Area women who change their mind after beginning a medical abortion now have an attempted reversal treatment available that has been successful in saving many babies. On November 17, 2014 the Women’s Choice Center of the Quad-Cities became the first pregnancy center in the Midwest to offer natural progesterone treatments to attempt to reverse RU-486 medical abortions. The treatments are being offered in partnership with Moline OB/GYN Dr. Karla Polaschek, FACOG, Medical Director of the Women’s Choice Center. So far, there have been 58 babies born alive and healthy to mothers treated with this protocol after beginning a medical abortion. In addition, 106 women are expecting delivery of children they first tried to abort.
This hormone treatment protocol was developed by Dr. George Delgado, Medical Director of Culture of Life Family Services, in conjunction with Priests for Life and Cities for Life. Dr. Delgado reports a 60% success rate in attempted abortion pill reversals started within the first 72 hours after taking the first pill. Dr. Polaschek, who also serves on the board of Human Life International introduced WCC’s governing board, Life & Family Educational Trust, to the RU-486 attempted reversal concept. She recommended WCC become a referral site for women attempting to reverse their medical abortions.
According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, nearly half (2,314) of 4,638 abortions recorded in Iowa in 2012 were medical RU-486 abortions. The manufacturer’s label states that RU-486 was developed to end pregnancies up to the gestational age of 7 weeks. Pregnant women are given two drugs and directed to take them three days apart. The first, mifepristone, blocks the hormone progesterone from getting to the growing baby, starving it of the nutrients it needs to survive. The second drug, misoprostol, triggers uterine contractions to expel the dead baby. The medical abortion happens at home, absent medical supervision and has resulted in documented instances of hemorrhaging. Dr. Delgado and Dr. Thomas Hilgers found that women who receive high doses of progesterone shortly after taking the first abortion pill can override the action of the progesterone blocker, and save the pregnancy.
“Time is critical,” says Dr. Polaschek, WCC’s Medical Director. WCC is launching a rapid-response protocol to get women wanting to reverse their medical abortions to their Clinic as quickly as possible, preferably within the first day or hours after the first abortion pill is taken.
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Within the first week of offering the treatment protocol, WCC received its first call from the national website/hotline (www.abortionpillreversal.com), which offers referrals to women seeking to reverse their medical abortions. “The potential demand for attempted reversals is great,” says Tyler, a certified counselor who has helped hundreds of post-abortive women along the path to healing. “Regret after an abortion can be devastating. For some, that regret begins immediately after the abortion,” according to Tyler. “Previously, there hasn’t been much hope for turning back once a medical abortion began. Now there is.”
The Women’s Choice Center of the Quad-Cities is a Christian-based 501(c)3 ministry founded in 2002 by the Life and Family Educational Trust. WCC’s walk-in clinic offers free services to women facing unplanned pregnancies, including pregnancy testing, obstetric ultrasound, options counseling and local resource referrals, including adoption referrals.
Reprinted with permission from Human Life International.