Abortion Drug May Have Caused Deaths From Off-Label Use

Scott Kappes

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A preliminary study conducted at the University of Michigan has indicated that off-label use of the controversial abortion medication RU-486’s companion drug misoprostol may be linked a handful of rare, fatal infections.

The drug misoprostol is FDA-approved to be taken by mouth along with RU-486 to end a pregnancy. But many women have received the drug vaginally as part of the two-drug combination, a method of delivery not evaluated by the FDA.

The study was published online and will soon be available in print in the Journal of Immunology. Out of the hundreds of thousands of women who have taken the drug successfully, there have been eight reported deaths attributed to cases of infection of the Clostridium bacteria. Of the eight women who lost their lives, six were infected with Clostridium sordellii, which very rarely causes illness. The other two were infected with another related form of the Clostridium bacteria.

The study should provide doctors who have administered the drug vaginally enough evidence to ensure that the medication is no longer delivered in this unapproved manner.