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Many women take the abortion pill and then change their minds, says Russian physician Alexey Fokin.
He and his team will help any woman seeking help. Many are asking.
“We help all women including Muslims, atheists, and others,” he says.
“I know that human life begins from conception and I believe that new life is a precious gift from Our Lord. Let’s work together to have more babies on Earth and more happiness.”
For a time, abortion – legal in Russia since 1920 – saw the Soviet Union having one of the world’s highest abortion rates, with millions of abortions performed each year.
Although official numbers are now about 450,000 a year, the estimated 500,000 medical abortions – such as those procured through the abortion pill – aren’t reported, say Pro-lifers.
Abortions “are very affordable and easily available everywhere,” Fokin says.
He began helping women who had sought drug-induced abortions and then changed their minds in 2016.
Many take the first of the prescribed pills (mifepristone) “impulsively, without strong decision,” Fokin says.
Many then almost immediately decide they don’t want to go on with the process, which involves taking a second pill containing misoprostol.
Spurred by the inquiries, Fokin found a Heartbeat International’s (HBI) website that guides women who have taken mifepristone through an “abortion pill reversal” (APR) process involving prescribed doses of progesterone.
Sure of its efficacy, Fokin and his colleagues adapted the treatment – which is taken under medical supervision usually within 24 hours of taking the first pill.
“In 2018, we published the first video on YouTube with APR instructions in Russian,” he says.
“We had 20,000-30,000 views and about 2,000 visitors per year.”
Some US abortion advocates and pro-choice media claim the therapy is “unproven” and “unethical.” However, Fokin assures critics APR is “absolutely ethical, highly efficient, and safe.”
“Mifepristone induces chemical ‘miscarriage.’ It is the mifepristone, which blocks the natural development of pregnancy and kills babies, that is unethical. Mifepristone is a legalised poison,” he says.
“It blocks progesterone receptors and causes the death of a normal and healthy baby.”
Progesterone has been known for decades to be an “effective and safe drug for the treatment of miscarriage,” he says.
“Giving progesterone, we unblock progesterone receptors and turn back the natural process in the right direction. This is absolutely ethical.”
APR critics often cite a U.S. study of the treatment that was stopped in 2019 after some participants were admitted to emergency rooms.
HBI says the ‘Creinin study’ “actually showed that the abortion pill carries major health risks to a mother.” Another study involving the same doctor (Creinin) showed that the abortion pill regimen resulted in hemorrhaging … confirming “the bleeding is attributable to mifepristone and not progesterone.”
A 2018 peer-reviewed study indicates APR saved 64-68 percent of pregnancies without an increase in birth defects. It concluded “the reversal of the effects of mifepristone using progesterone is safe and effective.”
Fokin says officials are concerned about Russia’s population, which fell by more than 700,000 in 2020.
He hopes APR therapy will be included in the standard of care for miscarriage or to develop a new standard of care.
Source
- CNA
- Image: Catholic News Agency
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News category: World.
