This Saturday, thousands of pro-lifers will converge on San Francisco for the annual Walk for Life West Coast. One of the speakers at the event is Rebekah Buell, a young mother who planned to end the life of her son with the abortion pills RU-486.
ZENIT spoke with Buell about her choice to use chemical abortion and what she did when she changed her mind.
ZENIT: Tell us your experience of abortion.
Buell: I never thought I would be an abortion consumer, yet at 18 years old I found myself pregnant for the second time. The news of this pregnancy crushed me; here I was in my first year of college, in the midst of a divorce, and already a mother to an 11-month-old little boy. I thought being a single mother to two children would be completely impossible.
In order to not further disappoint my family, and to not further complicate my education, I made the decision to have a chemical abortion, which is a two-step process. On March 13, 2013, I walked into a Planned Parenthood clinic, sat down, and swallowed the RU-486 abortion pill, the first pill that is designed to cause the death of the unborn child. I was then sent home with the second set of pills (Misoprostol) and instructed to take them 24 hours later, as that is what causes the “fetus” to be expelled.
As soon as I left that clinic I felt intense regret, I found a Web site (abortionpillreversal.com) that advised anyone wanting to reverse the abortion pill to call the hotline number, so I chose to do so. Through God’s amazing grace and the pro-life group Culture Of Life Family Services, my abortion was able to be successfully reversed through a series of progesterone injections.
ZENIT: What can you share about the reversal of the abortion procedure? Is your case unique?
Buell: The RU-486 abortion pill is designed for women who are 4-9 weeks pregnant, and is essentially a more convenient way to terminate the pregnancy. It breaks my heart that women are lured into terminating their child’s life this way, just as I was. They just make it seem so easy, and simple, like it is somehow different than the standard surgical abortion, yet truly it is just as emotionally devastating.
I was fortunate enough to receive help from a pro-life doctor when I needed it most as he began the reversal treatment within 24 hours of me taking the abortion pill. The reversal consisted of several weeks of progesterone injections, and pills, which are designed to counteract the goal of the abortion pill, which is to deprive the baby from progesterone.
As of right now, yes my case is unique as my son was one of the first babies to be born perfectly healthy after taking the abortion pill and then undergoing the reversal treatment. I do however, hope that word of the reversal continues to spread and that women will now be able to choose life for their babies, even after starting the abortion process. It breaks my heart to think of how many women left the clinic and changed their mind just as I did, but were told that it was too late and there was no going back, causing them to finish the rest of the chemical abortion. I think about those women and their unborn children daily, and that is what gives me the strength to share my story.
ZENIT: What is the message you will be giving to the Walkers this Saturday?
Buell: I am fortunate enough to be able to share my story at this year’s Walk for Life West Coast, and I plan to tell of my experience with the my abortion pill reversal. I believe that my story will offer hope to those who find themselves in crisis pregnancies, as well as to all of the pro-lifers that will be attending the walk. My goal is to spread the truth about the reversal so that others, who find themselves in the same situation that I was, will also be able to reverse their chemical abortion.
ZENIT: Where do you see the pro-life movement headed in the coming years?
Buell: I truly believe that with the fact that chemical abortions are now successfully being reversed, we are one step closer to ending abortion all together. The reversal process is not only saving babies who once had no chance, it is also exposing the ugly truth behind the abortion industry.
Abortion clinics around the world adamantly proclaim that once a woman takes the first RU-486 abortion pill there is absolutely no going back, but now that we know this is false, I believe fewer women will trust these clinics and instead choose to visit pro-life pregnancy centers.
I will also say that as a young, single mother, I have never felt more loved and accepted than I do within this amazing pro-life community. The more women who seek and receive help within this community, the closer we are to ending abortion.
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