Judge blocks abortion pill reversal law

Indiana cannot require abortionists to tell mothers about an option that could stop a drug-induced abortion and save the baby’s life, a federal judge said Wednesday. U.S. District Judge James Patrick Hanlon temporarily halted a law designed to make sure women know about abortion pill reversal. Hanlon said the measure likely would violate the free speech rights of abortionists.

Why is the requirement needed? Chemical abortions involve two drugs. If a woman begins taking the hormone progesterone within 72 hours of taking the first drug and hasn’t yet taken the second, the progesterone could overpower the effects of the first. One study of more than 700 women showed a survival rate for the unborn child of 64-68 percent with no added risk of birth defects. “Chemical abortions are now 44 percent of all abortions done in Indiana,” Indiana Right to Life CEO Mike Fichter said. “And yet the thousands of women opting for this procedure are kept totally in the dark about abortion pill reversal.”

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Dunn’s report in Vitals about the importance of abortion pill reversal during the pandemic and beyond.