{"id":45954,"date":"2014-02-05T11:16:58","date_gmt":"2014-02-05T16:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=45954"},"modified":"2014-02-07T10:53:59","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T15:53:59","slug":"canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The year 2014 is looking to be a massive battleground in Canada when it comes to issues of life. Not only is the euthanasia debate<\/a> coming to front and center stage this year, with the country arguably set to overhaul its previous ban on the practice, but Health Canada is also slated to make its decision on whether to legalize the abortion drug RU-486.<\/p>\n

The drug, which interferes with the hormones necessary to sustain pregnancy, is used to force miscarriages during the first trimester. Questions have arisen regarding the safety of the drug itself, as well as the way it is used, as at least fifteen women have died<\/a> in the last two decades. Despite significant concern, however, the drug has become legal in numerous countries and is likely to receive approval in Canada as well.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It has been a lengthy process for Health Canada. Clinical trials of the medication were halted in 2001 when a woman died of sepsis<\/a> when she participated in the trial, took the pill, and received an incomplete abortion. Trials eventually resumed, however, putting Health Canada in a position to consider RU-486’s approval in December of 2012. The Department seems to have dragged its feet<\/a> in the process, initially telling Parliament that an application for approval had not been made (an error that later required correction), and then taking more than a year in considering the petition, when average review time rarely exceeds nine months.<\/p>\n

A second drug, known as methotrexate, is currently already available in Canada to prescribe off-label to abort pregnancies up to seven weeks’ gestation, but RU-486 would extend the window for chemical abortions by another two weeks, up to nine. Proponents argue that the move is necessary, as abortion clinics can be sparse in some areas of Canada, leaving women with not enough convenient abortion options. Mary Ellen Douglas, however, then national organizer for the Campaign Life Coalition, points to concerns about the safety of the drug and plans to center the organization\u2019s March for Life rally on Parliament Hill around the drug and its controversial expansion of abortion. \u201cIt is pregnancy termination. It is abortion … and of course we wouldn’t want it for that reason,” Douglas explains<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If the drug is approved in Canada, citizens can expect wide availability with little effort made to curtail its use. While much can be done to attempt to limit the impact of the drug, including measures taken in many areas of the United States, such as prohibiting telemed abortions<\/a> and requiring the drug to be prescribed in accordance with its FDA label<\/a>, among other measures, Canada has yet to pass any laws regulating abortion, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper continues to affirm his promise<\/a> to ignore the issue.<\/p>\n

According to Harper<\/a>, issues of life are simply “not the priority of the Canadian people.” For the sake of the innocent and defenseless, let us hope for an uprising that will very much prove otherwise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The year 2014 is looking to be a massive battleground in Canada when it comes to issues of life. Not only is the euthanasia debate coming to front and center stage this year, with the country arguably set to overhaul its previous ban on the practice, but Health Canada is also slated to make its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":228,"featured_media":15900,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHealth Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486 - Live Action News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486 - Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The year 2014 is looking to be a massive battleground in Canada when it comes to issues of life. Not only is the euthanasia debate coming to front and center stage this year, with the country arguably set to overhaul its previous ban on the practice, but Health Canada is also slated to make its […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-05T16:16:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-02-07T15:53:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/2123523275_983f039f2b_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"320\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"213\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachael Denhollander\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachael Denhollander\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rachael Denhollander\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e37d61f4beee941912889db3f3c7a94b\"},\"headline\":\"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-05T16:16:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-07T15:53:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/\"},\"wordCount\":502,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"International\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/\",\"name\":\"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486 - Live Action News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-05T16:16:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-07T15:53:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Live Action News\",\"description\":\"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Live Action\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png\",\"width\":701,\"height\":710,\"caption\":\"Live Action\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e37d61f4beee941912889db3f3c7a94b\",\"name\":\"Rachael Denhollander\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16f5516a02dd83ac45ddb11f7b493bce?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16f5516a02dd83ac45ddb11f7b493bce?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rachael Denhollander\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/rachaeldenhollander\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486 - Live Action News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486 - Live Action News","og_description":"The year 2014 is looking to be a massive battleground in Canada when it comes to issues of life. Not only is the euthanasia debate coming to front and center stage this year, with the country arguably set to overhaul its previous ban on the practice, but Health Canada is also slated to make its […]","og_url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/","og_site_name":"Live Action News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","article_published_time":"2014-02-05T16:16:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-02-07T15:53:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"320","height":"213","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/2123523275_983f039f2b_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rachael Denhollander","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@liveaction","twitter_site":"@liveaction","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rachael Denhollander","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/"},"author":{"name":"Rachael Denhollander","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e37d61f4beee941912889db3f3c7a94b"},"headline":"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486","datePublished":"2014-02-05T16:16:58+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-07T15:53:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/"},"wordCount":502,"commentCount":4,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"articleSection":["International"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/","name":"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486 - Live Action News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-02-05T16:16:58+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-07T15:53:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canada-health-set-to-make-decision-concerning-the-legalization-of-abortion-drug-ru-486\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Health Canada set to make decision concerning the legalization of abortion drug RU-486"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","name":"Live Action News","description":"Covering Human Rights, Abortion, & Pro-Life Issues","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization","name":"Live Action","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Live-Action-Logo-Black.png","width":701,"height":710,"caption":"Live Action"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/twitter.com\/liveaction","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/liveactionorg\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/LiveActionFilms\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/LiveActionFilms"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/e37d61f4beee941912889db3f3c7a94b","name":"Rachael Denhollander","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16f5516a02dd83ac45ddb11f7b493bce?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/16f5516a02dd83ac45ddb11f7b493bce?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rachael Denhollander"},"url":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/author\/rachaeldenhollander\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45954"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/228"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}