The following comes from a March 31 Lifenews article by Cheryl Sullenger:

The University of Hawaii is recruiting patients as young as 14 for second-trimester abortions to determine how much they bleed during the procedure. The controversial study is already underway at the Kapiolani Medical Center in Honolulu, led by Bliss Kaneshiro, MD and Kate Whitehouse, DO.

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.

“This study is reminiscent of Nazi concentration camp experiments. I pity the poor women who are being treated like lab rats, especially those who are denied the drug to reduce hemorrhaging,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “I have read too many autopsy reports of women who bled to death during abortions to think this is anything but immoral and ghoulish.”

The abortion study is entitled “Effects of Oxytocin on Bleeding Outcomes During Dilation and Evacuation.” Abortion patients must be from 18-24 weeks gestation and from 14-50 years old. Researchers will measure how much each patient bleeds during her abortion, based on whether or not intravenous oxytocin is provided to her.