The Lighter Side of Choice

Hilarious piece in The Onion that you HAVE TO read! 

New 'Anti-Abortion Pill' Kills Mother, Leaves Fetus Alive

NEW YORK—Pro-life advocates celebrated approval of the new anti-abortion drug UR-86 by the Food and Drug Administration Tuesday, calling it a "safe and effective method" for terminating pregnant women while leaving their unborn children unharmed.

Enlarge ImageA doctor explains to an expectant mother how her organs will slowly dissolve with the new pill.

Pfizer, manufacturer of UR-86—dubbed the "last-morning-ever pill"—said the drug is intended only for occasions when the mind-set or politics of the mother threaten the life of the fetus.

"This drug is designed for extreme cases in which the mother cannot or should not be saved, or when her health has been placed before that of her unborn child," Pfizer spokesman Anthony Wright said.

First Trimester Tests Can Detect Down’s Syndrome

11/11/2005 – A new study of 38,000 US women found that new testing methods could better predict fetal Down's Syndrome in the first trimester than current, second-trimester testing. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study compared a new form of ultrasound test with the current “quadruple test,” a blood test administered around 16 weeks’ gestation. The new method was slightly more accurate, and would also eliminate the need for the invasive amniocentesis testing that is used as a follow-up to the quadruple test by replacing it with chorionic villus sampling to confirm the diagnosis, reports the Washington Post.

Fergal D. Malone, who led the study, said "This is a big deal for women. It's going to have a big impact on care for women, not just in the United States but throughout the world," according to the Post, and continued to recommend that testing be done for all women in their first trimester. Malone did not think earlier testing would increase the abortion rate, saying that "Most women are probably going to make the same decision now as before. If she decides to terminate the pregnancy, this just makes it safer and maximizes her privacy and confidentiality." Earlier testing would also offer women more time to prepare for special-needs children. So far, reports the Los Angeles Times, 1600 physicians and sonogram technicians have been trained for the new procedure.