IN-DEPTH: Being Informed of Abortion Reversal Option at Center of Vetoed Kansas Bill

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly gives her inaugural address for her second four-year term on the south steps of the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan., on Jan. 9, 2023. John Hanna/AP Photo

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have required doctors to inform women that medication abortions can be reversed if action is taken in time.

Pro-life groups have now urged GOP lawmakers to override the veto, contending that Kansas women should have the right to know the option is available.

House Bill 2264, also known as the “Woman’s Right to Know Act,” requires health care providers to inform women that the effects of mifepristone, the first of two drugs used for chemical abortions, may be reversible using progesterone, a hormone produced naturally during pregnancy.

The bill passed the House 80-38 earlier this month after it passed the Senate 26-11.

Kelly, a Democrat, noted in her veto statement that Kansans voted in a ballot initiative last year not to ban abortion in the state constitution.

“In August, Kansans made clear that they believe personal health care decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians in Topeka,” Kelly said (pdf). “This bill would interfere with that relationship and, given the uncertain science behind it, could be harmful to Kansans’ health.”

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Republican, criticized the governor’s decision, saying vulnerable women have the right to know all of their options when facing an unplanned pregnancy.

“With this veto, Governor Kelly has shown that she does not believe vulnerable women have the right to know all of their options,” Hawkins said in a statement. He noted that the bill would have informed them of them option of reversing the medication abortion.

“House Republicans stand united to act during veto session to ensure women in this incredibly vulnerable position are provided with all the facts,” he added.

The Legislature will return on April 26 for a veto session. The House would need 84 votes to override the veto and 27 votes in the Senate.

Pro-Life Advocates Say Women Should Be Informed of Abortion Pill Reversal Option

Pro-life group Kansas For Life (KFL) released a statement calling on legislators to override the “ideologically driven” veto.

“Once again, Governor Kelly has sided with the extremist abortion industry over empowering women with facts about their true options concerning medication abortions and the potential to reverse the process once it has begun,” said KFL Director of Communications Danielle Underwood in a statement.

“House Bill 2264 was passed with bipartisan support and the undeniable truth that over 4,000 babies have been saved with the protocol. Why is Governor Kelly so afraid of trusting women with this information?”

Nearly 68 percent of abortions in Kansas are medication abortions using a regimen of two doses of different pills, mifepristone and misoprostol. Nationwide, the two-step drug regimen accounts for more than half of all abortions in the country.

The second set of pills, misoprostol, is taken by the woman at home, usually within 24 to 48 hours of taking the first set of pills. This means there is a narrow window for women who want to change their minds after taking mifepristone to try reserving the effects of that drug.

A KFL fact sheet on abortion pill reversal (APR) states that an increasingly significant number of women who have ingested mifepristone change their minds about using misoprostol and have sought the APR to save their baby.

The Abortion Pill Rescue Network says it has assisted women in 77 different countries and all 50 U.S. states, saving over 4,000 babies since 2012 using the APR protocol.

How Abortion Pill Reversal Works

Mifepristone works by blocking progesterone, which is essential for providing the nutrients needed for the growth and development of an unborn child. The drug stops this process and leads to the termination of the pregnancy. The drug misoprostol is then used to induce labor and expel the unborn child’s remains.

Progesterone can be used to reverse the effects of mifepristone. Supplemental hormones have been used for decades as a bona fide treatment for women struggling with infertility or pregnancies prone to miscarriage.

However, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists does not support prescribing progesterone to stop a medication abortion, saying APR has not been backed by science.

Two studies on APR published by the National Institute of Health (NIH) found that medication abortions could safely and effectively be reversed with progesterone after a woman takes mifepristone.

“Progesterone competes with mifepristone for the progesterone receptor and may reverse the effects of mifepristone,” one study’s abstract states.

This study, titled “Progesterone use to reverse the effects of mifepristone,” found that 60 percent of women who took mifepristone “were able to carry their pregnancies to term” after receiving 200 mg of intramuscular progesterone.

A second observational study published by the NIH on APR showed an approximate 64 to 68 percent success rate in situations where only the first abortion pills are ingested, compared to about 23 percent when nothing is done.

“There was no apparent increased risk of birth defects,” stated the study, which concluded that, “The reversal of the effects of mifepristone using progesterone is safe and effective.”

“Women who change their minds after beginning an abortion by pills deserve all the information normally available to other women receiving medical help in maintaining pregnancy until delivery,” the KFL factsheet states.

“This information should be provided to women before an abortion, as part of giving full consent, inside the facility prior to the procedure, in case of continued ambivalence, or with paperwork sent home by the abortionist because the reversal treatment has a short window of time to begin for success.”