A Cardiologist’s Experience with Abortion Pill Reversal

You never know when something you learn at a CANFP conference will come in handy!

I found that out just a few weeks ago, when I received a call from the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) program, about S, a 22 year old woman who had second thoughts after going to a Planned Parenthood and receiving her first dose of mifepristone. She was seven weeks pregnant and this was her first child.

It was the first call I was receiving as APR provider. Up until then, I had relied on Dr. Mary Davenport to take the initiative for the Bay Area women who faced this situation, but on that day Mary was at the Vatican giving a talk on the procedure she had helped develop!

As a cardiologist and internist whose practice does not include that many pregnant women, I was a bit nervous. It was already 8pm on a Saturday evening and I needed to meet the young woman in person in my office and the building was completely empty at that hour. Fortunately, my good friend and “RN on demand” Dolores was available to join me on that call. She picked me up and off we went to meet S.

While en route, the APR staff was doing tremendous work counseling the young woman, giving her directions to my office, and identifying for me a nearby 24-hour pharmacy that stocked oral progesterone, the natural hormone with which we would reverse the effect of mifepristone. Dolores also had duplicates of all the consent and educational forms we would need for the encounter.

As it turned out, the conditions were as easy as one could hope for. S came with her boyfriend who was very supportive of her decision. She had health insurance, which would facilitate follow-up. And, most important, she had no hesitation about going through with the reversal and had already been well informed about the procedure by the APR staff. On top of that, I was getting helpful text message advice sent by Dr. Mary directly from the Vatican.

S, however, did ask me a question about the potential for birth defects if the abortion was reversed. And that’s when I was happy that i had attended Dr. Delgado’s lecture at the CANFP conference just a week before, as his talk was still fresh in my mind.

Dr. Delgado had reviewed with us the latest information on the teratogenicity, or potential for causing birth defects, of the various drugs we deal with as part of APR.  The medical literature shows that the incidence of birth defects after women are treated with mifepristone is the same as in the general population, and the FDA also assures us that progesterone is not teratrogenic. The chance for a birth defect, therefore, is not increased by the use of those drugs. I shared that information with S confidently and was therefore able to allay this residual concern.

All things considered, the visit was as simple as the most routine care I normally give! After all, this was a very healthy young woman with no complaint except for recognizing and regretting a choice she had made less than 24 hours before. We were delighted to help her try to correct that mistake and help her save her baby.

The next day, and with the assistance of a local pregnancy center, we ensured that she could have an ultrasound and medical prenatal care follow-up in a timely fashion. A week later, I was gratified to hear from her that she was still doing well and that her child was alive and showing signs of a healthy pregnancy.

What did learn from all of this? First, APR is so simple even a cardiologist can do it. Second, I was not alone. The pro-life community engaged in APR is so dedicated that I had all the support I needed on that first call. Finally, CANFP conferences have the best and most practical information for all things related to marriage and the healthy promotion of life!

Dr. Delgado’s presentation on Abortion Pill Reversal is available through CANFP in both English and Spanish -on CD, MP3, and DVD. Contact CANFP at info@canfp.org