07/31/2024
Doc’s Office
July 2024
In the next few months, starting now, I will be writing about some difficult topics, but important ones, directly related to abortion. First, I want to talk about abortion pills.
Mifepristone is a drug that counteracts the pregnancy hormone progesterone, which is needed to help the placenta nourish the growing baby. When mifepristone blocks it, the baby dies. It is usually used with the drug misoprostol, which makes the uterus push out push out the dead baby 1-2 days later.
Medication abortion is only supposed to be used for pregnancies 11 weeks or younger. It works 95 to 98 percent of the time. If a baby survives it, there is a higher chance of having birth defects caused by misoprostol.
As you can imagine, abdominal pain and cramping are severe and vaginal bleeding is heavy for several days after taking abortion pills. Women bleed even longer than if they had a surgical abortion. It is a traumatic experience for a young mother’s body, in addition to the mental anguish that many experience.
Complications include death, severe bleeding requiring transfusion, uterus or bloodstream infection, and the incomplete abortions mentioned above. Medical websites report that complications happen in only 2 percent of medical abortions, but it is likely higher. This is because abortion providers aren’t required to report abortions or their complications and often have little follow-up with their patients. Women are also reluctant to tell others about their complications because they may be trying to avoid others knowing what they have done. This all results in “under-reporting”, which means the truth isn’t being told about these destructive drugs.
Washington State requires an in-person or tele-health visit with a medical care provider to get a prescription for abortion pills. Some states don’t require seeing a provider. This is risky because women who don’t know they have an ectopic pregnancy (not in the uterus) or are more than 11 weeks along have worse symptoms and more complications.
Last, let’s imagine we’re babies. We’re in our mother’s uterus, drawing life-sustaining nutrients from her through the umbilical cord and an amazing organ called the placenta. It’s comfortable, warm, and we’re growing great. We can feel our heart beating, and we practice moving arms and legs. Suddenly we feel choked, like we’re suffocating, because something is causing the placenta to tear away from the uterus. We’re losing our life lines, like a SCUBA diver having their mask ripped off. We panic, get dizzy, and soon pass out—and never wake up in this world. Next thing we know, Jesus is holding us in his arms in heaven, saying He loves us and that we will never suffer again. We wish we could have met our mother; Jesus tells us that she would have loved us had she seen how beautifully He made us.
I know, that’s a hard thing to imagine. Let us pray that pregnant mothers listen to their consciences, find supportive people at Women’s Wellness Clinic or elsewhere, and listen to the truth about their babies. That they are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, and are priceless.
“Doc”
Kevin deWeber, MD