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TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state may not force pharmacies to sell Plan B or other emergency contraceptives, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, saying the state's true goal is to suppress religious objections by druggists — not to promote timely access to the medicines for people who need them. U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton heard closing arguments earlier this month in a lawsuit that claimed state rules violate the constitutional rights of pharmacists by requiring them to dispense such medicine. The state requires pharmacies to dispense any medication for which there is a community need and to stock a representative...

from JillStanek.com Call your senator NOW: Reid to allow vote on repeal of contraceptive mandateLast week Democrat pseudo-pro-life Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid blocked a vote on a bill sponsored by Republican pro-life Senator Roy Blunt to repeal President Obama’s contraception/abortifacient/sterilization mandate. Word this afternoon is Reid will allow the measure – #1520, the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act – to be voted on, as soon as today. These senators are said to be on the fence and need a call asap: Casey (PA) Conrad (ND) Johnson (SD) Landrieu (LA) Lieberman (CT) McCaskill (MO) Nelson (FL) Pryor (AR) Tester...

We previously reported that on August 13th the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new prescription abortion drug called "ella" allowing Watson Pharmaceuticals to market this drug in the U.S. as an "emergency contraceptive" (EC). While proponents of ella claim that it is more effective than the so-called "morning-after-pill," Plan B, ella can also function as an abortion drug more like RU-486. On December 1st, Watson Pharmaceuticals began to aggressively promote ella over the internet and in pharmacies. Because ella is similar in its chemical make-up to the abortion drug RU-486, it therefore can destroy an implanted embryo, in...

BEIJING — A huge state-owned Chinese pharmaceutical company that exports to dozens of countries, including the United States, is at the center of a nationwide drug scandal after nearly 200 Chinese cancer patients were paralyzed or otherwise harmed last summer by contaminated leukemia drugs. Chinese drug regulators have accused the manufacturer of the tainted drugs of a cover-up and have closed the factory that produced them. In December, China’s Food and Drug Administration said that the Shanghai police had begun a criminal investigation and that two officials, including the head of the plant, had been detained. The drug maker, Shanghai...

"U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, center, poses for a photograph with well-wishers outside the Helen B. Atkinson Health Center in Harlem, Monday, Aug. 7, 2006, in New York, following a press conference at the center calling for a decision on 'Plan B' emergency birth control by Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew Von Eschenbach, who, Clinton says, has delayed a decision on Plan B's application." "U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton , D-NY, third from right, greets well-wishers outside the Helen B. Atkinson Health Center in Harlem, Monday, Aug. 7, 2006, in New York, following a press conference calling for a decision...

State health officials on Wednesday shut down a Birmingham abortion clinic after a woman was told she was six weeks pregnant and given an abortion-inducing drug, then delivered a 6 pound, 4 ounce stillborn child at a local hospital.[Not the abortion clinic] The State Board of Health issued an emergency order of license suspension on Wednesday against Summit Medical Center of Alabama on Southside. “That’s not something we do very often,” said Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer. “The incident involved multiple and serious violations of the rules. There was no other means to address it except an emergency suspension.”...

(AgapePress) - A women's pro-life group says pro-abortion forces and the maker of a dangerous abortion pill don't want the product pulled from the market, even while medical evidence against it mounts. Meanwhile, a government corruption watchdog group says it has proof the Clinton administration inappropriately used its political prowess to put the drug on the shelf in the first place.A public workshop sponsored by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was held in Atlanta last week in response to the deaths of more women being attributed to the abortion drug RU 486 or to complications from taking the drug,...

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Reports of rare bacterial infections, including a handful of cases in women who have taken the controversial RU-486 abortion pill, are cause for concern and warrant further study, U.S. health experts said on Thursday. Two sometimes fatal bugs -- Clostridium sordellii and Clostridium difficile -- are a particular worry as antibiotic resistance grows and infections occur in people without typical risk factors, doctors and researchers said. While the infections also have been reported in drug users, surgical patients and accident victims, including men, those found in women taking the pill drew the most scrutiny at a public...

(AgapePress) - A pro-life activist says while the abortion lobby "plays with numbers," women are dying from the use of the abortion drug RU-486.According to Randall O'Bannon, a researcher with the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the pro-abortion lobby claims more than half a million women have taken RU-486 -- also known as mifepristone -- with only a handful of problems occurring. However, he contends, this claim about the broad-scale use and low incidence of complications "doesn't seem to be true on either side."Since RU-486 was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, six women in...

See for example this thread first. Planned Parenthood said that they will Change their use of the Mifeprex pill And if you ask, "Why?" Well, womyn might die (That's not quite who they meant to kill !)

FALLOUT from this week's heated showdown over abortion continued yesterday after supporters of the new law were pictured celebrating their victory. Victorian Liberal MP Chris Pearce criticised a group of female MPs and senators for sipping champagne soon after Parliament paved the way for RU486's use in Australia. Senators Lyn Allison, Judith Troeth and Fiona Nash, and Labor MPs Kelly Hoare and Julia Gillard were among those drinking to their success after the conscience vote. Mr Pearce, who backed the Bill, said it was a tasteless gesture. "Pictures of the women sipping champagne was outrageous and over the top," he...

