Medical Groups Alarmed By 'Abortion Reversal' Promises, Legislation

Anti-abortion groups are promoting bills that require doctors to tell patients who are taking pills to induce an abortion that if they have regrets, they can stop the procedure after taking the first pill. But many in the medical community warn that advice is based on a small anecdotal report and has no serious scientific standing. Meanwhile, the Alabama legislature is debating a ban on a common abortion method.

STAT: 'Abortion Reversal' Laws Gain Steam, Despite Scant Scientific Evidence

South Dakota will soon require doctors to tell women that they can change their minds after taking the abortion pill and potentially halt an abortion in progress. Arizona and Arkansas passed similar laws last year. And an antiabortion group is promoting model legislation to inform women they can “reverse” medication abortions. Yet that claim has no solid science behind it — just an anecdotal case report written by a physician who invented a protocol and arranged to have it tested on a half-dozen patients who regretted swallowing the abortion pill. (Graham, 4/21)

The Associated Press: Abortion Procedure Challenged As 'Torture' In Alabama

A commonly used second-trimester abortion procedure would be illegal under a new bill debated in the Alabama legislature on Wednesday. The House Health Committee held a public hearing on a bill that supporters say would prohibit a medical procedure called dilation and evacuation, or "D&E." The bill would allow the procedure, which it describes as "dismemberment abortion," in the event of a "serious health risk to the mother." (Brown, 4/20)

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