Italian Health Ministry: 29 Killed by RU-486

ROME, JULY 30, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Italian health ministry has reported that 29 women have died because of «the morning after pill,» also known in various forms as emergency contraception, Plan B, and RU-486.

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Eugenia Roccella, the subsecretary of the health office, pointed to this statistic as the Italian Agency of Pharmaceutics (AIFA) aims to approve the sale of the drug.

Roccella’s declarations were published today by L’Osservatore Romano. The health official noted how the secondary effects of RU-486 have caused these deaths. AIFA, nevertheless, has shown itself in favor of commercializing the pill.

The definitive decision should be made Friday, according to Roccella, though she said that an «interchange of opinions» between the ministry and AIFA would continue regardless.

The drug has continued to cause controversy across the globe, with some governments moving to make it more widely available and with less professional supervision.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration this month approved over-the-counter (without prescription) purchase of Plan B One-Step to adolescents as young as 17.

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On the Net:

A history of FDA approval of the drug: culture-of-life.org//content/view/576/1/

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