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LISBON, May 19, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Portuguese girl who underwent an RU-486 medical abortion died of a severe infection of a type that has previously been linked to use of the drug regimen, the country’s government has said.

The girl’s death was made public by Portuguese junior Health Secretary Eugenia Roccella at the 21st European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, reported ANSAmed last week. The official said the 16-year-old girl succumbed to septic shock caused by Clostridium Sordellii, a bacteria that has killed several women in America as a result of RU-486 use.

According to the abstract presented at the Congress, the girl arrived at a maternity hospital’s emergency room five days after taking the drug regimen, complaining of faintness and cramping. Although at first conscious and having no sign of fever, the girl took a turn for the worse within hours and, despite an emergency hysterectomy, died 18 hours after arriving at the hospital.

The circumstances of the girl’s death are similar to those surrounding the deaths of two U.S. women, as revealed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last year.

“This is the first case in Europe in which the presence of a rare and lethal infection from Clostridium Sordellii has been ascertained,” said Roccella. The Portuguese Ministry of Health, she added, would present the case to European officials and “request further investigation and updates on deaths and complications recorded.”

Despite RU-486’s link to at least eight deaths in America, the U.S. abortion industry has largely resisted FDA guidelines for its use. The National Abortion Federation encourages abortionists to prescribe RU-486 within 63 days of the last menstrual period – an extra two weeks beyond FDA safety guidelines.

Recently, however, some states have begun clamping down on the reckless use of the drug regimen: in Oklahoma last week legislation was signed enforcing the FDA rules, and Texas is considering similar legislation.

A recent Australian study has found evidence that such chemical abortions have a far higher rate of serious complications than surgical abortion.