By West Virginians for Life
The Second Chances at Life Act (HB 2982/SB 609) successfully passed by bi-partisan margins in both the House Health Committee (19-5 on March 16) and the House Judiciary (22-3 on March 18).
After three readings on the House floor and expected passage, the Second Chances at Life Act will head to the state Senate.
Sponsored by Delegate Kayla Kessinger, the bill will require that a woman be informed that the effects of the chemical abortion pill can be reversed to save her baby if she changes her mind after taking the first of two drugs. House co-sponsors include Delegates Trent Barnhart, Jordan Bridges, Adam Burkhammer, Josh Holstein, Laura Kimble, Todd Longanacre, Margitta Mazzocchi, Jeff Pack, Jonathan Pinson, and Terri Sypolt.
The Senate Lead Sponsor of SB 609, the companion bill, is Senator Patricia Rucker.
Here are important facts regarding the commonsense Second Chances at Life Act:
● Providing information to the abortion client in no way interferes with any patient-client relationship. It is not an attack on personal freedom, but a guarantee of it. The bill does not tell physicians how to practice medicine, or place obstacles on women seeking abortions, as opponents inaccurately insist.
● To date over 2,000 babies have been saved nationwide by the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) protocol.
● The American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), a 2,500-member OB-GYN medical group, supports offering the APR protocol to women who regret initiating the abortion pill process, after appropriate informed consent. The APR involves using progesterone to reverse the effects of the Mifepristone, the first of two drugs that make up the chemical (or “medication”) abortion technique.
● Progesterone is a natural element in the woman’s body required to retain her pregnancy. As such, it does no damage to the baby. It has been used for 30 years in infertility clinics to help women at risk of miscarriage. The only “birth defect” attributed to the abortion pill, Mifepristone, is the death of unborn babies.
In a letter to West Virginia legislators , OB-GYN Donna Harrison, CEO of AAPLOG, said, “Progesterone is a natural hormone which has been used in the IVF Industry for over 50 years to date to support early pregnancy after embryo transfer, and has never been shown to cause any type of harm to women or their preborn children. There is no increased risk of birth defects when using progesterone in early pregnancy. Progesterone is the hormone that the woman’s body makes during pregnancy and has been given to women for decades in all stages of pregnancy to help women carry their pregnancies.”
● Nine states have enacted these laws: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah. (A 10th – Arizona’s – was repealed and replaced with weaker language.)
● In West Virginia, chemical abortions account for more than 40% of all abortions.
“Any woman or girl wanting to save her baby once the chemical abortion process has started should contact a health care professional. Health care professionals can be found at abortionpillreversal.com or by calling 877-558-0333,” said Mary Anne Buchanan, West Virginians for Life Communications Director.
This past Tuesday, WVFL held an Abortion Pill Reversal petition presentation at the Capitol in lieu of Annual Pro-Life Rally Day. See the video here.