A 20-Year Journey: The History of the Abortion Pill Hosted By: Michelle La Mothe, MD, MPH, MSc, Consultant: Professional Education, Public Health and Medical Communications Participants: Richard Hausknecht, MD - Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Danco Laboratories Beverly Winikoff, MD, MPH - Population Council Webcast Transcript: Recorded Live: November 9 2000 MICHELLE LA MOTHE, MD: Hello. Welcome to our webcast. I'm Dr. Michelle La Mothe. Recently approved by the FDA, mifepristone, long known as RU-486, has a long history of development. It was first developed in France but it has taken 20 years for this drug to be approved in...

<p>BOSTON (AP) -- Three Massachusetts women backed by pro-abortion rights groups sued Wal-Mart on Wednesday, saying the retail giant violated a state regulation by failing to stock emergency contraception pills in its pharmacies.</p> <p>The suit filed in Suffolk Superior Court seeks a court order compelling the company to stock the so-called "morning after pill," in its 44 Wal-Marts and four Sam Club stores in Massachusetts, all of which have pharmacies.</p>

WASHINGTON — Not only is the abortion pill RU-486 killing babies, Maryland Rep. Roscoe Bartlett said Wednesday, it's now known to kill their mothers and should be banned immediately. Bartlett held a news conference Wednesday to boost passage of his legislation, commonly known as "Holly's Law," which calls for the Food and Drug Administration's suspension of RU-486. "I don't want it on the market," the pro-life Republican said. "We need to be responsible. We need to move on this. This is a very modest bill." The bill has 79 other co-sponsors, including Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio. "Too many girls have...

ONE of the sponsors of laws to allow Australians to use the abortion pill RU486 said the issue can be divorced from the morals debate over abortion. The inquiry into the controversial abortion-inducing drug closed for public submissions this week after receiving more than 4000 responses. Parliament was expected to take a conscience vote early this year on whether to allow a government health agency to assess the drug for use. New South Wales Nationals Senator Fiona Nash, who co-introduced the legislation to the Senate last year, said the laws could be separated from the abortion issue. "This is a...

Source: Annals of Pharmacotherapy 12/27/05 First Analysis Of FDA's Mifepristone Adverse Event Reports The abortion drug mifepristone (Mifeprex,TM RU-486), initially touted as a more convenient alternative to surgical abortion, has been linked to serious adverse reactions, including several deaths in otherwise healthy women. In "Analysis of Severe Adverse Events Related to the Use of Mifepristone as an Abortifacient," researchers Margaret M Gary MD and Donna J Harrison MD provide an in-depth study of mifepristone adverse event data gathered through the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System. Their research is available now at The Annals of Pharmacotherapy Online (www.theannals.com) and will appear...

Scientists have pinpointed the deadly bacterium responsible for the death of four US women who underwent abortion induced by prescription medications. Medical experts now warn that such procedures might carry a greater mortality risk than surgical abortions. Women often opt to take the so-called 'abortion pill' mifepristone, which is approved for use in early pregnancy, for privacy reasons; they can receive it from a doctor without having to visit an abortion clinic. Some women taking the medication also say that drug-induced termination feels more natural than the prospect of a surgical procedure. Although mifepristone first became available in Europe in...

Federal drug regulators have discovered that all four women in this country who died after taking an abortion pill suffered from a rare and highly lethal bacterial infection, a finding that is leading to new scrutiny of the drug's safety. Since all four deaths occurred in California, an unusual clustering, the Food and Drug Administration quietly tested to see if abortion pills distributed in California were somehow contaminated. They were not. Stumped, officials from the F.D.A. and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have decided to convene a scientific meeting early next year to discuss this medical mystery,...

Health officials are investigating whether there are any links in the cases of four California women — at least two in Los Angeles County — who have died since 2003 of massive infection after taking the so-called abortion pill, RU-486, and a follow-up drug. The state and federal probe follows an announcement last month by the Food and Drug Administration, after the June death of a Sherman Oaks woman, warning doctors and patients of the potential for serious bacterial infection under certain circumstances. At the heart of the inquiry in California are why and how the deadly infections developed and...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Gov. George Pataki will veto legislation that would allow women to buy the "morning-after" pill without a prescription, a decision described by abortion rights advocates as "sheer political expediency" to build conservative support for a 2008 presidential run. Pataki disclosed his plans Sunday night through spokesman Kevin Quinn. "Consistent with his record on women's reproductive issues, the governor plans to veto the legislation primarily because it provides no protection whatsoever for minors," Quinn said. "If this and other flaws in the bill are addressed, and a responsible version of the bill is advanced, the governor would...

FDA Issues Health Advisory for Mifepristone Citing Four Sepsis-Related Deaths Among Users; Drug Labeling To Be Updated 21 Jul 2005 FDA on Tuesday issued a... public health advisory warning physicians to watch for any signs of sepsis or other infection among women who have taken Danco Laboratories' Mifeprex -- known generically as mifepristone -- which when taken with misoprostol can cause a medical abortion, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The agency is investigating four sepsis-related deaths among women who took the drug, including two cases reported to FDA in April and June (Neergaard, AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 7/20). Physicians have identified the bacterium...

