Members of the Kansas legislature passed a bill Friday that requires physicians to give women information about the possibility of abortion pill reversal before dispensing chemical abortion drugs. Though it passed both the House and the Senate, Governor Laura Kelly is expected to veto the measure.
In 2019, the legislature passed a similar measure, which was vetoed by Kelly, and an override failed by just one vote. It is not clear if lawmakers have the majority vote to successfully override Kelly’s potential veto this time; votes to pass the legislation landed at 80-38 in the House and 26-11 in the Senate. While neither chamber saw the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto, both chambers also had enough absent lawmakers who could potentially vote “yes,” making an override possible.
Abortion pill reversal involves the administration of progesterone to the mother, which work to counteract the effects of progesterone-halting mifepristone, the first drug in the abortion pill drug regimen. If a woman experiences regret, she has up to 72 hours after taking mifepristone to start the reversal process.
This protocol has reportedly saved thousands of preborn lives, including many featured on Live Action News. The reversal procedure is spearheaded by the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, which operates a 24/7 hotline at 1-877-558-0333. The organization says that 64% of women who have sought abortion pill reversal have successfully been able to maintain their pregnancies.
Proponents of the legislation point out that it is simply ensuring that women have the facts they need to make an informed decision about their pregnancy. “(It’s) a woman’s right to know,” Sen. Beverly Gossage said. “Basically it is saying if you are a woman, if you are seeking an abortion, you do have the right to know that there is such a thing as APR, abortion pill reversal, is a possibility for you.”
“I’ve delivered babies after successful reversal of medication abortion,” Dr. Jonathan Scrafford, a Wichita OBGYN, told the House Health and Human Services Committee during a hearing.
Abortion supporters vehemently oppose the bill, saying it is nothing more than medical misinformation despite the fact that progesterone has been safely administered for decades to women at risk of miscarriage.
“It’s not even science, it’s just junk,” Iman Alsaden, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood Great Plains, previously said. “I just find it so appalling that this is the way the government thinks people should be treated and isn’t willing to trust the experts in the field of medicine.”
They also point to the results of last year’s election, in which Kansas voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have affirmed that there is no right to abortion in the state’s constitution — a campaign in which pro-abortion allies lied to the public with the help of funding from wealthy elites, falsely claiming the amendment would have banned abortion.
“The people of Kansas have spoken,” said Rep. Christina Haswood. “They do not want us touching anything on abortion.”
