MEDIA RELEASE

11 March 2009

Family Planning Assn To Pressure Abortion Then Perform Them

Family First NZ is alarmed at the prospect of Family Planning applying to the Abortion Supervisory Committee for a license to use the abortion pill RU486 to perform abortions.

“This will mean that Family Planning will be able to talk women into having abortions, and then carry the procedure out on them,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ. “There is a huge conflict of interest here. Those offering advice shouldn't be the ones performing the abortions.”

“There is also huge concern about the drug's considerable harmful effects on women's health, with a US track record that includes deaths and over a thousand reports of complica­tions - many of them serious or life-threatening. RU-486 has produced none of the effects of normalising abortion that were predicted for it.”

The US FDA has released reports of complications including death resulting from:

 hemorrhage (excessive bleeding)

 serious and sometimes fatal infections

 missed diagnoses of ectopic pregnancy (outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube)

Up to 10% of women will still require surgical abortions to complete the process.

“There have been at least five deaths in the US that resulted directly from severe infection in the blood stream of women who took RU-486 orally. Each of these women became ill very quickly and died from the consequences of massive infection before anything could be done to save them.”

Family First is calling for informed consent (including ultrasound) for women considering an abortion, and a 'cooling period' before making the decision.

“We believe women and teenage girls are entitled to the truth when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, including all the options available.”

“Family Planning should be helping reduce our huge number of abortions in NZ which even pro-choice people would admit is too high – not facilitating it in an unsafe way,” says Mr McCoskrie.

ENDS

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