The Right to Know and the Right to Life
This week we were at a press conference announcing that Representative Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) and Senator Peggy Lehner (R–Dayton) will introduce legislation in the Ohio House and Senate to amend Ohio’s informed consent law to require that women seeking abortion counseling get information about the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) protocol.
Doctors have successfully reversed chemical abortions by administering doses of the hormone progesterone, which is necessary for maintain a healthy pregnancy. In the process of a chemical abortion, a woman initially takes a mifepristone pill, which blocks progesterone and causes the unborn child to be disconnected from the uterine lining. Several days later, she takes a second drug (misoprostol) to remove the contents of her uterus. The APR protocol consists of providing a woman who has taken the first dose of the abortion pill with supplemental progesterone within 72 hours (but preferably within 24 hours). By taking progesterone over a number of weeks to overcome the deficiency caused by mifepristone, is possible that the woman can save her baby. Over 750 babies have been born following the reversal protocol, which is similar in nature to a medical protocol that is frequently used to help women who are at high risk of miscarriage due to progesterone insufficiency. The protocol was recently described in a BBC article about reducing miscarriage.
“It is perfectly reasonable to require that the informed consent process include this indispensable piece of information that this procedure can be stopped once it has started,” Sen. Peggy Lehner said, during a pro-life press conference at the Statehouse on May 14, 2019.
Surprisingly, organizations that claim to a woman’s “right to choose” vehemently oppose the legislation and have embarked on an extensive campaign to dispute the science of the bill, a drumbeat which has been picked up by Ohio’s media.
Much of their argument stems from a lack of medical trials on the process. However, they fail to recognize that a medical trial pertaining to abortion is unethical, as it inevitably results in killing the life of an unborn child. In medical trials, there is always a control group, which either receives a placebo or experimental drug. In testing the effects of progesterone on a woman who has taken mifepristone, it would be necessary to induce an abortion, either by giving the patients in the control group a placebo or by later performing an abortion, if the abortion pill reversal procedure is successful. However, the purpose of medicine is to promote maternal and fetal health, not death.
GCRTL’s executive director commented, “With more than one-third of local abortions being performed via the abortion pill, it is important that the community be aware that reversal is possible. A woman who changes her mind after she starts the abortion process has the right to withdraw her consent from inducing the death of her child, and if abortion advocates were truly in the business of supporting women’s choices they would be the first to recommend this process, even if it only provided a fraction of a percent of success.” Initial studies suggest the APR protocol has a 68-74% success rate.
One of the national leaders of the Abortion Pill Reversal process will be in Columbus on Monday, June 10th for the Greater Columbus Right to Life’s banquet. There is no cost to attend, although advance registration is required. There will be an opportunity to make a donation to support the work of GCRTL following the program.
If you or someone you know may benefit from the abortion pill reversal procedure, you can call their help hotline (877) 558-0333 or visit https://www.abortionpillreversal.com/.
This week we were at a press conference announcing that Representative Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) and Senator Peggy Lehner (R–Dayton) will introduce legislation in the Ohio House and Senate to amend Ohio’s informed consent law to require that women seeking abortion counseling get information about the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) protocol.
Doctors have successfully reversed chemical abortions by administering doses of the hormone progesterone, which is necessary for maintain a healthy pregnancy. In the process of a chemical abortion, a woman initially takes a mifepristone pill, which blocks progesterone and causes the unborn child to be disconnected from the uterine lining. Several days later, she takes a second drug (misoprostol) to remove the contents of her uterus. The APR protocol consists of providing a woman who has taken the first dose of the abortion pill with supplemental progesterone within 72 hours (but preferably within 24 hours). By taking progesterone over a number of weeks to overcome the deficiency caused by mifepristone, is possible that the woman can save her baby. Over 750 babies have been born following the reversal protocol, which is similar in nature to a medical protocol that is frequently used to help women who are at high risk of miscarriage due to progesterone insufficiency. The protocol was recently described in a BBC article about reducing miscarriage.
“It is perfectly reasonable to require that the informed consent process include this indispensable piece of information that this procedure can be stopped once it has started,” Sen. Peggy Lehner said, during a pro-life press conference at the Statehouse on May 14, 2019.
Surprisingly, organizations that claim to a woman’s “right to choose” vehemently oppose the legislation and have embarked on an extensive campaign to dispute the science of the bill, a drumbeat which has been picked up by Ohio’s media.
Much of their argument stems from a lack of medical trials on the process. However, they fail to recognize that a medical trial pertaining to abortion is unethical, as it inevitably results in killing the life of an unborn child. In medical trials, there is always a control group, which either receives a placebo or experimental drug. In testing the effects of progesterone on a woman who has taken mifepristone, it would be necessary to induce an abortion, either by giving the patients in the control group a placebo or by later performing an abortion, if the abortion pill reversal procedure is successful. However, the purpose of medicine is to promote maternal and fetal health, not death.
GCRTL’s executive director commented, “With more than one-third of local abortions being performed via the abortion pill, it is important that the community be aware that reversal is possible. A woman who changes her mind after she starts the abortion process has the right to withdraw her consent from inducing the death of her child, and if abortion advocates were truly in the business of supporting women’s choices they would be the first to recommend this process, even if it only provided a fraction of a percent of success.” Initial studies suggest the APR protocol has a 68-74% success rate.
One of the national leaders of the Abortion Pill Reversal process will be in Columbus on Monday, June 10th for the Greater Columbus Right to Life’s banquet. There is no cost to attend, although advance registration is required. There will be an opportunity to make a donation to support the work of GCRTL following the program.
If you or someone you know may benefit from the abortion pill reversal procedure, you can call their help hotline (877) 558-0333 or visit https://www.abortionpillreversal.com/.
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