On 1 July 2019, twin babies were saved when their mother changed her mind after beginning the process of a chemical abortion. Alexis was approximately six weeks pregnant when she sought an abortion at Charlotte, North Carolina’s busiest abortion provider, A Preferred Women’s Health Center. During an ultrasound, the technician casually remarked, “Oh, twins,” which prompted her to reconsider her decision, as she had always wanted twins.
While she was processing the fact that she was carrying twin babies, Alexis, a pseudonym, was given the first of two drugs in the chemical abortion process, along with the second dose to be taken in the next 48 hours.
As she left the abortion centre, a sidewalk counsellor was able to reach Alexis through her state of bewilderment and initiate the process of saving her twins.
The counselor informed her that it might still be possible to reverse the abortion. They directed her to the website AbortionPillReversal.com, which offers assistance in saving the babies.
After leaving the abortion facility, Alexis searched for the website on her phone and called the helpline, which coordinated assistance for her at a local pregnancy center.
“We initiated the abortion pill reversal treatment with remarkable swiftness,” stated Courtney Parks, abortion pill reversal coordinator for HELP Pregnancy Center. “It was a matter of hours.”
Alexis’s account has recently been published by Pregnancy Help News and picked up by FoxNews.com.
The term “abortion pill,” or RU-486, refers to a chemical abortion that employs two pharmaceutical agents: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone is initially administered, destabilising the pregnancy by blocking progesterone receptors and reducing progesterone levels in the mother’s blood. The abortion is then completed when misoprostol induces labour, forcing the mother’s body to expel the foetus.
The abortion pill reversal treatment is a process that involves the administration of additional progesterone to the mother, up to 72 hours after the initial ingestion of the first chemical abortion pill.
The reversal treatment was developed by Matt Harrison, the HELP medical director, and George Delgado, a California physician, over a decade ago.
The Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN) comprises 450 professional healthcare providers in the United States and 11 other countries who assist women who contact the helpline that Alexis had contacted. The helpline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is a project of Heartbeat International, a global network of 2,600 pregnancy help organisations.
Acting within the 72-hour window is of the utmost importance, and Alexis was fortunate to make contact with the helpline at an early stage within that timeframe. Her twins are among the 750 babies who have been saved by abortion pill reversal.
Upon arriving at her appointment with the HELP Pregnancy Center, Parks and the center’s sonographer, Kelly Byrum, provided Alexis with an opportunity that the abortion facility did not: the ability to view her unborn children on an ultrasound.
“The infants were of a diminutive stature and exhibited a melodious cardiac rhythm,” Parks stated. “I recall being present with the patient in the ultrasound room, observing her distress and expressing hope that the procedure would be successful, thereby enabling her to save her unborn children.”
Parks ensured that Alexis underwent follow-up ultrasound scans in the following weeks to ascertain the babies’ continued health and well-being.
The abortion pill reversal protocol was successful, and approximately one month later, the centre facilitated her connection with a physician who provided her with prenatal care for the remainder of her pregnancy.
Parks and his HELP team maintained contact with Alexis, organising a baby shower in addition to another ministry.
“She has had everything that these babies need for several years provided for her,” Parks stated. She informed me that had she been aware of the circumstances surrounding the provision of care for these infants, she would have chosen an alternative course of action. Consequently, she has been overwhelmed by the extent of God’s provision throughout this period.
The HELP Pregnancy Center has documented four cases of babies being saved by the abortion reversal protocol.
The remainder of Alexis’s pregnancy was otherwise uneventful, and she delivered her babies at an early stage this year.
Parks indicated that Alexis is thriving as a single mother, and she has the support of her own mother, who has relocated to assist with the twins.
Parks stated that Alexis is “overwhelmingly in love with these babies.”
Byrum is gratified by the heightened awareness of abortion pill reversal that Alexis’s story has generated.
“It is encouraging to see that the issue is receiving attention in the media, as this increases awareness of the potential consequences of the abortion pill,” she said. “We have received testimonies from women who have undergone abortions at this clinic, wherein they were informed that the effects of the abortion pill cannot be reversed.
Parks, one of 800 clinicians in the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, concurred.
“We hope that this will raise awareness of abortion pill reversal and the fact that it does save lives,” she said.
Further information can be found at AbortionPillReversal.com.
Daniel Miller is responsible for nearly all of National Right to Life News' political writing.
With the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, Daniel Miller developed a deep obsession with U.S. politics that has never let go of the political scientist. Whether it's the election of Joe Biden, the midterm elections in Congress, the abortion rights debate in the Supreme Court or the mudslinging in the primaries - Daniel Miller is happy to stay up late for you.
Daniel was born and raised in New York. After living in China, working for a news agency and another stint at a major news network, he now lives in Arizona with his two daughters.