Just asking too much

Holly Patterson had just turned 18 on Sept. 10, 2003, when she went to Planned Parenthood for the abortion pill. But a week later, after numerous calls to the Planned Parenthood helpline and a trip to the emergency room, Holly’s dad Monty got the horrible news that his daughter was dying from an incomplete abortion and massive infection after an early medical pregnancy termination. Her father didn’t even know she was pregnant, and after the shock and pain of losing his daughter began a campaign to let women know about the risks.

Without taking sides in the hotbutton issue, he was convinced that women must be told the dangers of medication abortion to protect others from Holly’s fate. Besides launching the website abortionpillrisks.org, little else happened despite numerous interviews and trips to Washington to meet with officials at the Food and Drug Administration and White House.

As reported by LifeNews, the FDA indicated in 2015 that 22 women have died after taking the abortion pill since it was approved in 2000. Eighteen years later this method accounts for 25 percent of all abortions. While Planned Parenthood touts this method as safe, private and natural like a “miscarriage,” chemical abortion using the powerful drugs of mifepristone and misoprostol is anything but as told by the women who share their stories on the website. Maybe it is safe for most women, but for the woman who does experience serious and possible deadly complications, Planned Parenthood’s plan for a 24/7 nurse hot line is just not enough.

Act 577 was passed to require those who prescribe medication abortion to contract with a physician to treat complications of medical abortion to safeguard the lives of women who could end up like Holly Patterson. Dead. But for Planned Parenthood that’s asking too much. ROSE MIMMS Alexander