Nurse Practitioner Challenges State Ban on Abortion Reversal Pill: 'God Made Each Person'

Attorneys with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have filed a motion asking a federal court to intervene on behalf of a licensed nurse practitioner in Colorado who wants to provide patients with a natural hormone to reverse the effects of the abortion pill. Supporters point to years of evidence that abortion pill reversal is a safe and proven method that can save a baby's life when her mother experiences regret about beginning a chemical abortion.

In April 2023, Colorado enacted a law that prohibits doctors and nurses from providing abortion pill reversal, forcing women to undergo abortions they wish to avoid. 

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As CBN News reported, Catholic mother and daughter nurse practitioners Dede Chism and Abby Sinnett, founders of Bella Health, filed a lawsuit last year requesting that a federal court block the law and protect their ability to help pregnant women in need of life-saving care.

The court agreed to a preliminary injunction, preventing Colorado's law from being enacted while the lawsuit continues; however, the injunction only applied to Bella Health and Wellness, according to ADF.

The non-profit legal group has now filed a motion on behalf of Chelsea Mynyk, owner of Castle Rock Women's Health, to allow her to use the abortion reversal pill as well.

"Colorado can't silence medical professionals and prevent them from saving lives," said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. "Many women regret their abortions, and some choose to reverse the effects of the first abortion drug, often saving their baby's life. Colorado's law wrongly denies women the freedom to make that choice."

ADF attorneys explain in the proposed complaint that "although Colorado claims to recognize the 'fundamental right to continue a pregnancy,' this law actively thwarts women from making that choice, and it makes it illegal for nurses and doctors to assist them or even inform them about their options."

Last month, Mynyk received a letter from the Colorado State Board of Nursing notifying her that she is being investigated for a possible violation of the Nurses Practice Act because of an anonymous complaint about her provision of abortion pill reversal.

But Mynyk, like Bella Health and Wellness, believes that she is compelled by her faith to provide abortion pill reversal to women who request it and she strongly believes "God made each person unique, beautiful, and wonderful."

RealOptions, a faith-based pregnancy outreach center, explains how the reversal process works. A pregnant woman's body produces the natural hormone progesterone to sustain a pregnancy. In chemical abortions, the drug Mifepristone blocks progesterone and starves the baby to death. The abortion pill reversal protocol consists of giving extra progesterone within 72 hours after taking Mifepristone to "outnumber and outcompete" the abortion drug so the baby can survive. 

The Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN) website shares that there is a 64-68% success rate for woman who start the prescribed reversal treatment. 

"The state can't force women to follow through with an abortion when a safe alternative is available—one that Chelsea and the pro-life plaintiffs in this case can skillfully provide," said Theriot.