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Chemical
Abortions: A New Battlefront
by Chris Hilton
Reproduced with permission from the
Central Christian Observer Vol. 2, Number 5, May 1996
The time is coming when a woman who desires to have an abortion
will be able to have one in the privacy of her home. All pro-life Christians
should be grieved in their hearts at this sad turn of events.
According
to an August 31, 1995 Wichita Eagle news article "Doctors can quickly
and effectively induce abortions at home with a combination of two drugs
already on the market for other uses, researchers reported in a study that
could preempt the debate over whether to make the French abortion pill
available in the United States." Dr. George Tiller (Wichita abortionist) is one
of the U.S. test sites for this new procedure. So far, the procedure has worked
over 90% of the time on women up to nine weeks pregnant.
The two drugs
that are used are methotrexate (an anti-cancer drug) and misoprostol (an
anti-ulcer drug). The procedure takes approximately seven to days to complete.
First, the woman is given an injection of methotrexate in her arm or buttocks.
She returns within a week to ten days later to the abortionist to have four
misoprostol tablets placed in her vagina. Within about two days severe cramping
and bleeding occur until she loses her baby. These drugs are already available
and approved by the FDA for other purposes. However, the procedure has not been
approved by the FDA. It is speculated that approval could take two to four
years.
According to the September 16th, 1995 issue of WORLD
magazine, American Life League President Judie Brown said "This chemical
combination represents an additional way for those committed to death at any
cost to chemically assault the innocent children whose mothers and fathers
desire the privacy and confidentiality of killing." Mark Gietzen, local
President of the Kansas Republican Coalition for Life stated in the September
1, 1995 edition of the Wichita Eagle that it "is just another convenient
way to kill a child."
Dr. Bobomir Kuhar, executive director of
Pharmacists for Life, said that the side effects of using these drugs can be
quite serious, even deadly. For methotrexate: kidney damage, chromosomal
damage, infertility, birth defects, induced cancer, liver toxicity,
convulsions, vomiting, diarrhea, inflammation of the tongue, severe blood
disorders, behavioral abnormalities, pneumonitis, fever, cough and death. Side
effects of misoprostol include: spotting, cramps, excessive menstrual period,
menstrual disorder, nausea, vomiting and headaches. (Information obtained from WORLD magazine, September 16, 1995, pg.
17).
As Christians, God has commanded in His Word for us to
"truly love your neighbor as yourself." That is why it is most important that
we stop this evil. It is disastrous both for the precious baby and for the
mother. Not only are there serious physical consequences but there are also
obvious psychological, moral and social consequences to this procedure as well.
Has anyone even considered what happens to the woman and her baby if she stops
mid-treatment? There are many other unanswered questions.
Additional
Reading:
The Real
Inconvenient Truth |
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