Report: Abortion complications in Pennsylvania doubled in five years

According to a report from The Epoch Times, abortions in Pennsylvania increased by nine percent (9%) from 2016 to 2021, but complications from abortions have nearly doubled in the state in that same time. Pennsylvania requires the Department of Health to collect abortion data and release an annual report. The increase in both abortions and complications is a continuing pattern. (See reports here for reference: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)

Abortion complications in the state rose by 48% in correlation with a 62% increase in the use of the abortion pill over the same time frame. The abortion pill has been found to be four times more dangerous for women than first-trimester surgical abortions. The abortion pill carries a high rate of incomplete abortion which can lead to a dangerous infection and a second, surgical abortion. It can also be deadly if a woman who is unknowingly experiencing an ectopic pregnancy takes the abortion pill.

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In 2016, the abortion pill killed 11,420 preborn children in Pennsylvania, and by 2021, that number had increased to 18,730. The number of women who suffered complications rose from 155 in 2016 to 322 in 2021. The data shows that the most common complication was “retained products of conception” followed by infections and bleeding. In fact, 74% (239) of the 322 abortion complications in 2021 were “retained products of conception.”

“‘Retained products of conception’ means baby body parts,” Maria Gallagher of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation told The Epoch Times. “Either chemically or surgically, the baby body parts are not being fully expelled from the mother. And I just think that given the rapid rise in these chemical abortions, I think that there is reason to believe that there’s a correlation between that and the complications.”

The state data shows that there were 13,410 first-trimester surgical D&C abortions with 88 record complications including seven infections, five bleeding issues, and 70 incomplete abortions (retained products of conception) during that time frame. There were 18,730 abortions by pill with 180 recorded complications including 147 incomplete abortions (retained products of conception) and 21 bleeding issues. There were also more than 1,360 abortions that took place later in the second trimester or later.

The Epoch Times noted that it reached out to Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania and Planned Parenthood Keystone regarding the increase in complications and abortion pill use, but both abortion businesses failed to respond.

In 2022, the number of emergency calls and ambulance dispatches related to abortion pill use had risen a shocking 64% since 2019 in the UK. Amid the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the UK began allowing at-home use of the abortion pill, which is believed to have led to the increase in complications. Thirty-one-year-old Sarah Dunn died after taking the abortion pill in the UK in March 2022. It has been confirmed that her death was caused by sepsis as a result of the abortion pill.

Likewise, a Teleabortion study released in 2021 revealed that six percent (6%) of “known outcomes” from the abortion pill were severe enough to result in emergency room or urgent care visits. Of the 1,157 study participants, 70 had complications. Ten were considered serious adverse events. Forty-seven women required surgical interventions and 92 required outpatient visits following their abortions.