A 23-year-old student in Argentina has died following a legal chemical abortion, it has been reported. Abortion was legalised in Argentina last December, which SPUC covered at the time.
María del Valle González López, from La Paz in Argentina, died on 11 April after having an abortion on 7 April.
It has been reported that María fell ill after she took an abortion drug. She was later diagnosed with an infection, septicaemia, which resulted in her death days later.
An investigation into María’s death has now been launched by a prosecutor’s office. An autopsy will take place, which will confirm the cause of death.
Globally, medical abortion is rapidly becoming more common than surgical abortion. In 2014, medical abortions overtook surgical abortions in England and Wales for the first time, and in 2019, 73% of all abortions were medically induced, according to Department of Health statistics.
Mifepristone and Misoprostol, common abortion drugs that María may have taken, have been shown to impair innate immunity, rendering women more susceptible to infections that can result in death, as detailed in a briefing by SPUC.
María was a student studying social work at the National University of Cuyo.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “Complications after medical abortion are four times higher than after surgical abortions – 20% compared with 5%.[1]
“At a time when DIY home abortion is being promoted in the UK – as the abortion industry and pro-abortion activists take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to promote their agenda – the sobering facts about the dangerous reality of chemical abortion often go unsaid.
“SPUC is currently campaigning to raise awareness about the dangers to women from chemical abortion, as well as to the unborn.
“María, it appears, was a victim of abortion, a culture of death that, last December, spread to Argentina.
“We must never forget that abortion harms women. SPUC will never cease to campaign on behalf of the safety and wellbeing of women and their babies.”
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[1] Niinimäki M, Pouta A, Bloigu A, et al. Immediate complications after medical compared with surgical termination of pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2009;114(4):795-804. doi:10.1097/AOG.0b013e3181b5ccf9