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Manufacturer of RU-486 Paralyzes Patients with Tainted Drug

FDA continues to refuse to investigate Chinese manufacturer

By Matthew Cullinan Hoffman

BEIJING, January 31, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The sole supplier to the United States of the abortion drug RU-486 has been selling tainted leukemia drugs that have harmed almost 200 Chinese cancer patients, according to reports that appeared today in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

The company's victims have suffered from a variety of health problems, including permanent paralysis, incontinence, and leg pain. 

According to the Times, Chinese police have shut down the offending plant and have arrested two officials in an ongoing investigation of what they have called a "cover-up".   However, the Food and Drug Administration is showing little concern about the matter.

The producer, the Shanghai Pharmaceutical Company, is a massive enterprise owned by the Chinese communist government.  The same division that manufactured the poisoned leukemia drug, Shanghai Hualian, manufactures RU-486 for sale to the US.

Shanghai Hualian is under investigation for other offenses, and China's own State Food and Drug Administration has accused it of "systematically covering up irregularities in manufacturing."  At least two other drugs manufactured by Hualian have been pulled from the market by Chinese regulators.  However, the FDA is reportedly dismissive of the problem and has announced no plans to investigate.

The FDA's lax attitude toward Hualian Pharmaceuticals (also known in the English language media as "Hua Lin") continues a policy that has allowed the non-profit pro-abortion Population Council to import the drug since 2000, despite more than 18 years of manufacturing abuse by the Chinese company.

In October of 2007, the organization Judicial Watch obtained FDA documents showing that the agency was aware of existing abuses eight years ago, when they approved RU-486 in a highly controversial decision that involved the use of studies by researchers affiliated with pro-abortion organizations, including the Population Council.

The FDA had visited Haulian plants in 1999 and 2000, which, according to Rep. Chris Smith, showed "serious problems including possible mixing of fresh materials with waste material barrels and use of impure source ingredients."  The FDA admitted at the time it approved RU-486 for importation that the company had a record of violating US regulations, going back a decade.

In 2006, the FDA also admitted that over 600 adverse effects and six deaths had been attributed to RU-486, but no actions were taken against the manufacturer, and the agency has continued to allow the drug to be sold.

"Today's news, regarding the drug maker, Shanghai Hualian, requires further investigation in order to better protect women's health," Jennifer Lahl, National Director of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network, told LifeSiteNews. 

"Sadly, when it comes to medical practice and pharmaceuticals, we have a long history of doctors prescribing medications for women, only to find out later how harmful and possible deadly the drugs were.  We should not let the politics of abortion get in the way of responsible treatment of women." 

Related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

New FDA Documents Reveal Abortion Pill RU-486 Made in Substandard Chinese Plant When Approved
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/oct/07101703.html

Massive Chinese Recalls, but FDA Silent Over RU-486 Chinese Manufacturers
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07072607.html

FDA Issues "Information" on Two Recent RU486 Deaths
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06041105.html

Two More Women Die After Medical Abortion with Abortion Pill RU-486, FDA Warns
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06031702.html

FDA Reveals 607 Adverse Events Related to RU-486 Abortion , Including Five Deaths
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06010301.html

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