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July 31, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Pro-lifers have been warning for several years that the rise of “at-home abortions” (also morbidly known as “do-it-yourself” or “DIY” abortions) would come with serious consequences. Earlier this month, the American pro-life organization Live Action released an extensive investigation into the dangers of the abortion pill, noting, among other side-effects, that complications can include “severe cramping, contractions, and heavy bleeding.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes that women taking the abortion pill should be aware that bleeding could last an average of nine to 16 days, with up to eight percent experiencing bleeding for a month.

FDA statistics cited by Live Action’s report also note that the abortion pill has thus far caused “24 maternal deaths” between 2000, when it was approved, and 2018. In total, the abortion pill has resulted in or contributed to over 1,000 hospitalizations—and over 4,000 so-called “total adverse events.” As the coronavirus pandemic has turned abortion activists into full-time RU-486 pushers, the body count is rising—while the media almost totally ignore the inevitable consequences.

A story today out of the United Kingdom by the Daily Mirror highlights just how gruesome those consequences can be. Police in the Midlands (in central England) have launched a murder investigation into the death of a newborn after the mother took abortion drugs that were mailed to her. They are also looking into two other cases of babies being aborted at 28 weeks, which is four weeks after the U.K.’s abortion limit of 24 weeks. 

Additionally, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care, has begun examining at-home abortions and has thus far identified up to seven other cases, indicating an “escalating risk” with taking abortion drugs at home. According to the Sun Online, several mothers needed emergency hospital treatment—and “[t]he website also reports that two women died in the North West after early medical abortions in the last few weeks.” 

According to Nigel Acheson, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Hospitals, speaking to the Mirror: “We are aware of a small number of serious incidents who have accessed early medical abortion have suffered complications. We have followed up directly with the providers concerned, and continue to work closely with NHS England and Improvement, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place to protect women accessing this service.”

To summarize: Some women are taking abortion drugs late in pregnancy, thus killing a child whom it is still illegal to kill in the U.K. (Under British law, before 24 weeks, abortion is healthcare and after 24 weeks, abortion is murder.) Additionally, two women thus far have died, likely as a result of taking abortion drugs, and others have been hospitalized. The Sun Online assured readers that “thousands of women” have taken the abortion pill safely, which both ignores the fact that the abortion pill is lethal for the child in question and will surely be cold comfort to those who have lost a loved one to a drug the abortion industry insists is not dangerous.

This trend is just beginning. The U.K. changed the rules surrounding at-home abortions in April, allowing women to procure abortion drugs by mail and abort their babies at home. These laws are set to last until 2022, and women can abort up until the tenth week of pregnancy using abortion pills until then. They are supposed to utilize “telemedicine”—consulting with a physician via phone or video—who will prescribe them the pills, after which a kit with the necessary abortive drugs can be mailed to their homes. There are no reports as of yet indicating whether doctors signed off on the drugs that were used to kill late-term babies in the womb.

But we do know that these tragic stories are just beginning. 

Jonathon’s new podcast, The Van Maren Show, is dedicated to telling the stories of the pro-life and pro-family movement. In his latest episode, he interviews Rob Hoogland, who was ordered by a judge to call his daughter a boy or face “family violence” charges. Hoogland’s daughter was undergoing testosterone treatment against his wishes after being convinced by her school counselor that she was a boy. To top it off, Hoogland couldn’t even share his story or seek help outside his lawyers due to a gag order placed on him by the court. You can subscribe here and listen to the episode below: 

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Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National Post, National Review, First Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton Spectator, Reformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.

His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

He is the author of The Culture War, Seeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion, Patriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life Movement, Prairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.

Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.