OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Alameda County Coroner's Office confirmed Friday that drug-induced abortion medication was the official cause of death for an 18-year-old Livermore woman who died Sept. 17 in Pleasanton.

According to Deputy Coroner Frank Gentle, Holly Patterson's "therapeutic drug induced abortion'' caused a condition called endomyometritis, an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining of the uterus.

This inflamed condition set in several days after Patterson took the abortion drug, and in turn led to shock which ultimately killed her, Gentle said.

Patterson passed away at the Valley Care Medical Center in Pleasanton.

Gentle said the abortion medication RU-486 is not specifically mentioned in Patterson's Cause of Death report.

Reproductive health care organization Planned Parenthood's Web site calls RU-486 "time-tested and super-safe," when used during the first seven weeks of pregnancy.

Gentle said Patterson took the abortion pill Sept. 10, an estimated 6 - 8 weeks into her pregnancy.

Patterson did not have any other children, and had graduated from high school a few months before her death, Gentle said.

Patterson is survived by her father, Montgomery Patterson.