FDA Issues Warning About Abortion Pill

WASHINGTON -- The government warned doctors Tuesday to be on the lookout for rare but deadly infections in women using the abortion pill RU-486, citing two more deaths after its use. At least five U.S. women have died after taking the pill since it began selling in 2000, although the Food and Drug Administration stressed that it could not prove the drug was to blame. But the four deaths caused by bloodstream infections, or sepsis, all occurred in women who didn't follow FDA-approved instructions for a pill-triggered abortion, said agency drug chief Dr. Steven Galson.

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RU-486 Kills Five Women
Five women who took the abortion pill RU-486 have died from bacterial infections since its U.S. introduction nearly five years ago, the manufacturer reported on Monday. Danco said it was sending a letter to alert physicians about the cases and updating warning information on the drug's label. Posted by Editor at July 20, 2005 08:01 AM