Illinois action blog

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Abortion Pill’s Use, Safety Seen on the Rise

As reported in the Chicago Tribune by Linda Johnson, Associated Press:

Roughly a fourth of American women getting early abortions last year did so with drugs rather than surgery, statistics show, as a new study reported improved safety in using the so-called "abortion pill."

Some experts predict the percentage of such "medical abortions," which offer more privacy than surgery at a clinic or hospital, will rise even more as a result of the new study.

"This is the first really huge documentation of how safe and effective medical abortion is," said Dr. Beverly Winikoff, a professor of family health and population at Columbia University.

Two pills are used to induce an abortion. The primary drug, Mifeprex, was first approved in the U.S. in 2000. Use has risen steadily, even though manufacturer Danco Laboratories LLC of New York has not promoted it and the drug can be obtained only at a clinic or doctor's office. Last year about 184,000 American women used Mifeprex.

Medical abortions now account for about a quarter of early abortions, a Dancospokeswoman said.

The research, done at Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide, analyzed medical abortions at Planned Parenthood centers from 2005 to mid-2008 -- about 228,000 cases. It found the abortion pill was about 98.5 percent effective and that changes in how the drugs were given reduced risk of a serious infection from barely 1 in 1,000 cases to 0.06 in 1,000.

The results are reported in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.

Meanwhile, a California-based federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that pharmacists are obliged to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the "morning after" contraceptive on religious grounds.

Technorati tags: Planned Parenthood, Abortion Pill

1 Comments:

Blogger Johnpaul said...

abortion pill There are many long term effects of abortion pills, therefore it is advisable to take them under medical supervision

December 23, 2011 at 12:43 AM  

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