West Virginia Senate committee advances bill to offer 'abortion pill reversal'

A West Virginia bill that would offer access to the "abortion pill reversal" process through the state's Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program passed a West Virginia Senate committee last week.

Key Takeaways:

• SB 805 would make the "abortion pill reversal process" available through the state's Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program.

• The program offers resources to the state's pregnancy help organizations.

• "Abortion pill reversal" uses progesterone in an attempt to outcompete the action of the abortion pill mifepristone. To date, the Abortion Pill Rescue Network states that the lives of 8,000 babies have been saved through the process.

The Details:

Senate Bill 805, the Support for Mothers and Babies Act, would ensure that the state's Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program provides access to the "abortion pill reversal" process.

According to its website, the Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program is "a specialized initiative designed to support Pregnancy Help Organizations (PHOs) in the state" by ensuring they have the resources necessary to assist West Virginia families.

Speaking in support of the legislation, Committee chairman Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, noted that the bill does not restrict abortion, but simply offers women another choice if they have second thoughts about continuing the chemical abortion procedure.

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

The bill next heads to the Senate Finance committee for consideration.

Zoom In:

'Abortion pill reversal' (APR) is a process that uses high doses of progesterone to outcompete the action of the abortion pill mifepristone. If a woman takes mifepristone and then changes her mind about going through with the abortion, she can connect with a doctor who will guide her through the APR steps.

The PIONEER Of Abortion Pill Reversal - Dr. George Delgado

A recent press release from the Abortion Pill Rescue Network states that more than 8,000 preborn lives have been saved through the APR process.

One of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, testified that a simple Google search reveals many of the babies who have been saved through the APR process.

“You can also when you do a search find many, many, many stories of women who did change their mind and did take this medication and were able to reverse the effect of the first pill,” Rucker said. “There’s pictures of beautiful babies I’m looking at right now that are alive because of this treatment.”

Live Action News has also shared many of these stories.

The Bottom Line:

West Virginia's bill is a common-sense effort to ensure that if women feel abortion regret, they have the resources necessary to potentially reverse their abortion.

If abortion is about "choice," as many advocates like to claim, women should be given every means possible to choose to give birth to their babies.