Congressional investigation – Although you are not hearing anything from the media on congressional investigations into the sale of baby body parts, that effort is very much alive. The following is an excerpt from a press release issued just this week: “Chairman Marsha Blackburn today announced the issuance of 12 new subpoenas to organizations who have failed to fully cooperate with both requests for information and previous subpoenas from the Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives. The subpoenas were issued to StemExpress and related persons; individuals with relationships to the University of New Mexico; BioMed IRB—an online Institutional Review Board service that purports to provide IRB clearance for research on human subjects and for the transfer of fetal tissue; and Ganogen—a company that is involved in the use of aborted fetuses for research involving transplantation of human organs into animals.”
Blackburn stated, “There should be no resistance to letting all the facts come out—but some abortion supporters seem to be clearly rattled with basic facts coming to light. Therefore, in the interest of completing our investigation pursuant to H. Res. 461, we will continue to issue subpoenas when necessary to ensure information can be gathered in a timely fashion.”
FDA decision – This week, the Food and Drug Administration changed how the abortion pill can be used. These “medication abortions” actually require the giving of two different pills—mifepristone and misoprostol. The major changes (from the original approval in the year 2000) are:
- Approval for use up to 70 days gestation (10 weeks) instead of up to 49 days (7 weeks).
- The dosing for mifepristone is reduced from 600 mg to 200 mg.
- The dosing for misoprostol is increased from 400 mcg to 800 mcg.
- Misoprostol can now be taken at home by the woman. The need for a second visit to the physician—something that was required in the 2000 approval—no longer exists.
- Note: A follow-up appointment is still recommended 7-14 days after taking the mifepristone.
- Mifepristone, as originally approved, required supervision of a physician to dispense it to the patient. The new approval allows other healthcare providers to dispense it as long as they have authority to prescribe medication (e.g., nurse practitioners in some states).
Health professionals are very concerned with these changes because, under the original rules, there were many health problems and even a number of deaths. These new rules are expected to increase the problems and may cause more deaths of young women.
In 2015, Planned Parenthood began offering medication abortions at 25 more of its existing centers. Now we know why.