Each week, we talk with our colleagues at The Colorado Sun about the stories they're following. This time, editor David Krause joined us to discuss the debate over the use of so-called abortion reversal medications.
The Colorado Medical Board has issued a draft rule that says providing the treatments would not be considered unprofessional conduct. A new state law that would have banned such medications is on hold while it is being challenged in court and reviewed by the state's health care regulators.
When a person starts a non-surgical abortion, the first step is to take a medication called mifepristone that blocks progesterone, the hormone needed for pregnancy. Within 48 hours, the patient takes a second medication, misoprostol, which causes the patient's uterus to shed its lining. However, in an abortion reversal, the patient takes a high dose of progesterone instead of the misoprostol in the same time frame in an attempt to reverse the effects of the mifepristone.
But there's contention in the medical community over how effective the medicated abortion reversal process is.
“Supporters say there's evidence that the progesterone can counteract the mifepristone,” Krause told KUNC. “Others say this evidence is thin and unreliable.”
For example, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said the reversal treatments are not based on science and don't meet clinical standards.
“As recently as 2020, a study to evaluate the reversal option in a controlled setting was ended early due to safety concerns about the patients,” Krause said.
The Board of Medicine is one of three state boards - the boards of nursing and pharmacy are the others - involved in deciding the fate of the abortion reversal legislation. The medical board's draft rule stated Colorado's health care boards typically take a case-by-case approach to assessing acceptable care standards.
“They don't regularly adopt rules establishing a single standard of care that's applicable to all situations," Krause said. “They would rather look at each case, because they all do have a unique set of facts. So I think they're really trying to send a message that, you know, this isn't how we do our regulatory process.”
The boards have multiple meetings in the coming months, including one in August that will be open to public comment.
The joint meeting, set for August 4 via Zoom, will involve all three health care boards. Constituents can attend this meeting and give public comments on the draft rule. After that, the boards will meet separately in August and September to discuss among themselves whether to adopt the draft rule.
Senate Bill 190 gave the boards until October 1 to make a final decision and a recommendation on how the law should proceed.
