(40 Days for Life) Abortion Pill Reversal has helped give thousands of moms who took the abortion pill and regretted it a second chance at choice. But California is suing Heartbeat International for promoting it. We sat down with Heartbeat President Jor-El Godsey to discuss the lawsuit, the impact of 40 Days for Life volunteers, and more.
40 Days for Life:
The attorney general in California is suing Heartbeat International for promoting Abortion Pill Reversal (APR). Pretend we've never heard of APR. Does APR actually work, or do we pro-lifers just really want it to work?
Jor-El Godsey:
It works, and it works pretty effectively depending upon how quickly the mom who needs it gets to us and how quickly we can get her a progesterone prescription. Mifepristone, the first of the two abortion pills, is designed to starve the baby of progesterone. We can flood the zone with progesterone. We're just giving her what her body already naturally produces. The AG and others are trying to suggest that APR is some exotic drug cooked up in a lab. That is true of mifepristone. But for APR, it's just progesterone.
40DFL: They say it's dangerous; it's unproven. Is that true? What are abortion supporters talking about?
Jor-El:
I don't really know what they're talking about because first they say that there's no science, and then they say it's very dangerous. There's no science that suggests it's dangerous. Mitch Creinin, an abortion doctor, has a study that was used a couple years ago to create the specter of danger. Three women were bleeding abnormally. But of the three, only one was on progesterone. The other two were on the placebo, which tells us it’s not progesterone that is the bad actor; it's the mifepristone.
They stopped the study. About two months later, headlines went around the world: “Abortion Pill Reversal Study Ends Due to Safety for Women.” If you look into the research, four of the five women on progesterone remained pregnant. Their own study that they lean on to suggest APR is dangerous actually showed an 80 percent effectiveness rate. That's a very small study, but it still puts the lie to what they're saying about APR being dangerous.
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40DFL:
You have a track record of success showing that it works and that it's safe. After providing APR for years, why does California suddenly decide now that it’s going to sue you for false advertising?
Jor-El:
It feels like there was some meeting held by Big Abortion where they said, "Hey guys, you're now the abortion states. You need to take these steps to continue to advance abortion." They cannot abide the fact that anyone would want to reverse their main product—abortion. It's one of the reasons why they attacked the concept of post-abortion stress syndrome, a trauma that comes from abortion. They have the political muscle, and they feel like they have to protect abortion at all costs.
40DFL:
You have a woman who takes the abortion pills, goes home, and changes her mind. She goes to the doctor, who treats her with APR. She has little Sally. And the AG or whoever is going to look at her and say, "You're lying." They're going to start calling thousands of women liars.
Jor-El:
What's so heinous about this is that these women have had almost instantaneous regret about having just swallowed that abortion pill. The state is saying, “You cannot help her at all.” And that feels, metaphorically, like the state is holding her on the table and forcing that abortion. Because they're denying her key information to make a different choice, to withdraw her consent from an abortion she no longer wants. Planned Parenthood already has the money. So why would they care?
40DFL:
The other side of the coin is, “Why would pro-lifers provide APR if it didn't work?” There's no incentive to push something that doesn't succeed.
Jor-El:
That's right. We don't charge for this service. I know of doctors who have actually driven to the pharmacist and paid for the prescription so that the moms could get that progesterone as quickly as possible. This is a work done out of charity.
Tweet This: Why would pro-lifers provide APR if it didn't work?
40DFL:
What leads a woman to drop $400-$500 on the abortion pill and then suddenly have an about-face?
Jor-El:
Nine out of every ten pregnant women who walk into Planned Parenthood will leave without their babies. I believe those nine women didn't all do it because they were eager to exercise their right. They did it because they were conflicted. They did it because they were pressured or coerced. A study last year said 62 percent of post-abortive women say that they were coerced into that abortion decision. I think that what’s really driving the dynamic is she's taking that first pill under duress. I also believe that the Holy Spirit is involved. That's why it's so important to be on the sidewalks, to be available for her so that she can have one last chance to choose life.
Heartbeat International President Jor-El Godsey/Heartbeat International
40DFL:
What is the impact 40 Days for Life volunteers have on pregnancy help centers?
Jor-El:
I had the privilege of being on the bus tour that you guys did a few years back. One of the most precious moments I had on that tour was pulling up and seeing the great 40 Days for Life crowd. Several participants were holding a sign that said, “Pregnant? Scared? 1-800-712-HELP.” And we know it's effective. Lives are saved because of it. We can see that bump in our numbers every spring, every fall when 40 Days for Life is out there.
Editor's note: This artricle was published in the fall 2024 edition of 40 Days for Life's Day 41 magazine. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. To listen to the full interview, visit 40daysforlife.com/podcast and select season 9, episode 4. Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of two lawsuits brought by state AGs concerning sharing information about APR.
