{"id":250062,"date":"2021-07-30T14:41:32","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T19:41:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=250062"},"modified":"2021-07-29T15:52:51","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T20:52:51","slug":"papua-new-guinea-teen-dies-misoprostol-abort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/papua-new-guinea-teen-dies-misoprostol-abort\/","title":{"rendered":"Papua New Guinea teen dies after taking misoprostol to abort her baby"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A 16-year-old girl in Papua New Guinea (PNG) has died after purchasing the drug misoprostol on the street, later taking it to abort her pregnancy.<\/p>\n

Though abortion is illegal in PNG, misoprostol (an ulcer drug commonly manufactured under the name Cytotec) is available through pharmacies and some private clinics, where it is apparently being sold. When pregnant women use the drug, it produces cramping, heavy bleeding, and contractions. It has been approved for use in abortion in the United States up to the 10th week of pregnancy as part of the abortion pill regimen, which also utilizes the drug mifepristone.<\/p>\n

According to a report published<\/a> by the PostCourier.com, the girl’s father is heartsick over his daughter’s death and is calling for an investigation into how misoprostol is becoming \u201cavailable\u201d on the streets. Sadly, he claimed that his daughter asked him for money to purchase school supplies, but he now knows he inadvertently funded the abortion that took his daughter and grandchild’s lives.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sam Yockopua, chief emergency physician at the Port Moresby General Hospital, told the Post-Courier the hospital has seen numerous instances of these “very dangerous” self-managed abortions. He warned that women “can die from heavy blood loss to infections (septic abortions).”<\/p>\n

\u201cOne may also become infertile or sub-fertile in the future due to damages to the cervix or uterus (womb),” he added.<\/p>\n