AUSTRALIA has reported its first medical abortion death of a woman who terminated her early pregnancy at home using the abortion pill otherwise known RU-486 or mifepristone.
Little is known about the details and circumstances surrounding her death including; her age, where she died, how many weeks she was pregnant, what type of medical abortion regimen was prescribed to her, or if the medical examiner tested her for a wide range of bacterial infections which includes the lethal Clostridium sordelli pathogen that has resulted in the majority of sepsis deaths in the U.S.
The country’s newspaper, The Australian, reported on March 19, 2012 that a woman died of sepsis “some days after” after she was prescribed an abortion pill regimen at one of Marie Stopes International Australia’s clinics back in 2010. (1) (2)
At that time, the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Marie Stopes International Australia (MSIA), TGA Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Gill, and well known abortion advocate Professor Caroline De Costa commented on medical abortion issues including; patient care, procedures, and the first known death in Australia from the mifepristone abortion pill.
However, on March 31, journalist Angela Shanahan, for The Australian angrily responded with her opinion about the danger signals in response to the abortion drug death: (47)
Angela Shanahan: “Why did it take two years for her death to become public? RU486 was legalized after great public outcry… Did the authorities not think the medical profession and public might like to know about this?” (47)
Angela Shanahan: "RU-486 (mifepristone) was supposed to be of huge benefit to women. The abortion pill was meant to prevent the problems associated with surgical abortions, the emotional and physical trauma and the ghastly possible complications, and suitable for women in remote areas which, as this poor woman's death shows, it definitely is not." (47)
Obviously, the debate about the risks of medical abortion in Australia is far from over.
This article will also briefly discuss Clostridium sordellii toxic as as an emerging infection following medical abortion, the experimental status of mifepristone in Australia, Marie Stopes International regimens, unapproved regimens used by in the U.S., and the international record of known medical abortion deaths as a result of the prescribed use of mifepristone and misoprostol to terminate early pregnancy.
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