OTTAWA, Nov 17 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada issued “Guidelines for Medical Termination of Early Pregnancy” last month even though such medical termination is not legal in Canada. Anticipating the legalization of RU-486 type abortion drugs in Canada, the guidelines recommend the use of methotrexate and misoprostol as “a safe and effective alternative to surgical abortions” with the ability to abort babies “up to nine weeks from the last menstrual period.”
The recommendation by the SOGC of methotrexate as “safe” is very troubling due to compelling evidence to the contrary that may put the credibility of the society in question. The 1998 edition of “Drug Facts and Comparisons,” a well known resource book in the medical and pharmaceutical industry, says of methotrexate: “because of the possibility of severe toxic reactions,” doctors must “fully inform patient[s] of the risks involved and assure constant supervision.” A listing of the side effects of the drug in the manual includes: “deaths have occurred with the use of methotrexate (MTX)”, “unexpectedly severe (sometimes fatal) marrow suppression and GI toxicity”, “MTX-induced lung disease. not always reversible”, “fetal death or congenital anomalies”, “diarrhea and ulcerative stomatitis.”
Jim Hughes, President of Campaign Life Coalition Canada told LifeSite News “once again we see drug companies profiting at the expense of distressed women, in this case by promoting more anti-human pesticides.”