Dad of 18-year-old who died after RU-486 abortion tackles abortion drug misinformation

by Jeremy Kryn

• LIVERMORE, CA, September 29, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The father of an 18-year-old casualty of a drug-induced abortion has mourned the 11th anniversary of RU-486 legalization by launching a website and video to help women learn about the health risks of the abortion drug.

Monty Patterson, whose daughter Holly died in 2003, said that it is critical that a patient be fully informed of the procedures, administration, and risks involved with the chemical abortion.

“The website isn’t about the abortion debate. However, the website is about women’s health, safety and welfare,” Patterson told LifeSiteNews. “Women will always have a choice for what they believe is in their best interest. It’s too late for Holly and the other women who have died or have been seriously injured because they didn’t have the information they needed to make an informed decision.”

Holly Patterson, one of 14 U.S. women who have died after taking RU-486, was under the care of Planned Parenthood of Hayward at the time of her death. After taking the drug, Patterson experienced severe cramping, bleeding, and vomiting, but was only encouraged to take more painkillers by the Planned Parenthood clinic’s hotline.

After calling again, the clinic encouraged her to go to the emergency room if the pain continued; an emergency room doctor simply prescribed more painkillers. Patterson died of septic shock from a blood infection resulting from RU-486.

Supporters of medical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol, which were approved in the U.S. in 2000, had hoped that it would provide a safe and non-surgical approach to rectify the inequities in abortion care.

In December 2004, Patterson filed a lawsuit naming Danco Laboratories, RU-486’s U.S. manufacturer, as well as the abortion provider Planned Parenthood, as defendants. He insists that his daughter was not adequately informed by Planned Parenthood before taking the dangerous drug, saying she received written and video materials that made chemical abortion for a 7-week unborn baby look like a “walk in the park.”

In February 2004, the California Department of Health Services reported that Planned Parenthood did not have Patterson’s signature on one of the consent forms and that it did not educate her on how to administer the abortifacient. State health officials noted that Planned Parenthood failed to report her death as an “unusual occurrence.” Planned Parenthood defended its decision, arguing that it did not see the death as unusual because Holly died in a hospital.

Eight years after Holly used the internet as a source of information to help make a decision about her medical abortion, Patterson has built his website to share with other women.

“Hopefully, any woman thinking about terminating early pregnancy with the medical abortion pill will be able to learn from those that have had the real experience,” Patterson said.