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Abortionists nationwide are expected to begin offering drug-induced abortions to women within a few weeks, as a result of the Food and Drug Administration's announcement this morning which approved the long-pending application of Danco Laboratories to market mifepristone (commonly known as RU-486). The drug will be marketed under the brand name Mifeprex.

Tim and Terri Palmquist, co-chairmen of LifeSavers Ministries, were interviewed today by local television news channels 23, 29/58, and 17. The Bakersfield Californian newspaper also interviewed Tim Palmquist. The Palmquists' comments focused on the local impact of the availability of drug-induced abortions. (As always, the primary focus was on how this will impact the women LSM deals with who seek to have their babies aborted here in Bakersfield.)

Here is a basic outline of the Palmquists' response to this announcement:

1. This abortion pill procedure kills a baby whose heart is already beating. In most situations, by the time a woman has realized that her period is late, her baby's heart has already begun to function. This is NOT just a "blob of tissue" which is being "flushed out."

   The pro-abortion movement wants Americans to believe that an RU-486 abortion is an "early" abortion which stops a pregnancy before the baby has been formed. This is the same pro-abortion movement which has been actively fighting in Washington against the criminalization of killing newborn babies in recent days. Americans who care about their freedom will consider the source, and reject this radical pro-abortion agenda.

2. Drug-induced abortions are actually harder on women than most surgical abortions:

   1. Mifepristone is not just a "pill", it requires a process involving at least 3 doctor visits within a two-week time period. Contrary to the impression given by pro-abortion advocates, more time is involved in a drug-induced abortion than in a surgical abortion.

   2. The number of visits and the amount of time involved is going to make this more difficult for poor women. We often see women who come for abortions on the bus, or who deceive friends or neighbors to give them a ride without telling them what it is for. It will be much more difficult for such women to deal with the logistics of a drug-induced abortion.

   3. The length of time involved in the drug-induced abortion process will cause women to experience more emotional trauma. Just the other day, a woman told Terri that the only way she could get through her abortion was to make sure that she didn't think about the baby until it was over. A woman like this who undergoes a drug-induced abortion will go through a longer period of turmoil.

   4. With a drug-induced abortion, there is much more likelihood that the woman will actually see the baby after it has been expelled from her body. This, too, will undoubtedly cause a great deal of trauma to many women.

   5. The process is commonly painful, with excessive bleeding and nausea being common side-effeccts. About 1 out of every 100 women who have a mifepristone abortion will need to be hospitalized due to complications, and about 2 out of every 100 women will need surgery because of excessive bleeding. An Iowa woman almost bled to death because of this drug when it was being tested.

   6. The drug is designed to wage war against the woman's own natural hormonal processes. This cannot be good for women's health. In summary, even if the value of the baby is not considered, this drug should be rejected on the basis of women's health concerns alone.

3. What will we do in response to the increased likelihood of drug-induced abortions in Bakersfield?

   1. Increased availability: We are extending the hours at the LifeHouse, so that we will no longer focus on just being available to women on Mondays and Tuesdays (the surgical abortion days in Bakersfield). Starting this week, the LifeHouse will also be open for several hours on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. We are also now available to women 24 hours a day from the telephone outside the LifeHouse.

   2. Increased efforts to identify and monitor local pro-abortion doctors. We will soon begin an effort to determine which local doctors will be committing drug-induced abortions, and we will inform the community about any doctors we discover. We will also undoubtedly hear reports regarding doctors who are committing drug-induced abortions from many clients who come to the LifeHouse for pregnancy tests, and we will begin to compile this information and to inform the community about the offending doctors when it is appropriate.