A father from Papua New Guinea whose 16-year-old daughter died after taking the abortion pill has called on health officials for an investigation of her death.
Life News reported that the teenager from Port Moresby, whose name is withheld for privacy, died after taking Misoprostol, an abortion drug that was bought on the streets using money she asked her parents for school supplies.
The teenager's father said he doesn't want other parents to experience what he did in the loss of his only daughter and oldest child -because of the drug- and has asked local authorities to investigate the matter.
"Having lost my only daughter, I do not want to see other families also lose their daughters through abortion. I call on authorities and the Department of Health to please look into this and find out how misoprostol is being sold on the streets in broad daylight," the unnamed father said in an interview with The Papua New Guinea Post Courier.
"She kept asking for some days and she looked sad, so I gave her the money to buy the things she had requested, never realizing that I gave her the money to buy misoprostol that eventually killed her," he disclosed pertaining to the $140 his daughter asked to buy the said school supplies.
Abortion is illegal in Papua New Guinea. Life News cited that pro-abortion groups have repeatedly advocated the use of abortion drugs for women since it is allegedly safe even though it is illegal.
Port Moresby General Hospital Chief Emergency Physician Dr. Sam Yockopua disclosed in an interview with The Papua New Guinea Post Courier that abortion drugs are being openly sold by local pharmacies, private individuals, and clinics even though it is illegal to do so. He also said that there are cases women have died from hemorrhage after hiding their abortion. He stressed the need for pregnant women to seek help early on and to avoid getting pregnant in the first place.
"I also want to let women and girls know that our colleagues at the obstetrics and gynecology (department) offer some great services here. They should seek help from them right from the start," Yockopua said.
"The best way to prevent all this is really to avoid pregnancy at the first place. Very simple!" He added.
Life News explained that Misoprostol, a labor inducing drug, has been widely used in abortion facilities in the United States in combination with Mifepristone, which is known to starve the baby to death so that it will be expelled from the womb.
Accordingly, Mifepristone has been linked to deaths and major complications but can not be used on its own without Misoprostol to induce an abortion. Some of the 4,000 major complications linked to the use of Mifepristone include hemorrhage, abdominal pain, and infection, excluding death.
But despite these risks, Life News highlighted that President Joe Biden is pushing the use of such drugs by stopping the enforcement of safety regulations on them. The Biden Administration is pushing to allow the selling of the said drugs by mail even if the woman has no prior consultation with a medical professional.
The Biden Administration, reported to be pushing for abortion more than former President Barack Obama did, was urged by Democrats in February to legalize mail-in abortion pills since Mifepristone has been required by the United States Food and Drug Administration to be given only upon prescription and in person.
The FDA then followed suit two months after by removing the ban on mail-in abortion pills during the pandemic. The FDA's resolution was meant to reverse the Trump Administration's policy on the matter.