Study Shows Abortion Pill Reversal Faces Safety and Evidence Concerns 

United States: A website from the anti-abortion organization Heartbeat International prominently displays the message, “IT MAY NOT BE TOO LATE TO SAVE YOUR PREGNANCY,” urging visitors to consider “abortion pill reversal.” 

As reported by NBC News, This approach is based on the controversial idea that taking the hormone progesterone within 24-72 hours of the first step of a medication abortion could reverse its effects. Initially an experimental treatment over a decade ago, abortion reversal has gained traction in anti-abortion communities but remains highly disputed.  

Medical Community’s Concerns 

Major medical organizations and researchers argue that it lacks sufficient study and may pose significant risks. 

Study Shows Abortion Pill Reversal Faces Safety and Evidence Concerns. Credit | Shutterstock
Study Shows Abortion Pill Reversal Faces Safety and Evidence Concerns. Credit | Shutterstock

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is one of them, calling the process “unproven and unethical.” 

Legislative and Legal Battles Intensify 

The debate has simmered for years, but now, two years after the decline or can say fall of Roe v. Wade and with the use of medication abortion at an all-time high, legislative efforts and courtroom battles over the treatment have sprung up in at least nine states. 

Attorneys general in New York and California have sued to block proponents of abortion reversal from peddling claims they say are false advertising. 

Abortions can’t  be reversed and any treatments that claim to do so are made without scientific evidence and could be unsafe New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a Statement. 

State Legislation Takes Varied Approaches 

But several states have moved in the opposite direction, considering legislation that would require abortion clinics to tell patients, among other guidance, that abortions can be reversed. In Kansas, a law passed last year but now on hold requires such counseling, similar to earlier laws passed in 14 other states. 

In Colorado, the first state to ban providers from offering the procedure, anti-abortion advocates have thus far blocked the law from taking effect. 

Pro-Life Advocates Push Back 

The downfall the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists plans to roll out a course on abortion reversal to hospitals and doctors. The Heritage Foundation, the conservative organization behind Project 2025, which advocates for restricting medication abortion, awarded the association a $100,000 grant toward the effort.