Arizona lawmakers introduce amendment to abortion pill laws

Arizona lawmakers have introduced an amendment to the state’s recently-enacted law regulating the dispensation of chemical abortion drugs, as well as its law requiring abortionists to inform patients about abortion pill reversal.

The pro-life, conservative Center for Arizona Policy, which crafted the amendment, says the changes are meant to address the Food and Drug Administration’s recent change of abortion pill protocols and help withstand lawsuits against the reversal law.

First, it would repeal the law regulating abortion pill dispensation, which originally required abortionists to prescribe it in compliance with the FDA’s recommended dosage, but was rendered moot when the FDA changed its protocols last month. “We’re not saying we’re OK with what the FDA did,” CAP president Cathi Herrod said. “But we want to take the interim to assess what’s best for women’s health and safety.”

Next, it would replace the requirement that women be told abortion pills can be reversed with a requirement that, should a woman who takes mifepristone asks about the viability of her baby, she must be told the drug is not always effective and that she should consult a doctor for more information. Herrod said the move would help account for testimony against the law in the lawsuit. In the video below, former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino describes the process of a chemical abortion:

Abortion defenders have blasted abortion pill reversal as junk science, but a number of successful cases have been documented, with one November 2015 news report listing the number of babies saved, at that time, at 137.