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Abortion Pill "Reversal": Where's the Evidence?

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Abortion Pill Medication abortion ADVANCING NEW STANDARDS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH "reversal" ISSUE BRIEF, JULY 2020 Abortion Pill "Reversal": Where's the Evidence? mifepristone 200 mg taken alone found that 23% of Since 2015, legislators in at least twenty patients had a continuing pregnancy 7 days later. 3 states have introduced bills that would This study included patients pregnant only through require clinicians to inform patients 49 days’ or 7 weeks’ gestation. There is no evidence during pre-abortion counseling that the abortion pill can be “reversed” if that progesterone treatment increases the chance the patient were to change their mind of the pregnancy continuing, and a recent study after taking it. This is despite the fact raises concerns about its safety. that there is no rigorous evidence documenting the safety and effectiveness The initial reports on “reversal” included three case of “reversal” treatment. So-called series, each of which had significant limitations.1,2,4 abortion “reversal” bills have been passed None of the reports includes a comparison group into law and implemented in six states or appropriate oversight by an ethics committee. as of 2020: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Some patients in these case series had an ultrasound Nebraska, South Dakota, and Utah. before receiving treatment, and only those with continuing pregnancies were given progesterone. Patients with a continuing pregnancy 1-2 days What is abortion pill "reversal"? after mifepristone are much more likely to have a pregnancy that continues to term, so this pre- Abortion pill “reversal” is an experimental treatment selection of patients inflates the success rate developed by Dr. George Delgado that involves of "reversal" treatment.5 In addition, the largest administering repeated doses of progesterone after of these case series included 754 patients who a patient has taken mifepristone in order to attempt received progesterone but reported outcomes to stop the abortion process.1,2 Mifepristone is the first of two drugs used for medication abortion: it works to block progesterone, known as the What is medication abortion? “pregnancy hormone,” which causes the pregnancy to detach from the uterine lining. The unproven Medication abortion (also known as the abortion pill) is an FDA-approved method hypothesis behind abortion pill “reversal” is that that is safe, effective and preferred by the progesterone will counteract the effect of many patients seeking an early abortion the mifepristone. Even if the concept of “reversal” up to 10 weeks in pregnancy. Medication is biologically plausible, rigorous testing of the abortion involves two drugs, mifepristone protocol should be required in order to determine and misoprostol, usually taken 24 to 48 whether it is effective and safe. hours apart. The mifepristone blocks the pregnancy hormone, progesterone, and the Is abortion pill “reversal” effective? Is it safe? misoprostol causes the uterus to expel the pregnancy. As of 2017, medication abortions Mifepristone taken by itself is not a very effective account for approximately 60% of all eligible abortions in the United States. abortifacient on its own. The published data are limited, but the one study that looked at For more information about this and other ANSIRH research, please visit www.ansirh.org. University of California, San Francisco | UCSF Medical Center | Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health Medication abortion "reversal": Issue Brief, July 2020, page 2 ADVANCING NEW STANDARDS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Creinin et al. conducted a randomized control trial A systematic review of to study the eect of oral the literature by progesterone taken after Grossman et al. found no The New England Journal mifepristone. The study credible evidence that of Medicine published a was stopped early due to taking progesterone perspective by Grossman safety concerns when after mifepristone is & White summarizing the mifepristone was taken better than expectant lack of evidence on the without misoprostol. management with regard treatment’s safety, No eect of progesterone to continuing pregnancy. eectiveness. treatment was found. 2012 2015 2017 2018 2020 Delgado & Davenport Garratt & Turner published Delgado et al. published published a report on a report of 3 patient a retrospective analysis 7 patients who received cases of abortion “reversal” of clinical data varying regimens of in Australia: 2 carried documenting 754 cases progesterone after taking the pregnancy to term of "reversal” treatment. an unknown dose of and 1 had a complete 207 (27%) were excluded mifepristone. 