The Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, chaired by Rep. Mark Souder, R-Ind., has released two must-read reports -- one that details concerns about the abortion drug RU-486 and another that examines abstinence-until-marriage programs.
RU-486
The subcommittee report examined the processes used by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the abortion-pill RU-486, which has been connected to the deaths of at least six women and caused injury to thousands.
"This report explores the Food and Drug Administration's activities as they relate to RU-486 -- the abortion pill -- including the highly unusual process by which the drug was approved, the failures to ensure that the drug is dispensed as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires, the subsequent illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths known to be associated with the drug and the failure to provide any meaningful restrictions despite evidence of its association with a 100-percent fatal septic infection," the report states.
The report concludes that RU-486 is a hazardous drug and should be pulled from the market:
"The integrity of the FDA in the approval and monitoring of RU-486 has been substandard and necessitates the withdrawal of this dangerous and fatal product before more women suffer the known and anticipated consequences or fatalities."
Carrie Gordon Earll, senior analyst for bioethics for Focus on the Family Action, said the report confirms what the pro-life movement has observed for several years now: the approval of RU-486 for a U.S. market was politically motivated with pressure from the abortion industry and without consideration for the risks the drug poses to women or their preborn children.
"RU-486 was seen by abortion industry leaders as a means to counter the dwindling ranks of abortionists available for the grisly trade," she said. "Abortion clinics promote it to women as an easy abortion method and, unfortunately, women are trying it."
She said the report covers the issue well, ranging from research studies to media comments by abortion-industry leaders.
"Pro-life activists would benefit from reading it," she said.
Abstinence Until Marriage
The subcommittee also examined claims made in a 2004 report titled "The Content of Federally Funded Abstinence-Only Education Programs" -- commonly known as the Waxman Report. It was highly critical of abstinence education, touting the need for comprehensive sex-education programs in public schools.
The new report concluded the Waxman report fell far short of the truth.
"The (Waxman) report fails to offer a fair and accurate assessment of abstinence-education programs," the subcommittee report found. "Unfortunately, the Report has been heralded as an official and trustworthy review of abstinence education even though it is riddled with errors, half-truths and mischaracterizations."
Linda Klepacki, analyst for sexual health for Focus on the Family Action, said the Waxman report has accused abstinence-until-marriage education of being medically inaccurate.
"The Reform subcommittee report is a thorough summary of the Waxman Report, which called abstinence education a threat to the sexual health of children," she said. "All information given to school children should be accurate, but, to date, comprehensive sex education has been taught to our U.S. children for more than 40 years with no formal review of medical accuracy."
Reducing the risk, which Klepacki said is what comprehensive sex education claims to do, is not good enough for children.
"Eliminating the risk is what all parents want for their children in all risk areas whether in sexuality, tobacco, illegal drug use, violence in the schools, etc.," Klepacki said. "It's time to hold Planned Parenthood and SIECUS (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States) accountable for years of teaching our children that they are expected to be sexually active and that the best they can do is reduce the risk."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Read each Government Reform Subcommittee report in PDF form.
Link to RU-486 report.
Link to Abstinence report.
These documents require the free Adobe Reader to view.
(NOTE: Referral to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family is for informational purposes only and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)
(Paid for by Focus on the Family Action)
