New resource informs doctors about abortion pill reversal 

By CNA Staff

Denver Newsroom, Nov 12, 2021 / 14:19 pm

The American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists has launched an online resource for medical providers that promotes abortion pill reversal technology. 

The webpage includes a video and FAQ section that explore the science behind abortion pill reversal and debunk common misconceptions about the practice. 

“The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and others have worked hard to hide the fact that Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) is a safe and effective way to reverse chemical abortions,” said Live Action, which helped produce resource, in a Nov. 12 interview.  

“We see a need to set the record straight, and we are privileged to partner with the world-class team of experts at AAPLOG to do so. Every medical professional deserves to see an accurate representation of APR and should be provided the opportunity to join these life-saving efforts.”

Heartbeat International also helped produce the resource. 

A medical abortion involves a two-drug regiment, taken within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The first drug, mifepristone, blocks the pregnancy hormone progesterone. The second drug,  misoprostol, causes the uterus to contract, typically completing the chemical abortion. 

Misoprostol is taken up to two days after mifepristone. If a woman changes her mind before taking the second drug, many times a large dose— and several subsequent doses— of the pregnancy hormone progesterone can reverse the effects of the first drug. 

A 2017 study of 754 patients found that progesterone was nearly 70% effective in reversing the effects of mifepristone.

“Live Action sees APR as one of the most important resources currently available to the pro-life movement, and we understand the need for the APR network to be widely known and available to every inch of the country,” Live Action said. 

“We were eager to contribute in whatever way we could to help educate medical professionals with this essential information, especially in light of the plentiful misinformation that currently exists regarding the APR process. Live Action's purpose is to save lives, and APR and its network of medical professionals do exactly that.”

Medical abortions accounted for more than a third of all abortions in the United States in 2017, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Though Live Action said that figure represents only reported medical abortions, and it is possible many more went unreported. 

This latest resource is directed toward medical professionals, but earlier this year Live Action launched a series of online advertisements to spread the word about abortion pill reversal services to women regretting taking mifepristone. 

Google canceled those advertisements in September, four months after their launch, claiming they were “unreliable” and contained false information. 

In a September interview with CNA, Live Action Founder Lila Rose disputed Google’s label of “unreliable claims,” noting that the abortion pill reversal regimen uses progesterone treatment that has been FDA-approved to prevent miscarriages. She said Google “obviously failed to understand” what abortion pill reversal actually entails.

“All of us, whether or not we are involved in the pro-life movement, must do our part to ensure that women who are being targeted with the dangerous abortion pill know that it almost always ends up with the death of a child and often leaves women bleeding alone, without medical supervision,” Live Action said. 

“We need to do more to make everyone aware that there is hope for women, even if they have already taken the deadly abortion pill. A top initiative at Live Action is to continue to spread awareness of APR so that any woman and child in need can receive life-saving care.”

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) Staff are a team of journalists dedicated to reporting news concerning the Catholic Church around the world. Our bureaus are located in Denver, Washington, and Rome. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. CNA is a service of EWTN News. You can contact us at news@catholicna.com with questions.