Senate Health Passes Bill To Provide Access To Abortion Reversal Medication

Under a bill passed by the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee Thursday, pregnant women could have access to a prescription that might reverse the effects of abortion medication in time to save their pregnancies. 

Senate Bill 805 authorizes the West Virginia Mothers and Babies Pregnancy Support Program under the Bureau for Public Health to use funds for abortion pill reversal. 

A pregnant woman who wishes to terminate her pregnancy takes two medications. There are conflicting reports about the safety and viability of a reversal, but after the first medication has been taken – and before the second one – the reversal process involves taking the hormone progesterone for several weeks.

“If she took that first pill and then said, ‘What am I doing? I wanna try to reverse it,’ it just allows pregnancy centers that are already in code to help them,” Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, said. 

“I also want to point out that it is with medical care. Like, you do not take this procedure outside of having medical supervision,” Rucker said. “I do believe it is just affirming for us to be able to do this.”

Committee chairman Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, pointed out that the legislation does not further restrict abortions in West Virginia.

“So we’re not taking away anything that’s currently available under our law. What we are doing is adding another choice to women and in my opinion giving a lot better medical care throughout this process,” Helton said.

The bill passed the committee and heads now to the full Senate for consideration.