One evening three years ago, Dr. Allan Sawyer sent me a message to check out his Facebook post:
“. . . a young woman walked into a Glendale abortion clinic and took an abortion pill, RU-486. The next day she walked into the same abortion clinic, 21 hours after taking the deadly pill, and begged them to reverse the pill. She had changed her mind and didn’t want to abort her baby. She was told by the clinic staff that there was nothing that could be done and that she had to finish the process.
Fortunately, she got on her phone and searched Google for ‘abortion pill reversal’ and . . . in less than an hour she was in my office. An ultrasound revealed a 10-week fetus with a heartbeat. I immediately started her on the reversal protocol medications. The next week on ultrasound the baby had grown by a week and today . . . the baby continues to grow and has a strong heart beat.”
A few months later, the young woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl. What a precious moment I had to meet this young woman and her baby.
My heart broke when I read Dr. Sawyer’s post. I was outraged that a woman could be denied life-saving medication.
The Legislature Took Action:
Thankfully, the Arizona legislature was in session. We worked with state policymakers to see a first-in-the-nation law passed to inform women that the abortion pill might be reversible.
The pro-abortion American College of Obstetricians/Gynecologists, Planned Parenthood, and others joined together to call abortion pill reversal “junk science” and that “reversing a medication abortion has no evidence to support it.” Then, opponents sued.
At the time, Dr. George Delgado, the doctor who discovered the abortion pill reversal regimen, had documented a 60% success rate with 87 births and 75 women still pregnant after successful reversals.
Unfortunately, those numbers weren’t good enough to convince the court to uphold the law. Thankfully, however, the law was not fully repealed.
Current Arizona Law:
Rather, the legislature repealed and replaced the law as part of the lawsuit settlement. Current Arizona law requires the following:
“If a woman has taken mifepristone as part of a two-drug regimen to terminate her pregnancy, has not yet taken the second drug and consults an abortion clinic questioning her decision to terminate her pregnancy or seeking information regarding the health of her fetus or the efficacy of mifepristone alone to terminate a pregnancy, the abortion clinic staff shall inform the woman that the use of mifepristone alone to end a pregnancy is not always effective and that she should immediately consult a physician if she would like more information.” ARS 36-2153 (B).
The new law adequately addresses the situation faced by Dr. Sawyer’s patient. The law requires an abortion provider to inform a woman who takes the first abortion pill and then goes back to the abortion clinic wanting to have it reversed that she should immediately see a doctor.
Yet, the need for a peer-reviewed study to prove the efficacy of abortion pill reversal still remained.
Study Shows that Abortion Pill Reversal Works:
Thankfully, this month Issues in Law and Medicine, a peer-reviewed professional journal, published “A Case Series Detailing the Successful Reversal of the Effects of Mifepristone Using Progesterone.”
It’s the study we’ve been waiting for to prove abortion pill reversal can work.
Key facts:
- A certain percentage of embryos do survive mifepristone, which is the first pill in the two-pill abortion medication regimen.
- The reversal of the effects of mifepristone using progesterone is safe and effective.
- The case study of 754 patients resulted in reversal rates of 64% and 68%, depending on the progesterone regimen followed.
- Babies born following abortion pill reversal showed no increased risk of birth defects.
Ongoing research now will focus on identifying the progesterone therapy with the highest success rate.
For more information on abortion pill reversal go to abortionpillreversal.com.
Help Get the Word Out:
Help us spread the word that medication abortions can be reversed!
Order a Free Abortion Pill Reversal window cling from our office.
ICYMI – Latest News & Articles of Interest
- 2018 CAP Family Dinner: Saturday, April 21, featuring Eric Metaxas, John Stonestreet with special guest Jack Phillips from Masterpiece Cakeshop. For more information click here.
- Oral argument for Brush & Nib before the Arizona Court of Appeals will take place next Monday, April 23 at 10 a.m. In the case, two Christian artists are challenging a city of Phoenix ordinance under which they could be penalized up to $2,500 and six months in jail if they decline to create custom invitations for a same-sex wedding.
- Congressional District 8 Special General Election is on Tuesday, April 24. Go to azvoterguide.com for candidate information.
- “Be Heavenly Minded So That You’re of Earthly Good” by T.D. Alexander
- BreakPoint: Booker and the New Yorker vs. Pompeo and Chick-Fil-A with John Stonestreet