The devastation from coerced abortion and deficient regulation of chemical abortion drugs were examined at a press conference on Capitol Hill, where conversely the hope of Abortion Pill Reversal was also shared.
A press event titled “Abortion Pill Exposed” was presented by pro-life advocacy group Live Action and included personal accounts, expert testimony, and remarks from Members of Congress.
Abortion Pill Reversal Network founder Dr. George Delgado, an MD and the author or coauthor of three articles in the peer-reviewed literature on mifepristone and APR, was among the experts to speak for the press conference.
The event was held as pro-life pilgrims gathered in Washington D.C. for the national March for Life while chemical abortion comprises the majority of all abortions conducted in the U.S. and remains hotly contested over safety issues.
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Delgado opened his remarks noting that he’d detailed in his book Abortion Pill Reversal: Second Chance at Choice how the FDA broke all its regulations to approve chemical abortion drug mifepristone in 2000.
“Since then, the FDA has continued to be derelict in its duty to protect women and preborn babies, stripping away all the REMS protections,” Delgado said. “So that now, the only requirement, and not an enforced requirement, is that doctors and clinics report maternal deaths. That's all they have to report.”
Tweet This: The FDA has continued to be derelict in its duty to protect women and preborn babies, stripping away all the REMS protections.
The FDA under Barack Obama and Joe Biden reduced safety protocols for mifepristone known as Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategies or REMS, leaving women vulnerable to added risk and drawing protest from pro-life advocates, who continue to call for the FDA to reinstate the REMS and further, to remove the drug from the market entirely.
This dismantling of safeguards is despite the fact that chemical abortion carries four times the short-term risks compared to surgical abortion, Delgado said, and over 10% of women in the real world have very serious adverse reactions to the chemical abortion drug.
Delgado was referencing the widely reported Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) research released last year finding that mifepristone is 22 times more dangerous than previously recognized in FDA data. The report said that nearly 11% of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days of taking the drug.
Pro-life advocates consistently warn as well that the reduced regulation of the abortion pill allows for abuse by human traffickers, pimps, and other abusers, and instances of coerced abortion with chemical abortion drugs are on the rise.
“This has led to a wild, wild west,” Delgado said, “allowing and tolerating the procurement of mail order and telehealth chemical abortion drugs, with very, very little medical supervision, no ultrasound.”
Addressing one of the dangers of the in-person doctor exam requirement removed by the FDA, Delgado said, “We know that about 2% of all women in the United States have pregnancies that are in their tubes, ectopic pregnancies.”
“These women who don't get ultrasounds will not know this; they'll be bleeding in their bathrooms thinking that this is par for the course for chemical abortion,” he said. “But then their tube ruptures, and they will die.”
“These cases have been documented,” Delgado said, “and I foresee many, many more of these women sacrificed on the altar of choice.”
“In the meantime, the procurement of these drugs has become the tool of sex traffickers, child molesters, rapists, and deadbeat boyfriends,” he added.
Delgado cited Emerson Evans, who was arrested in August in Illinois for covertly giving his girlfriend abortion pills to kill their unborn baby.
“Fortunately, he was brought to justice,” said Delgado.
“What about the hundreds, and the thousands of men who are doing this, and are not getting caught?” he asked. “In the meantime, pro-abortion states are brazenly shielding predators for sending chemical abortion drugs across state lines, preying on women in pro-life states.”
Delgado went on to share how Abortion Pill Reversal is chance for women who have taken the abortion pill to try and save their unborn babies.
“Abortion Pill Reversal offers a hope for these women,” he said. “It represents a second chance at choice.”
Abortion Pill Reversal entails prescribing progesterone to counter mifepristone. It is an updated application a treatment used for decades to combat miscarriage.
Delgado remains a medical advisor for the Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN), which he transferred to Heartbeat International in 2018, and today consists of nearly 1,500 healthcare professionals, pregnancy centers, and hospitals.
About 200 women call APRN each month and start Abortion Pill Reversal, amounting to six reversal starts a day. Statistics show that to date 7,000 lives have been saved through the APRN.
“The bright side is that women who are given the chance for a safe and effective chemical abortion reversal are extremely grateful,” Delgado said.
He concluded with calling on the federal government to reinstate the REMS protections and fully enforce them, to address the trafficking of chemical abortion drugs across state lines, and further to rescind its FDA approval.
Additional speakers at the press conference were Reps. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), Mark Harris (R-N.C.), Troy Downing (R-Mont.), and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Ryan Anderson of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, abortion pill injury survivor Shanyce Thomas, and Planned Parenthood whistleblower Mayra Rodríguez.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of lawsuits brought by two state AGs concerning sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal.
