Heartbeat International Vice President of Ministry Services Tracie Shellhouse and her daughter Kaitlin Bartol had the opportunity earlier this year to bring awareness of Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) to young people and pro-life advocates of all ages at the Students for Life of America National Pro-Life Summit.
Heartbeat is the largest network of pregnancy help organizations in the United States and the world and manages the Abortion Pill Rescue Network (APRN). Heartbeat also manages the 24/7 pro-life contact center Option Line, for which Bartol is a consultant.
Both mother and daughter were moved by the excitement of summit attendees for the hope provided by Abortion Pill Reversal.
APR is a newer application of a longtime treatment for preventing miscarriage, providing a woman who has taken the first of two abortion pills in a chemical abortion to have a second chance at life for her unborn child.
The overwhelming majority of abortions conducted in the U.S. are chemical abortions, and women often regret starting the chemical abortion process. APR counteracts the effects of mifepristone, the first of two drugs in a chemical abortion, by replacing progesterone in the pregnant woman’s system with a bioidentical version of the natural hormone necessary to sustain pregnancy.
If a pregnant woman takes mifepristone, regrets the decision, and acts quickly enough it may be possible to save her unborn child with APR. The sooner the reversal commences the better, though successful reversals have occurred as long as 72 hours after the mifepristone was taken. To date, statistics show that more than 7,000 lives have been saved through APR and counting.
Despite these 7,000-plus lives saved, APR is the object of criticism and even suppression efforts from abortion proponents.
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Shellhouse, a former pregnancy center CEO and director, had staffed Heartbeat’s APRN exhibit before, and said the National Pro-life Summit was a “fun, new experience unlike any before.”
“The APRN exhibit had a constant stream of event attendees who approached us wanting to learn about APR,” she said.
Many of them had just heard about it for the first time through the summit general sessions and workshop speakers, said Shellhouse.
“Most of those whom we engaged were students and we had the opportunity to introduce them to Option Line our 24/7/365 pregnancy help hotline, educate them about APR, and empower them with information about how APRN works, so they can share these resources with their classmates, teachers, and advisors,” she said.
A lot of students took information and handouts, she added.
“We also had teachers, professors, and Students for Life chapter sponsors approach us, and while most of them had familiarity with APR, they still had questions about how the APRN works,” Shellhouse said, such as logistics, when it's available, how providers partner with the APRN, and the continuum of care.
Shellhouse also noticed that the female-to-male ratio of attendees at the summit was unlike other pregnancy help conferences, where typically men make up about 10-15% of attendees. The male presence was strong at the summit, she said.
“Young men were also very interested in APR,” said Shellhouse. “This gives me so much hope for the future of pregnancy help!”
“What stood out to me at the National Pro-Life Summit was the excitement and interest of hundreds of people who were learning about the amazing APR protocol and the hope of second choices found through our network and the reversal protocol,” she said.
“Most of those in attendance are just beginning their involvement in the pro-life movement and they were equipped with education, knowledge, and understanding that will not only increase their abilities to impact, touch, and save lives,” she said, “but can also empower and inspire them as they discern where their passions lie and where they are called to serve.”
Shellhouse said she had an interesting conversation with a college senior who was praying and discerning how the Lord is leading her to invest in the pro-life movement.
After a quick overview of Heartbeat International, the APRN, and Option Line, the young woman was most interested in Heartbeat’s Babies Go to Congress initiative, because her passion lies in the areas of legislation and lobbying.
“It was a great conversation,” Shellhouse said. “We need people in all pro-life arenas working together to advance and uphold the sanctity of human life.”
“The opportunity to connect with young people who are interested in affecting future legislation is important,” she said. “Equipping them with the knowledge of resources and programs and an understanding of the pregnancy help movement is exciting.”
“It is an honor and privilege to share about APR,” Shellhouse said.
The National Pro-Life Summit was her daughter’s first time staffing the APRN exhibit for Heartbeat.
“This was such an exciting experience for me,” Bartol told Pregnancy Help News. “Everyone who approached the table was so excited and supportive about what we were doing.”
“After asking what all Heartbeat does through Option Line, which triages the calls for the APRN,” she said, “the next question almost always was, “How can I help?”
Bartol said she was encouraged by the bravery of those asking what they could do to help and how to get the word out to others about APR.
Many of those she and her mother spoke with at the APRN exhibit were teenagers.
“They were asking if they could take extra freebies and cards to leave in bathrooms, on the train and hand out to all those they encountered,” Bartol said. “It was so affirming to know that we are not out here doing this alone.”
“I may be the only one taking those calls at 2 a.m. to help them begin the APR process,” she said, “but there were so many willing to tell abortion-minded women that it is possible.”
A woman approached the table and asked about how to handle disbelief about APR, such as claims that it is not proven by science. The woman inquired about the best one-liner to get her point across, grab people’s attention, and make them think.
“I told her what I often say when I have a political caller,” Bartol said. “APR is the ultimate choice. If you say that a woman should have the right to have an abortion, then you should also support her right to reverse it.”
“Regardless of what ‘side’ you are on, everyone should be in support of a woman's decision to choose life,” she said.
Tweet This: Regardless of what ‘side’ you are on, everyone should be in support of a woman's decision to choose life.
Bartol was surprised when speaking to attendees in the pro-life movement in other countries. It was a reminder that no matter the current challenges to providing APR in the U.S., there are restrictive situations elsewhere, such as infringement on freedom of speech about the sanctity of life.
“I often get so focused on the battles we are fighting on our own frontlines, I forget that we are quite blessed to have the freedom to fight those battles at all,” she said. “An individual I spoke to working out of the UK mentioned they cannot even pray outside of abortion clinics in their own heads. I cannot imagine that.”
Bartol said she was honored to be able to share the information about APR and answer as many questions as possible, and many people came out of the panel discussions and talks telling them that the most comforting thing is that APR is possible.
“Some nights all I get are APR calls,” said Bartol, “often it is within three hours of (the client) taking the abortion medication.”
“Women do regret it,” she said, “and it seems to be as soon as the abortion pill is taken there is a sense of clarity, the veil is lifted, and they want to undo what they have done. I am just so honored to be able to help those women do that.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of two lawsuits brought by state AGs concerning the sharing of information about Abortion Pill Rveersal.
