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American Morning

Paging Dr. Gupta: RU-486 Controversy

Aired September 23, 2003 - 08:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn now to a new controversy surrounding the abortion pill, RU-486. It may be linked to the death of a California teenager.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us to talk about the risks associated with the drug.

Good morning. Nice to have you back for a moment.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Not a lot known at this point about this case, because of course it's early in the investigation, but there could be a link between RU-486 and the death of this young girl in California.

GUPTA: That's right, and don't know yet. The autopsy results, still awaiting those. Holly Marie Patterson, that's her name, 18 years old, from Livermore, California, a sad story. The stories goes like this, September 10th, she decided to go to a Planned Parenthood clinic and actually get this medication, RU-486, also called Mifoprex (ph). That was September 10. Three days later, she went back to get two more pills. That's standard protocol. Took two more of those pills. Actually that night, she actually went to the emergency room in severe pain, was given some painkillers, sent home. Unclear, Soledad, whether or not she told the people at the hospital that in fact she was on these medications at this point. She returned again to the hospital on the 16th and died the next day.

The speculation at this point -- it is just speculation -- is that in fact sometimes during this process, rarely, a small portion of the fetus can be left behind. This can cause something called septic shock. This happens rarely in the case of miscarriages as well.

O'BRIEN: Does that mean it's a massive infection, basically?

GUPTA: That's right, it's an infection caused by a retained part of the fetus. Actually, that's what happens. RU-486, a medication again, a medication that's been around for quite some time, really since 1988 in France, 2000 now in this country. About a million people worldwide have taken this medication. Basically, it's an abortion pill.

O'BRIEN: What's the track record for the drug?

GUPTA: The track record is pretty good. I mean, it went through a pretty strict FDA process before 2000, before it got approved in this country. It's been around in the world for a long time before that. About 5 to 8 percent of miscarriages, without this pill, lead to symptoms of significant bleeding that require further procedures. The numbers are sort of similar with this pill as well. There have been two particular cases, where women have died after taking the pill, although their deaths were never conclusively linked to the pill itself.

And let me just say as well, when you take the pill, the symptoms are very similar to a woman who has had a miscarriage. You get uterine bleeding, fatigue, nausea, all those sorts of things, just like with a miscarriage.

O'BRIEN: So miscarriage, you're saying women who have had miscarriages also have a 5 percent to 7 percent chance of going into septic shock as well?

GUPTA: Well, they have the 5 to 7 percent of having a problem. Septic shock is the more serious part of that. But what can happen sometimes is they can have the significant bleeding requiring an additional procedures.

Let me just point it, because this is a point of contention when it comes to this particular medication. What happens is, you can't just get this in a drugstore and take it without consultation. It typically requires three visits. First a consultation with the doctor where you're given the first pill. You return to take a drug called Misoprostol (ph) three days later. So one drug actually stops progesterone, stops the pregnancy. Misosprostol, the second drug, actually induces labor to actually cause the abortion. After 12 days then, you return to make sure the abortion has actually completed itself. So there are three visits with the doctor. This is a point of contention among the proponents and advocates of this pill, versus people who oppose it. This consultation with the doctor, a very important part of this medication.

O'BRIEN: All right, Sanjay Gupta, I guess We'll wait to hear to see exactly what the link was with this woman's death.

GUPTA: Yes, we'll keep an eye on it.

O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, Sanjay. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired September 23, 2003 - 08:45   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's turn now to a new controversy surrounding the abortion pill, RU-486. It may be linked to the death of a California teenager.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us to talk about the risks associated with the drug.

Good morning. Nice to have you back for a moment.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Not a lot known at this point about this case, because of course it's early in the investigation, but there could be a link between RU-486 and the death of this young girl in California.

GUPTA: That's right, and don't know yet. The autopsy results, still awaiting those. Holly Marie Patterson, that's her name, 18 years old, from Livermore, California, a sad story. The stories goes like this, September 10th, she decided to go to a Planned Parenthood clinic and actually get this medication, RU-486, also called Mifoprex (ph). That was September 10. Three days later, she went back to get two more pills. That's standard protocol. Took two more of those pills. Actually that night, she actually went to the emergency room in severe pain, was given some painkillers, sent home. Unclear, Soledad, whether or not she told the people at the hospital that in fact she was on these medications at this point. She returned again to the hospital on the 16th and died the next day.

The speculation at this point -- it is just speculation -- is that in fact sometimes during this process, rarely, a small portion of the fetus can be left behind. This can cause something called septic shock. This happens rarely in the case of miscarriages as well.

O'BRIEN: Does that mean it's a massive infection, basically?

GUPTA: That's right, it's an infection caused by a retained part of the fetus. Actually, that's what happens. RU-486, a medication again, a medication that's been around for quite some time, really since 1988 in France, 2000 now in this country. About a million people worldwide have taken this medication. Basically, it's an abortion pill.

O'BRIEN: What's the track record for the drug?

GUPTA: The track record is pretty good. I mean, it went through a pretty strict FDA process before 2000, before it got approved in this country. It's been around in the world for a long time before that. About 5 to 8 percent of miscarriages, without this pill, lead to symptoms of significant bleeding that require further procedures. The numbers are sort of similar with this pill as well. There have been two particular cases, where women have died after taking the pill, although their deaths were never conclusively linked to the pill itself.

And let me just say as well, when you take the pill, the symptoms are very similar to a woman who has had a miscarriage. You get uterine bleeding, fatigue, nausea, all those sorts of things, just like with a miscarriage.

O'BRIEN: So miscarriage, you're saying women who have had miscarriages also have a 5 percent to 7 percent chance of going into septic shock as well?

GUPTA: Well, they have the 5 to 7 percent of having a problem. Septic shock is the more serious part of that. But what can happen sometimes is they can have the significant bleeding requiring an additional procedures.

Let me just point it, because this is a point of contention when it comes to this particular medication. What happens is, you can't just get this in a drugstore and take it without consultation. It typically requires three visits. First a consultation with the doctor where you're given the first pill. You return to take a drug called Misoprostol (ph) three days later. So one drug actually stops progesterone, stops the pregnancy. Misosprostol, the second drug, actually induces labor to actually cause the abortion. After 12 days then, you return to make sure the abortion has actually completed itself. So there are three visits with the doctor. This is a point of contention among the proponents and advocates of this pill, versus people who oppose it. This consultation with the doctor, a very important part of this medication.

O'BRIEN: All right, Sanjay Gupta, I guess We'll wait to hear to see exactly what the link was with this woman's death.

GUPTA: Yes, we'll keep an eye on it.

O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, Sanjay. Appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com