Abortion Pill Reversal: One Woman’s Story
by Sarah Terzo
At the 2026 March for Life, a woman named Sarah Hurm shared her story. Hurm took the abortion pill and saved her baby with abortion pill reversal.
The Abortion Pill and Abortion Pill Reversal
The abortion pill regimen comprises two medications: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone works to inhibit progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone that maintains the uterine lining. Without progesterone, the lining breaks down and starves the baby of vital nutrients and oxygen, killing her. Then, misoprostol is used to induce uterine contractions, which expel the baby’s tiny body, usually subjecting the woman to heavy bleeding and severe cramps.
Abortion pill reversal is simply a dose of progesterone, which counteracts mifepristone and protects the uterine lining. If it’s taken in time, and all goes well, it can “reverse” a medication abortion in progress. The Human Defense Initiative has an excellent resource that describes the process in more detail.
When Sarah Hurm discovered she was pregnant with her fourth child, the baby’s father urged her to abort. She recalls his “harsh, judgmental” words, which made her feel “trapped and alone”:
He said, “26 years old, four kids, three different dads. That doesn’t look good.” His words drove me to call the abortion facility.
The reaction of the pregnant person’s partner, the baby’s father, often has a big impact on whether she has an abortion or spares the life of her preborn child. I recently covered two studies showing the influence of teen fathers on young girls’ abortion decisions.
Seeking Help: A Contrast
Hurm wanted someone to sit down with her and help her decide what to do. She said she was “seeking guidance.” Sadly, she didn’t turn to a pregnancy resource center, perhaps not knowing of one. Instead, she asked for counseling at an abortion facility, only to be told they didn’t offer any. The only “choice” they offered her was to pay them and schedule an abortion. They weren’t interested in spending time with her beyond that, nor did they care to ensure she made the best decision for herself. (Of course, they didn’t care what was best for the baby.)
The abortion workers didn’t seem concerned about Hurm’s overall well-being or interested in her as a person—they just wanted to sell her an abortion.
Hurm decided to take the abortion pill. She says that the abortion facility was “cold” and “sterile.”
Many abortion facilities now offer abortion pills via telehealth. In these cases, a doctor doesn’t see the pregnant person. She never has an ultrasound or any tests to determine how far along she is in her pregnancy or whether the pregnancy may be ectopic, which is a life-threatening condition. This puts the woman having an abortion at serious risk.
This time, abortion workers performed an ultrasound before giving her the pills. Hurm doesn’t mention whether the worker offered to show her the ultrasound, but says that the abortion worker told her:
You are lucky the Heartbeat Bill hadn’t passed, because if it had, we wouldn’t be able to continue. We detect a strong heartbeat.
Based on the stories I’ve read, it’s unusual for abortion workers to mention the preborn baby’s heartbeat. Usually, they do everything possible to dehumanize the baby. If not required by law, they rarely give facts about fetal development and sometimes even lie about it.
For example, I did an interview with Catherine Anthony Adair, who used to work at Planned Parenthood. She told me:
We never discussed fetal development. The baby was referred to as the “contents of the uterus” or a “clump of cells.” On the rare occasion a woman asked about the size of the baby, I would tell her it was about the size of the tip of my pencil, regardless of how many weeks into her pregnancy she was.
At the time I worked for Planned Parenthood, ultrasounds were only done if the woman was unsure of the dates of her last menstrual period, or if the doctor ordered one. Women were not given the option of viewing the ultrasound.
Hurm took the first abortion pill in the abortion facility and left with a paper bag containing the second drug, with instructions to take it at home.
She began having second thoughts:
As soon as I walked out of the facility, it was as if the world went from dark gray to bright blue. The clinic had felt lifeless. Outside, I felt life again.
That sharp contrast between darkness and light made me feel something I will never forget. I instantly began to regret my decision, and I broke down in my car. I continued to try and go about my day, but I couldn’t even so much as look in my children’s faces without thinking about the child within me.
Hurm searched online and found information about abortion pill reversal. She called the hotline on the abortion pill reversal website. The woman who answered the phone was kind and encouraging. Hurm says, “I realized then that I wasn’t alone; I wasn’t without options, and I could fight for my child’s life. And so, I did.”
She went to the pregnancy center that was offering abortion pill reversal and says:
I met a doctor and a team who gave me care, guidance, love, and most of all, hope — exactly what I was needing, which was far different from the abortion clinic, which had treated me like a transaction.
The contrast with the abortion facility is striking. It was clear which place genuinely cared about Hurm.
Hurm’s son was born completely healthy on January 11, 2019. He is still doing well.
Hurm says, “I am here to tell you that the abortion pill reversal can work. My life and the life of my son is [sic] living proof.”
She then encouraged pro-lifers:
Today, my son is one of the greatest joys of my life. Here is what I want you to know: saving a life can be as simple as answering a phone call, driving a friend to an ultrasound, or helping her pick out a car seat.
Or you can also show up in any little moment. Small sacrifices can become enormous victories that can support moms like me and children like mine. You have the power to be the person who connects a woman to hope.
Be the reason she knows she’s not alone.
Support and genuine interest in the needs and desires of the person carrying the child can go a long way. It can save babies’ lives and change the course of mothers’ lives for the better.
You can watch Sarah Hurm’s entire speech in this video.
I previously covered another abortion pill reversal story on Substack, which you can read here.
The Reality of Abortion Pill Reversal
The pro-choice movement, the mainstream media, and even medical organizations continue to insist that abortion pill reversal isn’t real—despite all the real-life stories and cases.
One of the big opponents of abortion pill reversal is the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which purports to be a neutral source of information, but is very pro-abortion. As Live Action News documents, however, there is evidence that they know full well that abortion pill reversal works, despite their public statements to the contrary.
In October of 2020, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released updated medical guidelines for abortions by pill. Included was a discussion of “the depo shot,” officially called depo medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), which is a progesterone-only contraception. The guidelines said that a depo shot shouldn’t be given at the same time as the abortion pill, because the progesterone it contains can counteract the abortion pill’s effects:
Patients who select depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) for contraception should be counseled that administration of DMPA on day 1 of the medication abortion regimen may increase the risk of ongoing pregnancy . . .
Concern has been raised that the immediate use of hormonal contraception that contains progestins could theoretically interfere with medication abortion efficacy . . . Patients should be counseled about this small risk of ongoing pregnancy, which needs to be weighed against the risk of potentially not receiving their desired method of contraception. [Emphasis added]
It simply makes no sense that progesterone given in a depo shot would interfere with the abortion pill, and progesterone given by a pro-life doctor wouldn’t. It’s the same substance, often administered the same way.
So even pro-abortion doctors, many of whom are also abortionists, know full well that abortion pill reversal is in fact “real” and can be effective.
This is the abortion pill reversal website, and here is the 24/7 hotline: 1-877-558-0333. Please share these resources far and wide to raise awareness of abortion pill reversal, a lifesaving option.
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For more of our posts on the abortion pill, see:
The Safety of Incredibly Dangerous Things
Medicine’s Movement towards Abandonment
Boycott Strategy: CVS & Walgreens
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