrea Sachs, "Abortion Pills on Trial," TIME
(Dec. 5, 1994). P. 46.
"Aimee," 17-year-old American who had a RU
486 abortion in Britain.
"She grimaced. She had never known pain this bad, she said….Taking
the RU 486 pill for an abortion was worse than she had expected.
‘I felt like I was dying,’ she said minutes after
expelling the tiny sac that contained the one-eighth-inch-long
fetus. ‘It hurt so much. I had contractions coming so
fast, and I was sick to my stomach and dry heaving. I couldn’t
stop trembling and I felt so hot.’"
Source: Nina Darnton, "Surprising Journal for Abortion
Drug," New York Times (March 23, 1994), p. B7.
"Katherine Foucault," a 30-year-old television producer,
who had a RU 486 abortion in France.
"‘I was awake during the surgical abortion,’
she said. ‘Only local anesthesia was used. I felt some
pain – but the next day I was fine. It was over. I forgot
about it. "This latest experience with RU 486 was quite different.
It didn’t hurt, but I had strong contractions. Waiting
to use the bathroom in the clinic, I knew I was bleeding heavily,
it wasn’t easy to wait…. "Alone in the bathroom,
I pushed hard, very hard, until I felt something pass. I spent
a minute looking at it. I wanted to reach out and touch it.
It was so small, I thought. In eight months this could have
been a baby.
"My boyfriend was with me in the clinic. He said he didn’t
want to see it, didn’t want to have the vision in his
head. He said to me ‘This will not free you, showing
it to me, or make it easier for you.’ So I didn’t.
I didn’t cry then, but later, that afternoon, I did.
Maybe I hadn’t been careful with contraception because
subconsciously I wanted to have a child. More than a child,
I wanted to make a family. But seeing this made me realize
– you don’t play with life. "Now, I’m on
the Pill, and I ended that relationship."
Source: Louise Levathes, Hippocrates (February 1995),
pp. 43-44.
"Julie Beale," 21-year-old American, who had
a RU 486 abortion in France.
"That was the case with Julie Beale, a 21-year-old American
studying in Paris. ‘I was at the clinic about six hours
when finally I expelled it. When I looked at it, it had two
dark spot like eyes and a little skeleton not quite formed.’
"‘You saw that?’ I asked.
"‘Yes.’
"‘Are you sure? At 49 days, there is only the amnion
sac.’
"‘Yes, I think about this often. I haven’t talked
about it to anyone. I fell quite empty. If I had expelled
this at home, I’m sure I would have kept it. I couldn’t
have just flushed it down the toilet. Here, at the clinic,
they put a border on your actions. Maybe that’s good."’
Source: Louise Levathes, Hippocrates (February 1995),
p. 44
"Fiona," 30-year-old divorced women with two children,
had a RU 486 abortion in Great Britain. "When I found out
that I was six weeks pregnant, I went to a private clinic
to ask about a termination. I had already had one surgical
abortion and I was worried about the physical burden of another.
I had read all about the abortion pill, and thought this would
be a far less traumatic method. It cost about the same - £200.
I must say that I hadn’t realized that the pill method
would take about four days in all, and that you weren’t
given painkillers. The counselor also warned me that not very
much was known about side-effects, but it was certainly a
safe method.
"I took the first three tablets and then went back to work.
I felt very strange. I still felt pregnant, but knew that
I was going to lose the baby. The process had started and
it was inevitable. I knew I couldn’t change my mind,
and not go through the second stage, because the fetus would
still be irreparably damaged. But you have so long to reflect
on it, and I became quite upset.
"The second stage was pretty awful. About an hour after taking
the prostaglandin pessary [the prostaglandin Gemeprost as
a vaginal suppository] I began bleeding. Then, during the
day, the pain became very strong. It was just like early labor.
I remember finally dispelling the fetus, which looked like
a sort of white kidney. The nurse told me it was ‘beautifully
formed.’ Another pregnant woman expelled her fetus at
home and had to bring it in a jam jar.
