{"id":191435,"date":"2018-11-23T12:00:12","date_gmt":"2018-11-23T18:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=191435"},"modified":"2022-04-21T07:22:19","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T12:22:19","slug":"exposed-conflicts-interest-abortion-pill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/exposed-conflicts-interest-abortion-pill\/","title":{"rendered":"EXPOSED: Massive conflicts of interest found in new abortion pill study"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Abortion industry insiders insist that there is a large public interest in expanding distribution of the abortion pill by lifting safety requirements for the drug regimen. Now, right on cue, a\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0done by abortion industry insiders and\u00a0funded by a large investor of the abortion pill’s manufacturer<\/a>\u00a0purports\u00a0to show that women want “alternative models” for obtaining the abortion pill.\u00a0But the move is anything but organic and is being strategically driven by abortion industry insiders.<\/p>\n

Published<\/a>\u00a0by the Journal Contraception,<\/em> the study\u00a0claims that women support obtaining abortion pills “(1) in advance from a doctor for future use, (2) over-the-counter (OTC) from a drugstore and (3) online without a prescription.” But there is more beneath the surface at play here. Not only are the Journal and its authors deeply embedded in the abortion industry, but the funding\u00a0for this study also came from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, a major\u00a0investor<\/a>\u00a0in Danco, the manufacturer of the abortion pill.<\/p>\n

In 1998, according to reports, Packard seeded Danco with $10 million, and Packard also currently funds<\/a>\u00a0Gynuity Health Projects,<\/a>\u00a0which conducts abortion pill\u00a0clinical trials<\/a>.\u00a0Packard’s investment in Danco included a $14 million loan as early as 1996 to bring the drug to the US, as well as additional grants made in 2000,<\/a>\u00a02004,<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a02009.<\/a>\u00a0And yet, the Journal<\/em> claims there are no conflicts of interest.<\/p>\n

\"Image:

Packard Foundation self managed abortion pill study (Image: 2018 study from Journal Contraception)<\/p><\/div>\n

Additional investors in Danco include\u00a0George Soros<\/a>\u00a0(Open Society),\u00a0Warren Buffet<\/a> (Buffet Foundation) and the California-based Kaiser Family Foundation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Image:

Packard Foundation invested in abortion pill manufacturer DANCO (Image: David and Lucile Packard Foundation )<\/p><\/div>\n

READ:\u00a0Abortion industry\u2019s own study predictably claims abortion laws not needed<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Journal Contraception \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  • Contraception<\/a> is the official journal<\/a> of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) and the Society of Family Planning (SFP). ARHP<\/strong> was originally founded<\/a> as The American Association of Planned Parenthood Physicians in 1963 by Planned Parenthood president, Alan Guttmacher<\/a>, and has gone through multiple name changes.<\/li>\n
  • The current<\/a> editor<\/a>\u00a0is abortionist\u00a0Dr. Carolyn Westhoff<\/a>, a former director<\/a>\u00a0at ARHP, who was involved in the clinical trials<\/a> of RU-486 and previously testified<\/a> in favor of keeping partial-birth abortion legal. According to SFP,<\/a>\u00a0Westhoff served on the Board of the Alan Guttmacher Institute<\/a> and Planned Parenthood. Westhoff is the Planned Parenthood medical advisor\u00a0seen on undercover Center for Medical Progress recordings<\/a> discussing how the aborted baby body parts she provides for research are \u201cfresh.\u201d<\/li>\n
  • The Journal\u2019s editorial board has been stacked with abortion industry insiders<\/a>, including a National Abortion Federation\u00a0board member<\/a>\u00a0and members of the Population Council<\/a>\u00a0(responsible for bringing the abortion pill into the US and forming DANCO<\/a>, the manufacturer of the pill).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Authors<\/strong><\/p>\n

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    • Author Antonia Biggs<\/strong> is a researcher<\/a>\u00a0at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH<\/a>).\u00a0ANSIRH\u00a0<\/strong>was\u00a0founded<\/a>\u00a0by abortionist Felicia H. Stewart, previously awarded<\/a> by the Population Council. Stewart also served on the executive committee<\/a> of the ARHP,\u00a0boards<\/a>\u00a0of NARAL and\u00a0the\u00a0National Abortion Federation<\/a>\u00a0and was medical director<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0staff physician<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Planned Parenthood facilities<\/a>\u00a0in California. ANSIRH publishes<\/a>\u00a0workbooks on abortion training they\u00a0call<\/a>\u00a0an \u201call-inclusive curriculum with tools to train new abortion providers\u201d and is part of UCSF\u2019s Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health.<\/a>\u00a0The Bixby Center<\/strong> prides itself on abortion as a focus and claims<\/a> that their work has, “led to new methods of abortion and expanded the abortion care workforce.” Bixby\u00a0trains abortion providers though its Ryan Residency Training Program.<\/a><\/li>\n
    • Author Sarah Raifman<\/strong>\u00a0is also associated with\u00a0ANSIRH<\/a>\u00a0and previously worked for the\u00a0Population Council.<\/a>\u00a0She\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0abortion is “part of reproductive healthcare,” and\u00a0supported<\/a>\u00a0the idea of\u00a0public colleges<\/a> passing out<\/a> the abortion pill.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \"Image:

      Author Sarah Raifman Tweet June 2018 SB320 (Image: Twitter)<\/p><\/div>\n

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      • Author Diana G. Foster <\/strong>is\u00a0another<\/a>\u00a0ANSIRH staffer who oppose<\/a>s late-term abortion restrictions. She sits on the\u00a0board<\/a>\u00a0of the Later Abortion Initiative (LAI), a group with the\u00a0mission<\/a>\u00a0of \u201cincreas[ing] the number of sites where later abortion is available\u201d and \u201cexpand[ing] the number of physicians who can perform later abortion, especially at 20 weeks\u2019 gestation and beyond.\u201d Foster has been applauded<\/a> by the abortion advocacy group, NARAL.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \"Image:

        Author Diana G Foster applauded by NARAL (Image: Tweeter)<\/p><\/div>\n

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        • Author Daniel A. Grossman, MD<\/strong><\/a>, is conducting clinical trials<\/a> for medication abortion dispensed<\/a> by pharmacists. He\u00a0worked<\/a> with the\u00a0Population Council<\/a> and testified<\/a> before a U.S. District Court in 2014 that he provides abortions as a consultant to Planned Parenthood Shasta Pacific<\/a>. He also serves as a liaison member of the PPFA National Medical Committee and has served for years<\/a> on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice America.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          READ:\u00a0Amazing: Over 500 babies saved thanks to abortion pill reversal<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

          The abortion pill regimen,\u00a0RU486,<\/a>\u00a0is made up of two drugs: Misoprostol and Mifeprex. This regimen is currently regulated by the\u00a0FDA<\/a>\u00a0under a\u00a0system<\/a>\u00a0known as\u00a0REMS<\/a>. As Live Action News previously explained<\/a>, taking the abortion pill regimen isn\u2019t just a simple thing \u2014 if a woman is too far along or if her pregnancy is ectopic,\u00a0these factors put women at additional risk<\/a>.\u00a0There have been 22 reported\u00a0deaths<\/a>\u00a0and thousands of hospitalizations since the abortion pill’s approval in 2000.<\/p>\n