Springfield, IL (LifeNews.com) -- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich now faces a lawsuit over his executive order requiring pharmacists in the state to fill all legal prescriptions for any drugs -- including birth control or morning after pills that some pharmacists believe cause abortions. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a pro-life law firm, filed suit in state court on behalf of two pharmacists who say dispensing such drugs violates their moral beliefs. They contend they should not be required to participate in the abortions the drugs may cause or to contribute to a customer's sexual activity. The ACLJ...

(CNSNews.com) - A conservative group is posting on its website public documents from the FDA that reveal about 600 reports of "serious complications" suffered by women who used the abortion drug RU-486. Concerned Women for America gained access to the FDA's documents through the Freedom of Information Act. The FDA removed all personal-identifying medical information from the women's medical records so the public can examine the dangers of the drug without compromising the patients' privacy. "Abortion proponents claim that RU-486 is safe. These documents prove otherwise," said Wendy Wright, CWA's senior policy director. "When the FDA [Food and Drug Administration]...

(CNSNews.com) - The family of a teenage girl who died after taking an abortion-inducing drug is suing the manufacturer of RU-486 for failing to warn about the drug's serious health risks. The lawsuit was filed last week in Alameda County, Calif., on behalf of Monty and Deborah Patterson, the parents of 18-year-old Holly Patterson, who died in September 2003 of septic shock after taking RU-486. Her parents said they knew nothing about Holly's pregnancy, which was about seven weeks along, or her attempt to end it. One pro-life group called the Pattersons' lawsuit "well-deserved." "Holly Patterson paid the ultimate price...

Apr. 05 (CWNews.com) - Ostensibly, the main argument for legal abortion over the past 35 years or so has been to rescue women from the horrors of resorting to "back-alley" abortions. Of course, pro-lifers reject this argument claiming there is no such thing as "safe" abortion even when it is legal under civil codes. It is fatal for the child involved one hundred percent of the time--a fact most abortion proponents refuse to deal with. Some, if they do acknowledge the humanity of the child at all will flatly state they do not care--the woman is more important. Pro-lifers also...

Planned Parenthood out of Sierra Vista, for now BY DANA COLE Sierra Vista Herald/Review SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA -- The Planned Parenthood health center of Sierra Vista will be closing its doors on Jan. 27. After providing services at the 1658 E. Fry Blvd. location for 20 years, the agency will not be receiving a lease renewal from its Tucson-based landlord, Can USA Management Services. Planned Parenthood, a not-for-profit organization, offers a range of reproductive health care services, including counseling, contraceptive options, reproductive information and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. Through its years in Cochise County, the agency helped...

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- In an open letter written today to members of Congress, the parents of Holly Patterson, the California teenager who died after taking the RU 486 abortion drug, endorsed legislation that would suspend the FDA's approval of the drug pending a Congressional review. "We will actively support 'Holly's Law' in Congress by Reps. DeMint, Bartlett and Senator Brownback to suspend and review the abortion drug RU 486," Monty and Helen Patterson say in their letter. "Holly depended on the safety of the FDA approved pill administered by Planned Parenthood," the Pattersons continued. "The FDA has failed to...

<p>The Alameda County coroner's office is investigating the case of an 18- year-old East Bay woman who died Wednesday, days after reportedly taking the abortion pill RU-486.</p> <p>The victim's father told The Chronicle that his 18-year-old daughter had gotten a prescription for RU-486 at a Planned Parenthood office in Hayward on Sept. 10 to end her seven-week pregnancy.</p>

Abortion pill is rarely used by U.S. women, report says 01/21/2003 By SHERRY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News American women seeking to end a pregnancy have been slow to use the so-called abortion pill, according to the first report issued since the drug's approval more than two years ago. About 37,000 women used mifepristone, or RU-486, to end a pregnancy in the first half of 2001, said Lawrence B. Finer, assistant director of research for the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit company that tracks U.S. abortion trends. "It represents about 6 percent of the total abortions in that...

Two years after the abortion pill was introduced in the United States, abortion providers say that only a small percentage of women seeking abortions are using it and few doctors outside of abortion clinics are offering it. The distributor for Mifeprex, the abortion-inducing pill once known as RU-486, said yesterday that more than 100,000 women in America had used the drug since it went on sale in November 2000. In that time, however, about 2.6 million women in America had abortions, and about half of them had abortions within seven weeks of pregnancy, the time when Mifeprex could be used....

FDA Approval For RU-486 Ought To Be Aborted By Paul M. Weyrich [Pro-Life Infonet Note: Paul M. Weyrich is President of the Free Congress Foundation.] Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest women's group, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Christian Medical Association have done the Bush Administration and the nation a great favor. They have filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration requesting that the FDA immediately revoke its approval of RU486, the abortion pill. The petition, some 186 pages of carefully crafted legal arguments, demonstrates that the Clinton administration pressured the FDA...