ARTICLES

They Push the Drug of Death

Girl Dies, Planned Parenthood Opens New Clinic in Hayward

By Maria Kennedy

"I watched my daughter die," an anguished Monty Patterson told me exactly five weeks to the day that he buried his 18-year-old daughter. Holly Patterson died after taking an abortifacient drug that had been given her at the Hayward Planned Parenthood clinic.

After Holly's death on September 17, Dian Harrison of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, the affiliate that runs the Hayward clinic, issued this statement: "We extend our deepest sympathies to the family. We wish them strength and support in this tragic time." Yet, Monty Patterson says that Planned Parenthood hasn't offered his family any support. "They haven't offered anything," Patterson said. "They don't even return my calls."

Patterson said that he did not know his daughter had gone to Planned Parenthood to get RU-486 (an abortion-inducing drug), though he knew, previously, that his daughter had been to Planned Parenthood to get birth control pills. But had he known that she was seeking RU-486, Patterson said, he would have been fully supportive of her. Patterson said that he is a firm believer in parental notification; he thinks that Holly's boyfriend coerced his daughter into an abortion, with tragic consequences. "Parents should be notified if their daughter is going to be given birth control or get an abortion," he said. "I think when it comes down to it, these girls don't have enough information to make that kind of decision. In Holly's case, she really believed no one would find out about it [the RU-486 abortion]. As parents we have to do a better job, we can't rely on the schools to tell the kids about the dangers of these abortions." Patterson said that he believes that parental notification will discourage minor girls from undergoing abortions like the one that killed his daughter.

According to media reports, Holly went to the Hayward Planned Parenthood on September 10, where she was given RU-486, an abortion-inducing drug that is manufactured by Danco, a subsidiary of the population control group, Population Council. Three days after taking the first dosage of the drug, Holly took a dose of Cytotec, which is used to cause uterine contractions that expel the dead baby. Later in the day after she took the Cytotec, Holly left her job at Macy's early. She said that she wasn't feeling well. Since one of the side effects of Cytotec is severe cramping, she tried to ignore the pain; but when the pain persisted overnight and into the next day, her boyfriend took her to the emergency room, but they merely gave her pain killers and sent her back home. Three days later, on September 16, Holly was unable to walk, and it was evident that she was very sick. After being rushed to the emergency room, her father was notified that his daughter was very ill. Monty Patterson arrived in time to watch his daughter die of massive infection and septic shock. The attending physician told Monty Patterson that part of the fetus had not been expelled and was the cause of death.

The Alameda County coroner's office has launched an investigation into Patterson's death. When I called the coroner's office on October 16, the person answering the phone told me it would be months before a report on the cause of Patterson's death would be issued. "There will not be a preliminary report," she said.

In approving RU-486, Clinton's Federal Food and Drug Administration waived many of the safeguards that normally accompany the approval of a drug. The 2000 presidential elections were approaching, with the possibility of a George W. Bush win. After the FDA approved RU-486 on September 28, 2000, Searle, the manufacture of Cytotec (misoprostel), issued a warning to doctors that the drug had not been approved to induce uterine contractions but was to be used as an anti-ulcer drug.

The urgency of pro-abortion advocates for the approval of RU-486 is evident in a June 9, 2000 letter, written by California senator Barber Boxer. "I am writing," went her letter, "to express my grave concerns about the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) reported proposal to severely restrict the ability of women and doctors to have access to an approved prescription drug, mifepristone (RU-486)." Boxer chides the FDA for "considering placing draconian restrictions on the accessibility of RU-486 as a condition of its approval." Among the "draconian restrictions" that the FDA was considering, according to Boxer, were "a national registry of all doctors who prescribe the drug; allowing the drug to be prescribed only by doctors trained in surgical abortions; and requiring doctors who want to prescribe the drug to have admitting privileges at a hospital within an hour of their office."

Dr. Mary Davenport, an obstetrician with the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Christian Medical Association, pointed out that what Boxer considers "draconian" is standard in Europe and in the U.S. clinic trials that were conducted before the FDA approved RU-486. The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists is a recognized interest group of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "All of these requirements are normal in Europe," Dr. Davenport noted in an October 29 interview with this writer. "There are many, many restrictions on the drug in Europe. In England, every woman has a hospital bed reserved; in France, it is administered by a physician. California is only one of five states what allow nurse practitioners and midwives to administer the drug."

