New study shows ERs mislable complications from the abortion pill
Purple Catholic Saturday Post
Good morning and happy Saturday.
There has been a lot of reporting in Catholic outlets this week about the Pope, the bishop of Charlotte, North Carolina, and the bishops of Washington state. All worthy stories, and many of them are linked below.
One story that seems to have missed the hype is a new peer-reviewed study challenging the Planned Parenthood claim that the abortion pill (mifepristone) is safer than Tylenol (acetaminophen).
Part of the issue with the claim is that these are two completely different types of drugs, and there is no scientific study comparing the two. Additionally, deaths caused by acetaminophen typically happen due to overuse in an unprescribed setting. Deaths caused by mifepristone and misoprostol are a direct result of the drug being prescribed by a physician.
I doubt this will change anything about mifepristone’s use, but what it does do is ring the alarm bells that drugs such as these should be administered under the supervision of a physician.
Relatedly, a Charlotte Lozier Institute study published this week shows that miscoding errors may account for inaccurate reporting of the outcomes caused by mifepristone and misprostol.
The researchers looked at anonymized Medicaid data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and found that emergency room visits after administration of the abortion pill are 79% more likely to be classified as “miscarriages” instead of “surgical abortions.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises physicians not to document abortion drug use when a pregnant woman comes into an emergency room with a pregnancy-related problem.
While our current Health and Human Services Secretary is busy investigating food dyes and fluoride, we have a real crisis of misinformation surrounding the abortion pill. It must be looked at immediately.
Pray for our leaders that they might have the courage to take up that fight.
MEDIA ALERT
I will be on Witness to Hope tonight at 7pm on Northern Apostle Radio 103.9FM in Marquette, Michigan. Listen live by clicking or tapping here.
The interview will also be published on the Purple Catholic after it airs.
Solemnity of the Ascension
For those of us not in the ecclesiastical provinces of Boston, Hartford, New York, New Jersey, and Omaha, we will be celebrating the Solemnity of the Ascension tomorrow. Those areas will be celebrating the Seventh Sunday of Easter.
At Mass for the Solemnity of the Ascension, we will hear Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:17-23 or Hebrews 9:24-28, 10:19-23; and Luke 24:46-53.
Here is a calendar for the rest of the week:
Monday, 2 June - Memorial of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, martyrs (optional)
Tuesday, 3 June - Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs
Thursday, 5 June - Memorial of St. Boniface, bishop and martyr
Friday, 6 June - Memorial of St. Norbert, bishop (optional)
For an explainer as to why the Solemnity of the Ascension is moved to Sundays in most of the United States (and not in most of the rest of the world), check out this piece from the Pillar:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
In the news:
The United States
Washington bishops sue over seal of confession - The Pillar
A Catholic fix for American higher education - George Weigel in Denver Catholic
The Vatican
Pope issues appeal for peace in Ukraine, Gaza amid fresh violence - Crux
Pope Leo XIV: If you want peace, prepare institutions of peace - Vatican News
The World
Bishops of Kenya decry murder of two priests - ACI Africa
Have a good weekend,
Matthew
