November 1, 2003

California Senator Boxer opposed FDA restrictions on abortion drug suspected in woman's death

Holland, Michigan—On September 17, 2003 Holly Patterson, an 18 year old California woman, died within days of taking Mifeprex (RU-486 or mifepristone) and misoprostol in a medical abortion attempt. She obtained the medications from the Planned Parenthood office in Hayward, California. She apparently died from an infection secondary to the medical abortion process, based on data obtained from recently released autopsy reports.

Ironically, a Senator from California, Barbara Boxer (D), sought to bring her political clout to bear on the FDA approval process for Mifeprex. In a June 2000 letter to the FDA, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Senator Boxer decried any safeguards sought by the FDA in an attempt to avoid harm to women who might obtain a medical abortion. Senator Boxer effectively urged the FDA to forego any restrictions on dispensing Mifeprex.

That one of her own constituents should fall victim to the use of this medical abortion regimen is indeed sad. The American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, together with the Christian Medical Association and Concerned Women for America filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA in 2002, citing numerous violations of FDA policy and other problems that occurred with the approval process for Mifeprex. We requested that the approval for this medication be rescinded until these concerns were adequately addressed.

Note: To view the letter, you must use the computer program Adobe Acrobat Reader. It is available free of charge but must be downloaded to your computer.