Pro-life group Live Action on Wednesday released a video that it says exposes “lies” spread by the Food and Drug Administration about RU-486, known as the “abortion pill.”
The video features former-abortionist-turned-pro-life-advocate Dr. Anthony Levatino, who discusses the danger posed to mothers who take RU-486.
By cutting off Progesterone, a hormone naturally produced by women, RU-486 breaks down the lining of the uterus, cutting off blood and nourishment to the child in the womb and killing it, Dr. Levatino said in the video.
He said after taking another drug called Misoprostol, which causes severe cramping, contractions and heavy bleeding in the uterus, the dead baby is forced out of the womb.
“The process can be very intense and painful, and the bleeding and contractions can last from a few hours to several days,” Dr. Levatino, who performed more than 1,200 abortions before becoming a pro-life advocate, says in the video.
“While she could lose her baby anytime and anywhere during this process, the woman will often sit on a toilet as she prepared to expel the child, which she will then flush,” he continues. “She may even see her dead baby within the pregnancy sac.”
Medical abortions cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and heavy bleeding. The bleeding lasts on average 9 – 16 days, but more than 30 days for 8 percent of women. One percent of women who take RU-486 require hospitalization for heavy bleeding, and maternal deaths have occurred due to infection.
If RU-486 is unsuccessful, then women generally pursue surgical abortions. The drug’s failure rate increases the later into a pregnancy it’s taken.
Despite the risks associated with RU-486, the FDA expanded recommended use of the pill from 7 weeks to 10 weeks. “This will inevitably lead to more women being subjected to two abortions, as abortionists must then perform follow-up surgical abortions to complete the procedure,” Live Action said in a press release.
Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, said that move was not “about making things better for women, but about President Obama paying back an industry that has given him millions in campaign contributions and now wants something in return.”
The Live Action video has been viewed more than 300,000 times on Facebook in 11 hours.
• Bradford Richardson can be reached at brichardson@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.