July 28, 2010
On July 28th, the ella Causes Abortions Coalition, led by Students for Life of America and 19 other pro-life and pro-family organizations, sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)asking the administration not to approve the new abortion drug, ella.
On June 17, 2010, the FDA Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee met and recommended full FDA approval of ella, a cousin to the RU-486 abortion pill. The drug is being deceptively portrayed as a five day “emergency contraception.” There is evidence, however, that ella actually prevents implantation after fertilization and may also kill or injure the unborn child after implantation.
Given ella’s similar chemical makeup to RU-486, women deserve to see evidence demonstrating that ella will not destroy or harm an unborn child and that ella’s modes of action do not include abortion, especially in light of studies that show ella causes abortions in animal studies. In addition, the ella Causes Abortions coalition has significant concerns about the health risks ella poses to women. Since ella’s chemical make-up and mode of action are very similar to RU-486, which causes serious adverse health risks such as severe bleeding, ruptured tubal pregnancies, serious infections, and even death, the FDA should conduct further research to ensure ella is safe for women, particularly if it is used off-label.
Kristan Hawkins, Executive Director of Students for Life of America, remarked: “Make no mistake about it, ella is a dangerous abortion drug. The FDA advisory panel which approved it for sale within the U.S. has not done its job protecting women and is planning on intentionally misleading women by calling ella a mere contraceptive. It is my hope that the ella Causes Abortions coalition will help educate Americans about ella and encourage the FDA Commissioner not to give final approval for this new abortion drug.”
Click here to see the letter that was sent to the FDA.