Dr. Davenport pointed out that this laxity was a direct result of the 2002 Reproductive Privacy Act, carried by California state senator Sheila Kuehl and signed into law on September 5, 2002 by then-Governor Gray Davis. The law allows midwives and nurse practioners to dispense RU-486, as well as to assist in surgical abortions. "In the original clinical trials, they had doctors and hospitals," Dr. Davenport noted, referring to the studies conducted prior to the FDA's approval of RU-486. "You produce a safety record. If the woman gets into trouble in Europe or in the clinical trials, they know where to go." Dr. Davenport also pointed out that Holly Patterson had been given the second dose vaginally. "The regimen that she was given, was not approved by the FDA. This is not done in Europe. In the face of this death, they [Planned Parenthood] are still defending this regimen."

On August 20, 2002, the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Christian Medical Association, and Concerned Women for America filed a citizen's petition requesting an immediate stay for RU-486. One of the concerns that the three groups expressed was the fact that the FDA waived the pediatric rule, which states that any drug that can be used with adolescents must be tested on adolescents before approval. "I think it was illegal that they waived the pediatric rule, " Davenport noted.

What information is out there about RU-486, especially for minority women? When I called the FDA to inquire whether they had information on RU-486 in Spanish; I was told, "no" -- despite the fact that, in 1983, the FDA gave approval to the University of Southern California School of Medicine (which has a large Latino population) to conduct some clinical trials of RU-486. In a September 2000 interview with Danco representative John Voldal, I leaned that the process by which RU-486 was approved was, according to Voldal, "chaotic." When asked if there was literature available in Spanish, Voldal replied, "no, there were so many changes at the last minute, it was crazy." Further attempts to reach Danco officials proved unfruitful. When I called the number given on Danco's web site to get information in Spanish, I reached the National Abortion Federation. "I don't speak Spanish," the young woman who answered the phone told me, as I asked for information in Spanish. "Call back later," she said.

In spite of Holly Patterson's death, on October 18, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate has opened a clinic in a working class, largely minority Oakland community. According to Planned Parenthood, the area where the clinic is located is in a community that is "one of the Bay Area's most medically underserved." Planned Parenthood's web site cites that teen pregnancy rate in this community is "considerably higher than those of neighboring counties," Planned Parenthood cites the area's high unemployment and the decline in the number of providers offering low-cost services as factors used to indicate the need for the abortion clinic. In spite of the fact that Planned Parenthood Golden Gate's president, Dian Harrison, says that the clinic will offer "high quality, low cost health care," a review of Planned Parenthood Golden Gate's website reveals that the only services that the clinic offers fall under the category of reproductive health.

After Holly Patterson's death, advocates of a parental notification initiative, Tell-A-Parent, say that the need for parents to be involved in their childrens' lives is urgent. The initiative's advocates, a coalition of various denominations and groups, are hoping to gather enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2004 election. "We need everyone who is concerned about families and the need for parents to be involved in their children's lives to help us gather signatures," a spokesman for the coalition said.

Those who would like to help gather signatures for Tell-A-Parent can call toll free at (866) 828-8355, or go to their web site at www.tell-a-parent.org. Training sessions to teach people how to gather signatures are being held throughout the state.

HELP FOR VICTIMS

Some women's advocacy groups have said that they are willing to help families like the Pattersons in any way they can. According to a spokesperson for the group, Women's Advocate, a prominent women's help group in Southern California, "Holly must not become just another victim, Her family and loved ones must take appropriate action to expose the abuse of women by malfeasant groups like Planned Parenthood."

Women's Advocate is a Good Samaritan organization of women who assist other women or their families when there has been serious malpractice or abuse committed by a physician or clinic. It was the timely valuable assistance of Women's Advocate that helped the family of Sharon Hamptlon realize some justice. Sharon Hamptlon died after a 1996 abortion by Medical Board probationer, Dr. Bruce Steir.

It was finally determined that Steir knew he had perforated Sharon's uterus and sent her home. She bled to death in the backseat of her mother's car with her small son in her arms. Eventually, Steir went to jail after Riverside County prosecutor, Kennis Clark, brought the charges of manslaughter against him. Malpractice attorney, Jack Schuler of Los Angeles, won a significant civil award so that Sharon's surviving son would be provided for financially.

Anyone needing assistance may phone Women's Advocate at (760) 327-3200.

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