“HRA Pharma UK and Ireland Ltd would like to inform you that following a licence variation, the emergency contraceptive ellaOne (ulipristal acetate) became available to buy from pharmacies without prescription from 1st May 2015”, subsequent to a consultation with a pharmacist.

The Irish SPC is available at:

http://www.medicines.ie/medicine/15370/SPC/ellaOne+30+mg/

Pharmacological properties:

“Ulipristal acetate is an orally-active synthetic selective progesterone receptor modulator which acts via high-affinity binding to the human progesterone receptor. When used for emergency contraception the mechanism of action is inhibition or delay of ovulation via suppression of the LH surge. Pharmacodynamic data show that even when taken immediately before ovulation is scheduled to occur (when LH has already started to rise), ulipristal acetate is able to postpone follicular rupture for at least 5 days in 78.6% of cases (p<0.005 vs. levonorgestrel and vs. placebo) (see Table).”

The Irish SPC does not state that ulipristal acetate has any affect on the lining of the endometrium.

In contrast, according to PFLI (Pharmacists for Life international; www.pfli.org) Ullipristal acetate, “(Ella) is chemically and functionally similar to Mifepristone (RU-486), the one FDA-approved abortion drug, and not similar to Plan B (Levonogrestral). Mifepristone and ella share identical modes of action, both are selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRM) and both can cause the demise of an already implanted embryo.

While the FDA advisory committee did not specifically answer the question concerning the abortive nature of ella, the FDA labeling information clearly states that “alterations to the endometrium that may affect implantation may also contribute to the efficacy.” The labeling information also includes a number of animal studies in which ella terminated established pregnancies.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3225469/#!po=0.289017

The above website states the following:

“When unprotected intercourse and the administration of ulipristal occur at or within 24 hours of ovulation, then ulipristal has an abortifacient action.”

http://www.ellacausesabortions.com/ellapetition/Get_the_Facts.html

The above website gives more information about the mode of action of ulipristal acetate.

A document from the European Medicines Agency states the following:

“Ulipristal acetate prevents progesterone from occupying its receptor, thus the gene transcription normally turned on by progesterone is blocked, and the proteins necessary to begin and maintain pregnancy are not synthesized.” “Moreover, the SPC states that Ellaone should only be prescribed after a pregnancy test has been performed in case pregnancy is suspected” (2009 document)

The current SPC of Ulipristal acetate in Ireland and Europe states that:

“ellaOne is not intended for use during pregnancy and should not be taken by any woman suspected or known to be pregnant (see section 4.2). ellaOne does not interrupt an existing pregnancy.”

The SPC is a legal document. Pregnancy begins post-implantation by the legal definition.

This begs the question, when does human life begin? Dr. Condic, an Associate Professor of Neurobiology and Anatomy at the University of Utah School of Medicine, maintains that “Following the binding of sperm and egg to each other, the membranes of these two cells fuse, creating in this instant a single hybrid cell: the zygote or one-cell embryo. Cell fusion is a well-studied and very rapid event, occurring in less than a second.”

http://bdfund.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/wi_whitepaper_life_print.pdf

St. Pope John Paul II affirmed the above principle:
“Some people try to justify abortion by claiming that the result of conception, at least up to a certain number of days, cannot yet be considered a personal human life. But in fact, “from the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life is begun that is neither that of the father nor the mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human already2.”

(Evangelium Vitae 60, quoting Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Procured Abortion12).

In Summary, it would appear that low dose ulipristal acetate can create a hostile environment for the one-cell embryo. The one-cell embryo is the first stage of human life. As it is now available without a prescription, there is also the potential danger of it being used ‘off label’ at a higher dose, that can be used to terminate an established pregnancy.

To recap: Ulipristal acetate is chemically and functionally similar to Mifepristone. Mifepristone and ulipristal acetate share identical modes of action, both are selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRM) and both can cause the demise of an already implanted embryo, depending on the dose.

The 30mg dose of Ulipristal acetate that is available from a pharmacy without a prescription, is a relatively low dose as compared with the dose that would be required for a chemical abortion of an established pregnancy.(This is why the SPC states: “ellaOne does not interrupt an existing pregnancy.”)

Ulipristal acetate is approximately equipotent with Mifepristone. The dose of Mifepristone used to procure an abortion is 600mg. The question still remains what does 30mg dose of ulipristal acetate do to the one-cell embryo?

Mifepristone is known as the ‘abortion drug’. It’s abortifacient effect can be counteracted by administering progesterone. It would seem logical that high dose ulipristal acetate, could also be counteracted with progesterone administration. Whether this should be made more commonly known is a dilemma. On the one-hand, it would highlight the dangers of ulipristal acetate, but would this publicity also alert the public inadvertently to it’s sinister use, ‘off label’, at a higher dose, to cause ‘abortions’? See www.abortionpillreversal.com

A Doctor working in Ireland