"You have to be very confident to choose this method. It
may be physically more natural, but psychologically it hits
you much harder. You preside over the killing of a baby, completely
unblinkingly. For women who are confused or vulnerable, and
of course, so many are in this position, it is really terrible."
Source: "One Woman’s Experience," London Evening
Standard (Dec. 4, 1993).
"Woman A," in her early twenties who obtained
a RU 486 abortion in Britain in 1992.
"I used the [RU 486] method twice, once in February and then
in May. The first time didn’t seem to affect me at all….
"The second time was awful. I would not want my worst enemy
to go through what I had to go through. There was an extreme
amount of bleeding from the time I took the tablets to when
I had the pessary [prostaglandin vaginal suppository]. The
thought that I could have been in a bedsit, for instance,
and not had toilets available was too horrible to contemplate.
I was wiped out for three or four weeks. I am a very fit person,
and for a week I could just about walk to the end of the garden
and back….
"The amount of bleeding the second time around was a drawback,
but possibly to be expected maybe, I don’t know. I think
my body was quite battered after the first time so my resistance
was slightly lower the second time."
Source: "The woman’s point of view," Running An
Early Medical Abortion Service, Mifepristone [RU 486] in Practice
(London: Birth Control Trust, 1994), p. 44
"Woman C," in her early twenties who obtained
a RU 486 abortion in Britain in 1992.
"I felt some grumblings of pain and tried to ignore it. It
got worse and worse and I took some tablets, but for some
reason I had a very severe reaction and felt like I was going
into labor. I don’t know what labor is, because I haven’t
had any children, but that’s what I would imagine it
would be like.
"I had a very difficult time. In the end, because I was writhing
around so much they took me down to surgery and I had a surgical
abortion. At that point they did tell me that my cervix was
dilating and it probably would have gone through. But by that
time I was so tense and upset, and not really in control at
all, and I think it was quite frightening for most people
so they took me down to surgery."
Source: "The woman’s point of view," Running An
Early Medical Abortion Service, Mifepristone [RU 486] in Practice
(London: Birth Control Trust, 1994), p. 46
"Lillian," age 27, a store clerk, has previous surgical
abortion, Brookline, MA Planned Parenthood RU 486
trial.
"‘I felt two or three sharp cramps and then I expelled
the pregnancy,’ said Lillian. I felt deeply sand and
relieved at the same time. I wanted to take it and bury it.
I was grateful that I was able to see it and mourn it.’
"She said she found herself talking aloud to what had been
aborted, saying ‘Your timing’s really bad. But
I don’t hate you. I’m making this decision with
you in mind. I hope you’ll come back to me when I’m
ready to love you.’"
Source: Judith Gaines, "Women describe pros, cons of RU 486,"
Boston Globe (May 8, 1995), P. 8
"Marilyn," unmarried 20 year old, had surgical
abortion in October and RU 486 abortion in December in the
Des Moines, IA Planned Parenthood trial.
"Marilyn is most bothered by the explicit nature of a medical
[chemical] abortion.
"The second time, I saw a lot more – I didn’t
like that,’ she says. "I passed (the fetus) during the
second visit and I knew when it happened. When I went
through the surgical process, it was over and done in one
visit and you don’t see anything. The second time [with
RU 486], the process takes three days and you’re always
thinking about it. Emotionally, it was a lot harder.
"‘During the entire time, all these thoughts go through
your head and it’s much more difficult to deal with.’
"Taking the pills, says Marilyn, was more intrusive and graphic
than a surgical abortion. If she were to get pregnant again,
she would choose the surgical process."
Source: "The Morning After Pill," Cityview (Des Moines,
IA) (March 22, 1995), p. 7Comments by Abortionists and
Abortion Advocates
Edouard Sakiz, then-chairman and CEO of Roussel Uclaf:
"As abortifacient procedures go, RU 486 is not at all easy
to use. In fact, it is much more complex to use than the technique
of vacuum extraction. True, no anesthetic is required. But
a woman who wants to end her pregnancy has to ‘live’
with her abortion for at least a week using this technique.
