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Hospital Failed to Cite Holly Patterson's Death from RU-486 as Unusual

Planned Parenthood, which prescribed the drug, also did not report the death as unusual

LIVERMORE, California, February 26, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The hospital where Holly Patterson - the 18 year-old casualty of a drug-induced abortion - died, failed to report her death as an unusual occurrence, state health officials reported today.

The California Department of Health Services, in a review released Tuesday, also revealed that Planned Parenthood of Hayward, which prescribed the drug, didn't educate Patterson on how to administer the abortifacient. Nor did Planned Parenthood have Holly Patterson's signature on one of the consent forms.

Patterson died last September 17th of septic shock resulting from RU-486.

In response to the report, officials at Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton said that they did not see anything in Patterson's death that would cause them to report it as an "unusual occurrence".

Planned Parenthood also did not report the death as unusual, arguing that she died in a hospital. But the state review said that her death should have been reported by Planned Parenthood because she was under their care at the time, and died as a result of a medication they prescribed.

Associated Press tried to contact Planned Parenthood for comment, but its calls were not returned.

In a telephone interview with AP Wednesday, Monty Patterson, Holly's father, said he was dismayed to learn that hospital and clinic officials hadn't reported her death. "We really feel that this needs public attention," he said. Mr. Patterson, who with his wife, wrote a letter of support for a Bill to suspend RU-486, said "This is not just an isolated case. We feel there are many more girls out there who have suffered needlessly."

U.S. Representative Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), who along with 59 co-sponsors, proposed a new legislation last year - "Holly's Law" - to ban RU-486, said that "If airplanes were as dangerous as RU-486, no reasonable woman would ever fly. This deadly drug needs to be grounded immediately and safety procedures need to be reviewed before more women are put at risk." DeMint observed that a woman is 200 times more likely to be injured or killed from RU-486 than in an airplane crash. "People on both sides of the abortion debate should not be distracted from the fact that the health and safety of American women is being compromised by RU-486 safety guidelines that are more lenient than in France," he said.

At least three other women have died from RU-486 in North America and at least 13 have required blood transfusions due to excessive blood loss. In 5-8 percent of cases, RU-486 causes severe complications. Danco, the drug's manufacturer, has reported at least 400 adverse events since RU-486 was approved.

Read the Patterson's letter at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/nov/031106a.html

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage "Legislation Introduced to Suspend FDA's Approval of RU-486" at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2003/nov/03110602.html

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