Life After a Chemical Abortion

Debora's story

Our hotline counselor received a phone call from Debora, 37 years old, who at five weeks into her pregnancy, had been administered both of the chemical abortion pills (Mifepristone and Misoprostol) which is also known as RU-486. These pills stop fetal development and induce contractions. After taking the pills, Debora fell into a depression, felt numb, and couldn’t eat or sleep. Originally, she had decided on abortion despite her boyfriend’s desire to continue the pregnancy, because she felt that it was her decision. She’d had two abortions in the past, and believed that because she was unmarried and without work, the timing just wasn’t right for a child.

Four days after taking the pills, Debora returned to the doctor for a checkup and was shocked to learn that she was still pregnant and was told that she needed to have a surgical abortion. During the examination, Debora heard the beating heart of her child and was deeply moved. Finding herself still pregnant, she said, “This is a sign.” Recent medical checkups now show a healthy, 12 week old baby with wriggling fingers and toes. Seeing the ultrasound image, Debora was flooded with emotion and shared her joy with her family. Her mother is fearful that Debora would now give birth to a handicapped baby. Wanting encouragement, she shared her story with over 30 doctors but they all said, “I guess it’s okay, but we can’t help you.” Others encouraged her to abort saying that the baby would have problems. Not finding support from local doctors, she discovered an “abortion reversal hotline” in the U.S. and received a great deal of positive input from them and from women who had done what she did, and yet had given birth to healthy babies.

An Israeli gynecologist reported to Be'ad Chaim that he and his colleagues were unaware of the abortion reversal procedure and that Orthodox doctors who refuse to do abortions would be very interested in learning about it. Debora's courage is commendable and is an inspiration. Please pray that Be’ad Chaim would be instrumental in facilitating the spread of the knowledge of this life-saving procedure to the Israeli medical community.

Fetal Development at 12 weeks