It’s an appalling psychological ordeal."
Source: Interview, "Drug firm defends marketing strategy
on abortion pill," Guardian Weekly (United Kingdom)
(August 19, 1989), originally published in the French newspaper
LeMonde.
Christian Frenpzel, nurse at Broussais abortion facility
in France:
"Nurse Frenpzel remembers a day during the 63-day trials
when she went to the back of the clinic and saw six surgical
dishes with six embryos in them by the sink. ‘It was
upsetting,’ she said. ‘It was like looking at
a little row of people. The women too were shocked when they
looked at what they had expelled.’
"‘Last year we performed more than 200 abortions using
RU 486 up to 63 days,’ she said, ‘but I hope I
never, never have to do it again.’"
Source: Louise Levathe, Hippocrates (Feb.
1995), p.45.
Dr. Judith Tyson, abortionist, medical director of
Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, who is
conducting a RU 486 trial:
"We’ve had a few patients who’ve been somewhat
shocked at the tissue they passed, at seeing the little bubble
there, the sac and placenta," said Dr. Judy Tyson, the medical
director of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, who
supervises the Vermont mifepristone [RU 486] trial. "Some
women just don’t want to know about it. And while some
women have very little pain, most do have a lot of cramping,
similar to a miscarriage. And some have heavy bleeding, which
can go on for days."
Source: Tamar Lewin, "Clinical Trials Giving Glimpses of
Abortion Pill, New York Times (January 30, 1995) p.
A1.
Abortionist, RU 486 clinical trial in St. Louis:
"Using this drug requires that the woman take responsibility
for what happens," says the doctor who will conduct the local
clinical trials. "She is the one who is going to have to swallow
the pill. She’s going to be very aware of what it does
to her body.
"The woman who uses it is going to bleed and pass tissue,"
the doctor said. "Not every woman is going to want to experience
that. Some will continue to prefer the surgical procedure
which shields them from what is happening."
Source: Martha Shirk, "Abortion Pill To Be Tested Here,"
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (April 7, 1995), p. 10A.
Alexander C. Sanger, president of Planned Parenthood of New
York City:
"Not every woman wants it," says Alexander C. Sanger, president
of Planned Parenthood of New York City and grandson of Margaret
Sanger, the birth control pioneer. "Most young women don’t
want the pain and don’t want to be awake."
Source: Katherine Q. Seelye, "Abortion Pill Doesn’t
Live Up To Its Hype," Times Union (Albany, NY) (May
22, 1994).
Sandra Waldman, spokesperson for Population Council,
sponsor of the U.S. RU 486 trials:
"It’s not simple, and that’s why women are given
painkillers," says Sandra Waldman of the Population Council,
the New York City-based contraceptive research organization
that will conduct clinical trials in a dozen cities with RU
486 this fall.
Source: Katherine Q. Seelye, "Abortion Pill Doesn’t
Live Up To Its Hype," Times Union (Albany, NY) (May
22, 1994).
Jill June, president of Planned Parenthood of Greater
Iowa, sponsor of a RU 486 trial:
"This [RU 486 abortion technique] requires more of a time
commitment than surgery. It’s a lengthy process," says
Jill June, the president of Planned Parenthood of Greater
Iowa. "And women will be dealing with blood that, in a surgical
abortion, only medical professionals would see."
Source: Andrea Sachs, "Abortion Pills on Trial", Time
(Dec. 5, 1994), p. 46.
Sally Burgess-Griffin, director of Hope Clinic for
Women, Granite City, Illinois, sponsor of RU 486 trial:
"Glasow argues that there is no guarantee a woman will return
for the follow-up and could have a deformed baby if the pregnancy
continues." Griffin says, "Any drug taken during pregnancy
has risks. I have not heard of any cases of (deformed babies
born after administration of RU 486)", she said, "but that
wouldn’t be surprising to me, frankly."
Source: Teri Maddox, "RU 486, Debate Over Safety, Morality
Continues During Hope Clinic Testing", News-Democrat,
(Belleville, IL) (August 15, 1995).
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