Emotional research consisting of in-depth interviews with women who obtained Abortion Pill Reversal has indicated that the experience of a successful reversal can result in a woman feeling empowered and encouraged, one presenter at the 53rd Annual Heartbeat International Pregnancy Help Conference said.
Rebekah Hagan, director of Research and Education at Vitae Research Institute, presented the research at the Heartbeat Conference held recently in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Heartbeat is the largest network of pregnancy help organizations both in the U.S. and globally. Its Annual Conference is the largest in the pregnancy help movement, gathering ministry leaders, staff, board members, and volunteers of life-affirming pregnancy help centers, medical clinics, maternity homes, and non-profit adoption agencies, along with professionals in the areas of medicine, law, counseling, social work, and education. Heartbeat also manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN).
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Emotional ConteXt, a research firm whose study results guide the marketing efforts of brands like Holiday Inn, McDonalds, and American Express, conducted the 2022 emotional research study of 15 women aged 18-34, from a range of diverse backgrounds, income levels, and marital status.
This research is helpful for non-profits working to educate the community and better assist women desiring to continue their pregnancies to find APR services. Women who have successfully reversed their chemical abortion were able to do so after finding information on the Abortion Pill Rescue Network online following their having started a chemical abortion.
Emotional research is ideally conducted with six to 40 participants. Interviewers ask respondents to close their eyes and view pictures in their minds of experiences they have had – in this case, with Abortion Pill Reversal.
This methodology, in contrast to quantitative research approaches like questionnaires, polls, or experiments, accesses the right side of the brain. It reveals how an experience fulfilled emotional needs, as well as hidden motivators or inhibitors affecting the decision-making process.
Emotional research is designed to uncover the psychological dynamics that motivate behavior.
The 2022 study specifically aimed to understand what prompted each woman to seek Abortion Pill Reversal, how she learned of it, her perceptions of it, the barriers to care, and the emotional aftermath of the treatment.
Key findings included that women who took the first abortion pill progressed from agonizing over their decision to shutting down emotionally and shortly thereafter to feeling regret.
Regret then inspired what Hagan called, “mama bear protective mode,” in which a woman who had previously rejected motherhood becomes determined to save her baby. She then feels driven to overcome all barriers in search of that possibility.
After accessing Abortion Pill Reversal, the women said they began “feeling encouraged, empowered, and grateful for the hope and help they’ve received,” Hagan said. They described themselves feeling “strong enough to overcome obstacles because their babies did.”
What this means for pregnancy help organizations
For pregnancy help organizations that want to better serve women who are contemplating or have started a chemical abortion, the results of Vitae’s research could inform their education about abortion pill reversal and help them to reach those women in their moments of crisis.
The research indicated that women type in phrases such as “Is the abortion pill going to do something to me?” or “Can you undo the abortion pill?”
Women in the study also remembered searching with words like “second chance” and “undo my mistake.”
“Hope, hope, hope was the word they often used,” Hagan said. “They wanted hope even more than medical information, even more than a guarantee that Abortion Pill Reversal would work.”
Information online regarding the reversal protocol was effective in raising awareness, and some women learned of the treatment from family and friends who had searched for information.
Notably, if women came across news stories denigrating Abortion Pill Reversal, they weren't scared off by negative press, opting rather to decide for themselves.
Another takeaway for pregnancy centers is that offering Abortion Pill Reversal may require according to the Vitae research. The women responded well to texting, especially if they were at work or somewhere else where privacy was important.
Calls for Abortion Pill Reversal tend to spike during nights and weekends. Therefore, it is helpful when the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network tries to connect her to a pregnancy center by phone, the phone has texting capabilities.
Further, the women seeking Abortion Pill Reversal express a desire for continued support, especially when they’re not sure their current network will understand their experiences.
“This is an opportunity for continued relationship with a pregnancy center and their network of support like counselors and pro-life physicians,” Hagan said.
The emotional experience of Abortion Pill Reversal
Women described feeling they had moved “from darkness to light” after reversing the effects of the abortion pill. They viewed their babies as “blessings” or “miracles.” They experienced transformative solutions and stability. Though their hardships did not immediately go away, they ended bad or abusive relationships.
“I have found empowerment,” one woman said. “I feel like I’m defying the odds or something.”
Tweet This: “I have found empowerment. I feel like I’m defying the odds or something” - A woman who successfully reversed her chemical abortion.
The presentation of the research findings of women’s positive reaction to Abortion Pill Reversal at the Heartbeat Conference came just prior to the New York State attorney general, an abortion supporter, notifying Heartbeat as manager of the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) of her intent to sue heartbeat and 11 pregnancy help organizations to quash advertisement of APR in the state, and months after the California AG, also an abortion proponent, filed a similar suit.
Pregnancy help organizations can access the Vitae Vault for research-based messaging and strategies to more effectively reach women and save lives from abortion.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News.
