Teenager
dies after taking abortion pill
SAN
FRANCISCO (AP) -- Holly Marie Patterson
went to a Planned Parenthood clinic earlier
this month to quietly consider ways to handle
a life change she wasn't ready for. One
week later, the 18-year-old lay dying on
an emergency room table, the victim of complications
after she took the abortion pill.
Patterson's
death is sure to reignite the debate surrounding
RU-486, the pill approved by the Food and
Drug Administration two years ago as a way
for women to end pregnancies themselves.
Her
death has already caused her grief-stricken
father to hope that the tragedy will encourage
other women considering abortion to seek
support, especially from their families.
''Every
time I think about it, I think, 'She suffered
in silence,''' said Monty Patterson. ''She
felt she would disappoint everyone around
her, and then she had to carry that whole
load. I wish she could have told me so I
could have helped her. No matter what you
do, no matter how bad you think things may
get, go get help from the people who love
you.''
Holly
Patterson, who lived in the San Francisco
suburb of Livermore, visited a Planned Parenthood
clinic Sept. 10 to take the pill. She followed
the prescribed procedure for using RU-486,
taking two more pills at home in the following
days.
After
experiencing bleeding and cramps so severe
that she was unable to walk, her boyfriend
rushed her to the hospital, where she was
given painkillers and sent home. She was
back in the hospital a few days later and
died Sept. 17.
Monty
Patterson said he had no idea that his daughter
was pregnant or that she was taking abortion
drugs.
''I
knew there was a problem with how she felt,
that something wasn't right,'' he said.
He tried to comfort his daughter by rubbing
her back and talking to her. ''And she said,
'Oh, Dad, it's just cramps.'''
An
autopsy has been scheduled to determine
the cause of Holly's death. But Monty Patterson
said he learned from an attending physician
at the hospital that she had died after
a massive infection caused by fragments
of the fetus left inside her uterus caused
her to go into septic shock. Planned Parenthood
also said it is investigating Patterson's
death.
A
spokeswoman for Danco Laboratories, which
makes RU-486, estimated that 200,000 women
in the United States and more than 1 million
worldwide have used the pill since it was
invented in France in the 1980s.
Two
women who took it in the United States have
died, although the FDA says it isn't clear
if their deaths were directly related to
the pill's use.
Patients
who take RU-486 take the first pill under
the care of a physician. A second medication
called misoprostol, taken three days later,
induces labor so the embryo can be expelled.
Planned
Parenthood's Web site compares the process
to having a miscarriage. Five to eight percent
of cases require surgery, either to stop
a patient's bleeding or to complete the
abortion.
Eric
Schaff, chair of the National Abortion Federation,
which promotes non-surgical abortion, said
aspirin causes more deaths than RU-486.
''There
are some people who have preconditions that
lead to those complications,'' Schaff said.
But
anti-abortion groups such as the National
Right to Life Committee insist that the
pills ''offer a whole new set of significant
risks,'' and makes abortion seem too simple.
A report on the group's Web site says the
pill gives ''supporters of abortion a chance
to change the image of abortion, making
it seem as simple as taking a pill.''
Although
he said he wasn't blaming the pill for his
daughter's death, Monty Patterson regretted
that his daughter and her boyfriend hadn't
received more information and support from
family members, counselors and physicians.
'What's
disturbing is these young couples, they
are relying upon what they think is good,
solid info, and relying on what they think
is a supportive network telling them everything
is OK.''
-- Monty Patterson, father
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