Females as young as 14 have been recruited since October
Aborting a pregnancy in the second trimester carries risks, physicians say. Irregular bleeding is common for two weeks after the procedure and nine American women who have abortions after 20 weeks gestation die every year, according to figures from medical and abortion-provider groups.
What happens when some of these girls and women are given and take a drug to prevent bleeding while others are and do not?
The University of Hawaii plans to find out. The school is sponsoring a clinical trial for 166 patients 14 to 50 years old, according to Life News, which broke the story:
In the randomized trial, researchers experiment by either providing or denying intravenous oxytocin to abortion patients. Oxytocin is commonly used to minimize blood loss and decrease the risk of hemorrhage. However, some doctors are concerned that denying oxytocin during surgery may put patients, especially teen girls, at risk.
Researchers will follow patients until they leave the clinic and gauge their "satisfaction, pain score, and postoperative bleeding," according to the study.
Culturally progressive news sites have not reported on the trial. But Planned Parenthood cites two studies to show that women who abort their pregnancy in the second term are still less likely to die than women who give birth.
Yet Troy Newman, a longtime activist who heads a controversial pro-life group, told Life News that the women were being dehumanized: