Idaho Republican state senators have signed off on a bill along party lines that would require medical providers to tell patients they may be able to reverse a chemical abortion if they change their mind.
The procedure calls for the women, who would have only taken the first pill of the two-pill regimen for abortions, to be given the hormone progesterone.
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the treatment isn’t backed by science.
All six Democrats opposed the bill during Tuesday's debate.
“Creating a mandate for physicians to promote a medically unproven procedure – the full effects of which have not been established by rigorous medical research – is reckless,” says state Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb (D-Boise).
But state Sen. Lori Den Hartog (R-Meridian), who sponsors the bill, says women should know their options if they suddenly regret their earlier decision to have an abortion.
“It simply enhances our informed consent language to allow pregnant mothers to be aware of and provided information about potential life saving opportunities for their unborn child if they have changed their mind after the initiation of a drug-induced abortion,” Den Hartog says.
Idaho state law already requires doctors to inform pregnant women about adoption services, allows them to observe their unborn child’s heartbeat and requires a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion.
The so-called abortion pill reversal bill now needs approval from the House and the governor’s signature to become law.
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