As more and more babies’ lives are saved through the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, pregnancy help medical clinics have an increased opportunity to give little ones a last chance at life. One Florida clinic has stepped up to the plate.
“Word is getting out in Tampa Bay that a woman can reverse a chemical abortion,” said Tammy Taylor, ARNP, CNM, at Guiding Star, a women’s health care clinic in Tampa.
Taylor, a certified midwife and nurse practitioner, has helped several women with the abortion pill reversal protocol during the past few years.
“Women go home (from the abortion clinic) and regret taking the pill,” she said. “Some even regret it as they are taking the pill, but they feel pressured. They are told (by the abortion provider) they can simply take this pill which will have them ‘miscarry’ the baby right at home, and it will be easy, and they can just go on with their lives like nothing happened. These women are often in high-pressure situations. They are vulnerable. (The abortion facilities) prey upon that vulnerability.”
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Troubled by that practice, Taylor took her nursing skills and pro-life beliefs to a higher level and brought Abortion Pill Rescue to Guiding Star. Now, her clinic is one of about 300 pregnancy help organizations offering consultations and prescriptions for the reversal protocol. Taylor herself is one of 800 medical providers belonging to the Abortion Pill Rescue Network.
“When I learned about the work of Dr. George Delgado from the Culture of Life Family Health Care in San Diego, I jumped right on that,” she said, referring to the physician who founded the Abortion Pill Rescue Network of providers “I felt we needed to educate women that they had a choice.”
Together with Dr. Matthew Harrison in North Carolina, Dr. Delgado created the reversal protocol more than a decade ago. Now, the treatment is being credited with saving the lives of 750 babies.
Women discover abortion pill reversal at Guiding Star by searching the internet and contacting the 24/7 helpline (877-558-0333), whose operator puts the woman in touch with Taylor. Some of the women who have sought reversal services from Guiding Star have come from as far as two hours away. The clinic has even been contacted by doctors in the APR Network who don’t have ultrasound machines, bringing in more patients.
With abortion pill reversal, timing is key. Otherwise known as the “abortion pill” or RU-486, chemical abortions involve two drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone, the first drug, destabilizes a pregnancy by blocking progesterone, the natural hormone needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy. To finish the abortion, misoprostol induces labor, forcing a woman’s body to expel the baby.
To save the baby, a woman must begin the abortion pill reversal treatment up to 72 hours after taking the first pill. The treatment works by giving women extra progesterone to compete with the mifepristone and bring stability back to the pregnancy.
“As soon as the woman contacts us, we set her up with extra progesterone. We get her into the clinic right away for an ultrasound,” Taylor said.
If a heartbeat is detected, the progesterone protocol is implemented and further care is provided.
“We give them an ultrasound every week until ten weeks, then every two weeks,” Taylor explained. “We continue to provide them with their prenatal care if they live close enough. Some stay with us because they like the culture of love, compassion and safety we provide. It’s always fun when you get to see these little miracle babies.”
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Guiding Star began abortion pill reversal services about two years ago. Fifteen patients have been served, most during the past year, Taylor said.
“It’s the part of this ministry that really touches my heart,” Taylor said. “I remember dreaming about saving babies when I was 12 years old. During those early days of abortion, when it was saline abortions, they used to just put them off in a room to die, and I would dream about going into hospitals and saving the babies.”
Save them she does. Twins currently being carried because of abortion pill reversal are two of the latest Taylor has helped rescue.
Her clients, “Maria” and “Steven,” had gone to an abortion facility but later regretted that decision. They learned about abortion pill reversal from a web search and came to Guiding Star for help.
“The APR was successful, and she is continuing her care with us,” Taylor said. “They are excited to be expecting twins, and they are excited APR worked.”
Twins are not unusual at the Tampa clinic. One woman recently delivered a set, and two others are still pregnant, including Maria.
Taylor understands the plight of the women she serves. At 17, she became pregnant and after much prayer and reflection, decided to make an adoption plan.
“I’ve always had compassion for women in unplanned pregnancies,” she said.
Tammy Taylor, APRN, CNM
Prior to Taylor joining the team, Guiding Star was a traditional pregnancy medical clinic offering free pregnancy testing and limited obstetric ultrasounds, and education programs like Earn While You Learn.
“Once Tammy joined the team, we became certified and licensed as a healthcare clinic in Florida. It took us six months to receive our AHCA (Agency for Health Care Administration) license,” said Ana Hidalgo Stooks, the founding executive director for Guiding Star.
“Our comprehensive model now includes medical care (body), educational opportunities (mind) and ongoing support (spirit). As a nonprofit, healthcare clinic, we provide free medical care to those women that qualify, and we are credentialed by many Medicaid plans and private insurance plans like Aetna, Cigna and United Health.”
Guiding Star continues to offer all of the services they were offering as a pregnancy help medical clinic and now offers women’s wellness exams including Pap smears and lab work; natural, holistic fertility care, STD/STI testing and treatment, infertility counseling, a cancer support group, healing programs: setting healthy boundaries, healing for childhood sexual abuse survivors, and other services. Stooks shared that the clinic has plans to hire an OB-GYN physician and another nurse practitioner in order to meet the demand of the greater community.
“We’ve come a long way in three years,” Taylor said. “We are a comprehensive women’s healthcare clinic. Ours is a culture of love and compassion and upholding the dignity of women throughout all of her life.”
