CDC and OB-GYN group admit abortion pill reversal is effective

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the prominent American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) have long denied and even fought to tamp down the effectiveness of Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) procedures for women who have regrets about moving ahead with a drug-induced abortion.

But now, both the federal agency and ACOG have admitted that mifepristone, the first pill administered in a drug-induced abortion protocol, can be reversed when progestins are prescribed.

CDC and ACOG “often deny the reality of Abortion Pill Reversal and refuse to advocate for this option for those who have regret after taking the abortion pill,” Pregnancy Help News noted in August. “Yet both organizations ironically warn abortion providers not to administer progestin birth control immediately after starting an abortion, because they might inadvertently cause a reversal.”

The report explains further:  

“ACOG and the CDC now admit that mifepristone can be reversed when progestins are prescribed along with abortion pills … Both organizations acknowledge that progestin birth control, often given in the form of Depo-Provera, ‘may increase risk for ongoing pregnancy.’” 

The contraceptive Depo-Provera, the brand name for depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), is a synthetic form of progesterone that prevents ovulation. 

An ACOG practice bulletin that was reaffirmed in 2023 advised clinicians that patients choosing DMPA for birth control following a drug-induced abortion “should be counseled that administration of DMPA on day 1 of the medication abortion regimen may increase the risk of ongoing pregnancy:  

“In a randomized trial that evaluated the effects of DMPA injection timing on medication abortion outcomes, ongoing pregnancy was more common among those randomized to receive DMPA injection on the day of mifepristone administration compared with those who received DMPA at a follow-up visit. 

Similarly, in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) released on August 8, the CDC acknowledged regarding use of DMPA post-abortion: 

“After a first trimester medication abortion that included mifepristone, there is no restriction for use of DMPA after abortion completion (category 1) and benefits generally outweigh risks with DMPA use immediately at time of medication abortion initiation (category 2). Concurrent administration of DMPA with mifepristone might slightly decrease medication abortion effectiveness and increase risk for ongoing pregnancy. Risk for ongoing pregnancy with concurrent administration of DMPA with mifepristone should be considered along with personal preference and access to follow-up.”  

Despite these acknowledgments, an undated ACOG “advocacy” bulletin that appears to have been published in 2020 or later, still asserts that “on the strength of the evidence,” the organization “does not support prescribing progesterone to stop a medication abortion.”  

ACOG went on to claim that “so-called abortion ‘reversal’ procedures are unproven and unethical.” 

“Legislative mandates based on unproven, unethical research are dangerous to women’s health,” the group argued in response to the legal and legislative battles that have ensued since the number of medication abortions has surged in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs that overturned Roe v. Wade. 

“Politicians should never mandate treatments or require that physicians tell patients inaccurate information,” ACOG continued. “This is an interference in the patient-clinical relationship and contradicts a fundamental principle of medical ethics … Abortion is an essential part of comprehensive medical care, and a patient’s decision to end a pregnancy following appropriate consultation with their trusted medical professional should be treated with respect.” 

In a report in July at NBC News, the media outlet referred to abortion pill reversal as being “based on the disputed idea that it’s possible to undo the first step of a medication abortion by taking the hormone progesterone within 24-72 hours.” 

As The Lion observed in May, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James for attempts to silence pro-life pregnancy centers that counsel women about the option of APR. 

James had earlier sued Heartbeat International, Inc. and 11 other pregnancy centers in New York “for using false and misleading statements to advertise an unproven treatment they call ‘Abortion Pill Reversal,’” a press statement read.  

“[M]aking false and misleading claims about APR to convince pregnant people to get the treatment constitutes fraud, deceptive business practices, and false advertising under New York law,” James argued, further asserting that “[a]bortions cannot be reversed … Any treatments that claim to do so are made without scientific evidence and could be unsafe.” 

In a piece Monday at the Christian Post, nevertheless, Krystle Arce wrote about her experience of choosing abortion pill reversal.  

Frightened to have discovered she was pregnant, Arce said she first sought an abortion at Planned Parenthood, where she had an ultrasound, but was not given any information about her pregnancy, except that she was seven weeks along.  

“I didn’t get to see the monitor or an image of my baby,” she said. “I didn’t have anyone explain to me the growth process of my baby at that time or what my body was going through.” 

Arce said she was then given the drugs to induce the abortion, and told to take the first pill while at the clinic and the next one several hours later. 

“If I had any questions, they said I should go to my local urgent care,” she wrote. 

A feeling of regret immediately came over her, however, leading her to desperately search online for information about the possibility of not taking the second pill. 

Coming upon Heartbeat International’s website, Arce contacted the group and was “immediately connected with a medical professional”: 

“She spent time talking to me about my medical history, pregnancy, and the abortion pill reversal process. She was able to call in a prescription to begin the abortion pill reversal and recommended I go to a local pregnancy resource center after I picked it up. 

Arce said she encountered both emotional and material support and caring at the pregnancy center, “not something I had received at Planned Parenthood.” 

Her son Leo was born the following April. The team at the pregnancy center “came to my baby shower and my son’s first birthday. They met my family, and, in many ways, they are my extended family.” 

With her son now two years old, Arce shared that even though her ordeal of an unplanned pregnancy “wasn’t easy and at times I didn’t know if it would work, I knew I wanted to try my absolute hardest to save my baby.” 

“The abortion pill reversal and the support of my local pregnancy resource center made that possible and are the reason my son is alive today.”