Why the Abortion Pill Isn't as Safe as Tylenol
You’re in a conversation and someone asks, “Isn’t the abortion pill as safe as Tylenol?” What would you say?
The abortion pill, a nickname for the two-part regimen of the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, is the most common method of induced abortion today. It is used to end the life of an preborn child up to 70 days (or 10 weeks) gestation. The first drug, mifepristone, works by disrupting hormones that allow the uterus to nourish a growing baby. Without these, the baby dies and, with the use of the second drug, misoprostol, the baby and other pregnancy tissue are expelled from a woman’s body.
This process, also called a “medication or chemical abortion”, accounts for over 60% of abortions today, and it is often treated as a routine and safe procedure. Some people have even compared it with taking Tylenol for a headache. Abortion giant Planned Parenthood claims it’s even safer than Tylenol.
Is that a good comparison? Absolutely not. And here are three reasons why.
1: We’re not talking about ending a headache. We are talking about ending a life.
The purpose of Tylenol is to relieve pain. The purpose of the abortion pill regimen is to end a pregnancy such that it does not result in a live birth, which is another way of saying it kills a developing baby. If the medication is successful, someone always dies. That is the furthest thing from “safe.”
We need to remember one question first and foremost when discussing abortion: “What is the preborn?” Almost all arguments for abortion either sidestep this question or assume that a preborn baby is something other than a human individual with a right to life—perhaps just a clump of cells or a bit of tissue. But if the preborn baby is an innocent human individual with a right to life, then intentionally killing that baby is not only the opposite of “safe,” but is also wrong. Abortion is not some routine form of pain relief. Don’t let anyone pretend it is.
2: Even for the mother, the abortion pill is not as safe as Tylenol.
The claim that mifepristone is as safe as Tylenol is based on the total number of hospitalizations for each. But merely comparing total hospitalizations for the abortion pill versus Tylenol or other over-the-counter pain meds is terribly misleading.
That’s because so many more people take Tylenol than abortion pills. Over 60 million Americans use acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—on a weekly basis. By comparison, just over half a million women attempt chemical abortions each year. A basic knowledge of math suggests that if the two medications are compared, it must be on a per-capita basis. And when they are, it's obvious that the abortion pill is much more dangerous than Tylenol.
The abortion drug mifepristone sends at least 1 in 25 women who take it to the emergency room, according to the FDA’s own label. This is, for the most part, when it is properly taken. In contrast, virtually all complications related to Tylenol are due to an improper use of the drug, especially overdosing.
When you consider what each drug does, it’s hardly surprising that many women find themselves seeking medical attention after taking mifepristone for things like very heavy bleeding, severe pain, infection and incomplete abortions. Ending a pregnancy is neither routine nor minor. It’s much more serious. Which leads us to the final point:
3: Many women are not prepared for what they see and experience after a chemical abortion.
The abortion pill is essentially a miscarriage pill. That is what it does. As women who have miscarried due to natural complications can attest, it’s a traumatic experience that triggers grief and leaves behind a lasting sense of loss. Many of these women also know that miscarrying beyond just a few weeks of gestation can mean seeing the body of your deceased baby.
At 10 weeks of pregnancy, which is the official upper limit for the abortion pill, a developing baby is typically around the size of a grape. At this stage of the development, the baby has visible arms, legs, and eyes which are clearly recognizable. Here is how one woman named Elizabeth described the experience:
The worst part was that nobody told me that I would actually pass the entire amniotic sac whole—that I would hold my dead baby. That I would see his eyes and his fingers. They told me that I would just see clotting and heavy period blood. They lied to me.
Of course, the tragedy and outrage of abortion doesn’t depend on noticing or grieving over a dead baby. It’s still a tragedy even if the woman doesn’t see her child. Such abortions, just like those later in pregnancy, also end unique human lives made in God’s image. As such, they can trigger unexpected grief and regret, even for women who knew what they would experience. Abortion—even in the very early stages of pregnancy—is always awful, and anything but safe.
So, the next time someone asks you, “Isn’t the abortion pill as safe as Tylenol?” remember these three things:
1: We’re not talking about ending a headache. We’re talking about ending a life.
2: Even for the mother, the abortion pill is not safe – and certainly not safer than Tylenol.
3: Many women are not prepared for what they see and experience after a chemical abortion.
What Would You Say?
Colson Center : Apr 11, 2024, 10:45:00 AM
