By Kentucky Right to Life Association
In Kentucky, most new laws take effect 90 days after the adjournment of the legislative session. Thursday, June 27, was the big day for 2019.
Of four new pro-life statutes, the Heartbeat and Anti-Eugenics laws were immediately blocked by ACLU legal challenges. HB148 requiring that abortion end if and when Roe v. Wade is overturned, cannot yet be implemented.
Only one law was enacted on June 27, SB 50, and it got royal treatment in the Louisville Courier-Journal (C-J). The top headline across the cover page in the print version shouted: Abortion ‘reversal’ law is in effect.
This law requires a report of dispensing a prescription for Abortion Pills to the Vital Statistics branch within 15 days after the end of the month and an annual report with comparative data for other years. There are penalties for any provider failing to report or for submitting an incomplete report.
Additionally, the new section to our statutes requires abortion providers to tell patients that the process begun by the abortion pill may be reversed with a different medication.
The C-J stated that abortion providers already are required to report all abortions to the state Vital Statistics Branch. However, by specifying disclosure of prescriptions, there can be no doubt how many abortion were performed by surgery in an institution and how many were done at home by chemicals. (The abortion pill is approved by the FDA for use to terminate a pregnancy during the first 10 weeks after the last menstrual period.)
Perhaps we will discover that many more abortions occur in Kentucky than have been reported. Is the figure actually around 3,000/year or really much higher?
The C-J stated that the Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) claim was disputed by the medical establishment. It quoted Dr. Nicole Nolan, an OB/Gyn at the University of Louisville Medical Center who testified against SB 50, and quoted spokespeople for the ACLU and Planned Parenthood who bragged that medical associations agree with them that APR is not supported by science.
How sad that many medical associations including the AMA line up with abortion providers.
The C-J did not quote any pro-life physicians who have successfully administered the Abortion Reversal Pills, or any spokesperson for the American Association of Prolife OB/GYNS (AAPLOG). Nor were the views of KRLA or Kentucky Doctors for Life solicited.
Had their article been unbiased, it would have referenced a case series on the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health website that details 754 patients who attempted to reverse the medical abortion process. It demonstrated:
Intramuscular progesterone and high dose oral progesterone were the most effective with reversal rates of 64% (P < 0.001) and 68% (P < 0.001), respectively. There was no apparent increased risk of birth defects. Conclusions: The reversal of the effects of mifepristone using progesterone is safe and effective.
A “bonafide” clinical trial, very scientific, is in the works. This study will take 40 women who want a surgical abortion, give them the initial abortion pill and then either a placebo or progesterone; then check after two weeks which fetuses are still alive, after which they will have a surgical abortion.
The PLACEBO COMPARISON is required by our medical establishment for their seal of approval on a clinical trial.
Is that really as convincing as the case series of 754 women that showed which medication saved the most lives?
IMPORTANT: The new Section being added to our Ky. statutes ALSO REQUIRES THE REPORT TO REVEAL WHETHER ANY ABORTION COMPLICATION OCCURRED
Abortion complications to be reported shall include only the following physical or psychological conditions arising from the induction or performance of an abortion [a long list follows].
If any female considering a “safe, legal” abortion sees this list of potential complications, it may serve to dissuade her.
Kentucky law has many good restrictions on abortion for the emotional and physical health of the mother. These are restated in SB 50 to note where current law needs to reflect a change. Unfortunately providers can get around these in various ways. Nevertheless, Kentucky pro-lifers are making progress. Hats off to Sen. Robby Mills (R), Henderson, who sponsored the bill.
For any women who desire more information and immediate help, see the Abortion Pill Reversal website.