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Dr. Gerard M. Nadal: Science in Service of the Pro-Life Movement

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« Respect Life Apostolate Starts Post-Abortion Ministry for Men
Of Arks and Assumptions »

White Pills, White Lies

August 13, 2010 by Gerard M. Nadal

My article in today’s Headline Bistro

In a recent New York Times editorial, Nicholas Kristof writes fawningly over the increasing use of the anti-ulcer prostaglandin drug misoprostol – both in combination with the abortifacient RU-486, and increasingly on its own – as the new wonder pill that is revolutionizing obstetrics.

Yet Kristof’s piece entirely glosses over the dangers inherent in the use of these drugs singularly, and in combination. As usual for pro-abortion apologists, the truth matters less than the agenda.

The two drugs have very different functions. RU-486 is the drug used to actually kill the baby. Misoprostol has a side effect of stimulating powerful uterine contractions and is used off-label for that purpose 48 hours after administration of RU-486 in order to facilitate the expulsion of the dead child. In nations that outlaw abortion, misoprostol is being increasingly used as the sole abortifacient. The efficacy of this drug when used by itself has been shown to be as low as 30%, requiring surgical abortion to complete the destruction of the child. When used in conjunction with RU-486, the efficacy rises to 90-96%, as opposed to 80-85% when RU-486 is used alone.

In nations that outlaw abortion, babies who survive the attempt with misoprostol (again, widely available for its intended use as an anti-ulcer medication) have been shown to suffer from a variety of birth defects, which include limb defect, meningocoele, meningomyelocele, anencephaly, encephalocoele, and facial paralysis. Kristof’s rosy analysis glosses over these well-established defects noted in the literature dating back to 1998 with two articles. The first appeared in the prestigious British journal, The Lancet (May 30, 1998 issue), and the next followed in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), on June 25, 1998.

The reported incidence of birth defects for misoprostol is 1%, a percentage widely touted by the abortion lobby, but these numbers are in all likelihood very low. The only nations where misoprostol is used alone are those that outlaw abortion. There is powerful incentive for women with deformed babies to refrain from reporting their attempted abortion.

So is Kristof simply misinformed, or is he spinning the issue? A simple Google search turns up several scientific articles, such as the above-mentioned, which tell the truth. These are the most reputable journals in science and medicine. At the close of the NEJM article the authors conclude, “Administration of misoprostol during pregnancy should be strongly discouraged, given the drug’s low efficacy and its likelihood of causing fetal malformation.”

How could Kristof have missed the word “likelihood”?

Even if the drug produced malformation 1% of the time, considering the pressure for abortion in third world countries, that implies a staggering number of affected children each year. For every million women with failed misoprostol abortions annually, that would mean 10,000 deformed babies.

These are numbers that exceed by far the total number of deformed babies worldwide in the late 1950s to the early 1960s in mothers who took thalidomide. The total number of “thalidomide babies” is estimated to be between 10,000 to 20,000. Were this any other drug having this effect, in these numbers, the FDA would bury it. So why is misoprostol not being taken off the market as was thalidomide?

First, misoprostol’s use as an abortion drug is an off-label use. It is not the purpose for which the drug is intended. Second, thalidomide was taken as an antiemetic to aid mothers with morning sickness. It interfered with the development of “wanted” babies. Third, the deformed babies born to women who attempt abortion lack full standing in the popular consensus. These are the unwanted, the end-products of a choice that was biologically thwarted. These children represent an ethical stumbling block.

Kristof boxes himself in through the perverted logic of abortion. How does one simultaneously support abortion and show care and concern for the effects of abortifacients on the child marked for death? The developmental anomalies are induced during that first trimester window when the child has no standing with pro-abortion apologists as a person. The only answer is to ignore the pharmacologic reality and spin like mad. When cornered on the birth defects, the solution will be to argue for “safe, legal abortions.” However, the science continues to demonstrate that “legal” only changes juridical reality, but not biological reality. Abortions will never be safe for women.

In two weeks, we celebrate the 100th birthday of Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta, one of the most courageous and consistent advocates of the unborn. We have in her a powerful advocate before God. As we approach the centennial of her birth, it is a good time to reflect on her life, her grit and determination, and to draw renewed strength from her unyielding example. She and Pope John Paul the Great were my inspirations during the long days and nights in the lab during graduate school and were the beacons of light that showed me the way forward in utilizing the gifts and education God entrusted to me.

Each of us can refute the Kristofs of the world. The scientific evidence is there in abundance. We simply need to heed the fatherly advice of John Paul – “be not afraid” – and Mother’s exhortation to “do little things with great love.”

Collectively, we shall prevail.

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Posted in Abortion | Tagged Abortion, Misoprostol, Nicholas Kristof, RU486 | 6 Comments

6 Responses

  1. on August 14, 2010 at 2:01 PM Rebecca Brooks

    Thank you for making the pharmacology clear for those of us with science in our background. Many times my gut tells me that something is wrong but I cannot fine the words to convey my concerns. Your articles often help me with this. The killing of innocents is becoming an underground activity again. We have to change hearts & minds to end this, which is difficult in a culture that fails to believe in a higher power. What I don’t get is this; whether you call it God, Allah, or the “Force”, something governs the universe as we know it, keeping the stars in place and life with its complex processes going. Abortion violates this process of life & denial of this Government is the ultimate destruction of self.


  2. on August 14, 2010 at 2:27 PM Rebecca Brooks

    I apologize for this error. The first line in my last post should have read; Thank you for making the pharmacology clear for those of us with less science in our background.


  3. on August 14, 2010 at 2:42 PM Gerard M. Nadal

    Rebecca,

    You’re very welcome. That’s why I’ve undertaken this blog, to translate the science and medicine for people wise enough not to have put themselves through the wringer in school 😉

    Your “gut” leanings are the whispering of the Holy Spirit within you, and you are quite correct about the government of the universe. Jesus tells us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father’s notice. It doesn’t at all surprise me that the medical and scientific literature increasingly is validating the need for obedience to God’s wise design for His creation.

    God Bless, and thank you for your warm words of support.


  4. on August 17, 2010 at 7:16 PM barboo77

    I was just put on the misoprostol (Cytotec) for three days by my midwife because my lochia wouldn’t clear up. I was a little scared to take it at first because all of the big label warnings not to take if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant within a month, even though neither one of these things was on my radar at all. I also made them double check that it was OK to nurse my baby while taking it. I experienced stomach, intestinal, and uterine cramps for three days.

    They also gave it to me in suppository form while trying to stem complications I had after a D&C this past Friday. (I still may need a hysterectomy, so please keep me in your prayers.) I would really hope that my doctors/midwives would not use it for abortion purposes, but I am kind of scared to ask.


  5. on August 17, 2010 at 10:12 PM Gerard M. Nadal

    Barboo,

    You are most certainly in my prayers. In the side panel I have links to Pharmacists for Life and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG). Please contact these folks with any concerns that you may have. They’ll tell you the truth that many will not. As for your doctors and midwives, it’s worth asking. If they do abortions, my rule of thumb is that they are inherently untrustworthy. AAPLOG can give you referrals to member physicians in your area.

    God Bless, and congratulations on the baby!! Boy, Girl?


  6. on August 19, 2010 at 2:36 PM barboo77

    It’s a girl….my fourth girl. 😉



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