Abortion pills found more dangerous than surgical procedures

May 10, 2011

Chemical abortions using the drug RU-486 are more dangerous to mothers than surgical abortions, an Australian study has found.

Researchers who examined almost 7,000 cases found that 3.3% of the women who used the "abortion pill" for first-trimester abortions had complications sufficient to put them in hospital emergency rooms. The comparable figure for surgical abortions was 2.2%. The differences were even more pronounced among women whose post-abortion complications required a hospital stay.

The study shows that the use of RU-486 involves significant medical risks. It also serves as a reminder that surgical abortion is not a risk-free procedure for a pregnant woman. The figures from the Australian study, applied to US abortion statistics, would indicate that more than 25,000 women appear in emergency rooms each year as a result of "safe, clean, legal" abortions.

 

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Further information:

• Abortion pill 'less safe than surgery' (The Australian)