A bill introduced to the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday would require doctors to inform women seeking chemical abortions about a pill that has the potential to reverse it.
State Rep. Beth Griffin (R-66-Mattawan) introduced a bill that would require doctors to notify women seeking an abortion through mifepristone, commonly known as the abortion pill, about the abortion pill reversal. Also known as APR, it uses progesterone to reverse the effects of the abortion pill.
Griffin’s office said in a statement that “patients are never informed of this option.”
“Informed consent is the bedrock of medical ethics,” Griffin said in a statement. “Without providing patients with complete information, truly informed consent is not possible. Hundreds of babies have been saved because their mothers sought APR.”
The bill was introduced to the House the same week as the March for Life, a pro-life rally held annually in Washington, D.C.
“If the patient will undergo a procedure that utilizes the drugs known as mifepristone and misoprostol, information about the existence of treatment to reverse the effects of mifepristone before ingesting misoprostol to increase the possibility of maintaining the pregnancy if the patient changes her mind about terminating the pregnancy,” the bill reads.
The chances of saving a pregnancy are 48 to 64 percent using APR, depending on the gestational age and reversal protocol, according to the Abortion Pill Reversal Group.
Griffin said that providing information about APR is an important part of making sure that women know all their options about abortion.
The bill was also supported by Rep. Luke Meerman (R-88-Coopersville)
“Physicians have due diligence to ensure women know all of their options,” Meerman said in a statement. “It’s standard practice for all other medical treatments and should be no different when it comes to the abortion pill regimen.”
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with Battleground State News and The Michigan Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair. Email her at [email protected].
