House committee advances West Virginia abortion pill reversal bill

A West Virginia bill that would offer state-funded access to abortion pill reversal at the state's pregnancy resource centers passed a House committee last week after clearing the full Senate earlier this month.

Key Takeaways:

• The West Virginia House Committee on Health and Human Resources advanced SB 805 on March 5.

• The bill allows pregnancy resource centers receiving state funds to use those state funds to offer 'abortion pill reversal.'

• The abortion pill reversal process offers high doses of progesterone to counteract the effects of the abortion pill drug mifepristone.

The Details:

The West Virginia House Committee on Health and Human Resources advanced Senate Bill 805 on March 5. The legislation allows pregnancy resource centers that receive state funds through the state's Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program to use those state funds to also offer the abortion pill reversal process.

According to the Herald-Dispatch, $3 million was allocated to support the state's pregnancy centers last year; that number has increased to $4 million for fiscal year 2027.

Can the ABORTION PILL be REVERSED?

The bill's Senate sponsor, Sen. Brian Helton, previously explained that the legislation is simply to ensure that women have the option to try to reverse their abortion if they experience regret after taking the first drug of the abortion pill regimen, mifepristone.

“So we’re not taking away anything that’s currently available under our law," Helton said. "What we are doing is adding another choice to women and in my opinion giving a lot better medical care throughout this process."

SB 805 passed the Senate on March 4.

Zoom Out:

'Abortion pill reversal' (APR) is a process in which a woman is given high doses of progesterone to counteract the effects of mifepristone, which essentially starves the baby in the womb.

The process has a track record of safety, and studies have shown a 64-68% success rate, yet it continues to come under attack by abortion extremists who don't want to admit that abortion is something that women might regret.

As Live Action has demonstrated , abortion regret is real. If abortion really is about "choice," women should be offered the choice to go through the APR process if they so choose.

What's Next:

SB 805 will now go before the House Finance Committee.