4 patients abortion. from analysis. Of 547 continued the pregnancy cases analyzed, 257 (47%) to term, 2 had an abortion ended in live births. within 3 days, and 1 lacked outcome data. A timeline of publications about abortion pill "reversal" only for 543 patients (72%).2 Safety data were not due to safety concerns after three participants systematically collected and reported on in these experienced hemorrhage requiring ambulance case series. transport to the hospital. With 12 participants, the sample size was not sufficient to draw conclusions A systematic review of literature on the topic about the safety or effectiveness of “reversal” concluded in 2015 that there is no credible treatment. However, the findings raise concerns evidence that abortion “reversal” improves the that patients who take mifepristone and do not 6 chances of continuing pregnancy. A report that complete the medication abortion regimen with reanalyzed data from the case series in 2018 found misoprostol may be at risk of heavy bleeding. no significant difference in continuing pregnancy after progesterone treatment compared to The American College of Obstetricians and expectant management after mifepristone alone.7 Gynecologists (ACOG) does not support the use In 2019, a commentary looking at previous reviews of progesterone to “stop” a medication abortion and case series underscored the lack of evidence due to the lack of scientific evidence. In order to around “reversal” and called for quality research on test clinical effectiveness and safety of an abortion the treatment.8 pill “reversal” protocol, a larger randomized clinical trial is needed. Rigorous testing of a clinical An IRB-approved randomized controlled trial protocol should occur with results demonstrating designed to study the effectiveness of progesterone its safety and efficacy before states consider laws to prevent medication abortion after mifepristone that mandate counseling about that protocol. The 9 was launched in 2019. Though the randomized US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not control trial’s study design was far more rigorous evaluated the treatment. than the previous case series, it was stopped early ANSIRH | 1330 Broadway, Suite 1100 | Oakland, CA 94612 | p 510.986.8990 | f 510.986.8960 | email: [email protected] | www.ansirh.org Medication abortion "reversal": Issue Brief, July 2020, page 3 ADVANCING NEW STANDARDS IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH Do patients change their mind after starting In Arkansas, following the passage of an abortion medication abortion? “reversal” bill in 2015, clinicians must counsel all medication abortion patients about the possibility State policies that require clinicians to counsel to “reverse the effects of the abortion if the on abortion pill “reversal” assume that patients pregnant woman changes her mind.” In 2017 and who seek medication abortion are unsure of 2018, we conducted a survey with abortion patients their decision to have an abortion. Research from recruited at a clinic in Arkansas to explore their ANSIRH shows that this is false.10 In the days after perspectives on services. Among 16 patients who an abortion, the overwhelming majority of women had undergone a medication abortion in Arkansas report that it was the right decision,11 and five since the “reversal” law was implemented, only one years later, almost all women (99%) said it was the woman reported that the counseling “somewhat” right decision.12 Only 0.004% of patients who took changed the way she felt about her decision to mifepristone between 2000 and 2012 ended up have an abortion. Nevertheless, she completed her deciding to continue their pregnancies.6 States do medication abortion, said she would recommend it not typically require clinicians to inform patients to others, and indicated that if she needed a future that they can reverse other common medical abortion she would “definitely” choose it. These procedures, such as a vasectomy or tubal ligation limited data suggest that mandated “reversal” – so why is it necessary for medication abortion? counseling has little effect on patients’ decision- making around abortion. Instead, laws requiring Although patients changing their mind about “reversal” counseling likely serve more to burden abortion is rare, clinicians should appropriately providers and confuse patients than to assist counsel patients and provide care if they decide those seeking abortion care. If laws mandating they no longer wish to continue the medication information about abortion “reversal” continue to abortion process after taking mifepristone. Patients proliferate and are not overturned, more research should be counseled about the possible outcomes is needed on patients’ perspectives. if they decide not to take misoprostol which could include: complete abortion, incomplete abortion, State legislative efforts continuing pregnancy, heavy bleeding, and/or need to seek emergency care. Patients should Twenty states, including
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