BIRTH DEFECTS

RU 486 Abortion Drug Linked With Birth Defects

Washington, DC -- Failed attempts in other countries to induce abortion using  an ulcer drug called misoprostol may be causing an epidemic of birth defects  around the world. Misuse of the drug is increasingly common as it is  improperly used as part of the RU 486 abortion drug process.

In Colombia, Brazil and the Philippines, the drug is readily available. An  informal survey by the British magazine New Scientist has also revealed that  abortions with the drug are taking place in the Dominican Republic,  Argentina, Spain, Nigeria, South Africa and Indonesia.

In Britain and the US, those dispensing the abortion drug RU486 also give  misoprostol to induce contractions to expel the dead unborn child, although  it is not licensed for this purpose. Searle, the maker of misoprostol, has  condemned its use in chemical abortions methods.

Searle, a unit of Pharmacia Corp. sent a letter to doctors last year warning that misoprostol has been approved only to prevent ulcers caused by aspirin and similar drugs, not to help induce abortion. They warned women would face severe medical problems if the drug was misused as a part of the RU 486 chemical abortion process. It is legal, however, for doctors to prescribe FDA-approved drugs for unapproved uses -- so called "off label" use.

The Searle letter noted:  "Serious adverse events reported following off-label use of Cytotec in pregnant women include maternal or fetal death; uterine hyperstimulation, rupture or perforation requiring uterine surgical repair, hysterectomy or salpingo-oophorectomy; amniotic fluid embolism; severe vaginal bleeding, retained placenta, shock, fetal bradycardia and pelvic pain."

Taking misoprostol on its own only induces abortions about 40 per cent of the  time, so many babies are born after failed abortion attempts. Several studies  in Brazil, where up to 75 per cent of abortions involve misoprostol, suggest  the drug causes birth defects such as fused joints, growth retardation and a  condition known as Möbius syndrome, which is characterised by paralysis of  the face.

One recent study found that out of 93 children with defects associated with  Möbius syndrome, 34 percent of those infants had been exposed to misoprostol,  compared with just 4.3 per cent of the 279 infants in a control group.

Another revealed that 49 percent of infants born with Möbius at seven  hospitals in Brazil had been exposed to misoprostol, whereas only 3 percent  of 96 infants born with neural tube defects had been exposed to the drug.

"I think [these results] are real. Statistically they are highly  significant," says Fernando Vargas of the University of Rio de Janeiro, who  took part in both studies. Because the abortion drug is used secretly, it is  hard to find out how many birth defects might be caused by it, Vargas adds.