Colorado Democrats support “women’s reproductive rights” – except when they don’t.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 Dobbs decision last year, they’ve acted like abortion is at perilous risk in Colorado – even though we already had the most radical pro-abortion laws in the country (which would remain unchanged).

Unlike 14 states that responded to Dobbs by outright banning abortion, Colorado Democrats have done the inverse – passing extreme laws that ensure the Centennial State protects abortion access with virtually no legal restrictions.

While claiming to defend a “woman’s right to choose,” Democrats have now come out swinging against choice rights by opposing a woman’s right to seek an abortion pill reversal treatment.

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This session, they passed three abortion laws signed by Gov. Jared Polis. One of these bills, Senate Bill 190, classifies that abortion pill reversal procedures are “unprofessional conduct” in Colorado unless and until the state’s medical, nursing and pharmacy boards approve of it as a “generally accepted practice.”

Unless these state medical boards say otherwise, SB190 bans doctors from administering Progesterone to “reverse” an abortion after a woman has taken Mifepristone, the first of two drugs referred to as “the abortion pill.”

Progesterone is a critical pregnancy hormone that tells a woman’s reproductive system she is pregnant. Mifepristone binds to the progesterone receptors in a woman’s cells, tricking the reproductive system into thinking there is no progesterone, and therefore no baby to care for. This kills the unborn child. Misoprostol is subsequently taken to complete the abortion.

Conversely, by administering progesterone, it’s possible to fill those receptors’ slots with the actual hormone instead of the abortion pill’s progesterone antagonist. That’s the science behind why many women who have suffered multiple miscarriages are prescribed progesterone to help them take a pregnancy to term.

This is the logic behind abortion-reversal treatments. In short, if a mother has second thoughts after starting a chemical abortion, a high dosage of  progesterone administered within 24-to-48 hours of taking mifepristone could help save the baby.

Research studying the efficacy of abortion pill reversal is limited by ethical constraints. How can researchers give a study participant a placebo knowing it would kill her baby? Observational studies have shown the procedure is up to 68% effective at saving the baby. This is compared to the near guarantee the child will die if the woman finishes the abortion pill protocol. Of course, there’s no guarantee – but why shouldn’t a woman at least have the chance to save her baby if she chooses?

Colorado Democrats say we’re never supposed to interfere with a woman’s right to choose to end her pregnancy. But they want the government to intervene if that same woman changes her mind and wants to keep her baby.  I guess “reproductive rights” only go one way?

“There is nothing more irreparable and harmful than the state telling pregnant women that they’re not allowed to try to save their babies and that they must follow through with killing them,” said Max McGuire, author of “The Conservative’s Guide To Winning Every Abortion Argument.”

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed a lower court ruling, allowing the “abortion pill” to remain on the market pending the outcome of court challenges (I agree with The Wall Street Journal this was the right call, in part because “the role of judges doesn’t include second-guessing the FDA’s judgments unless it violates procedure or the law”).

The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 and progestin (synthetic progesterone) in 1998. The government determined both drugs were safe. That’s the key: Though synthetic progesterone hasn’t been approved specifically for abortion reversal, it is generally considered safe and carries minimal side-effects for the mother or the baby. Often in such cases, when a drug is safe but could help with other medical conditions, a physician may prescribe it for “off-label use.”

So, why is Colorado about to penalize doctors who prescribe a safe drug for the “off-label” purpose of abortion-reversal – although, if you think about it, progesterone is used to treat women at risk of miscarriages, so is this really off-label use?

Ironically, Democrats also passed a law protecting doctors who prescribe progestin to kids off-label for gender transitions while simultaneously criminalizing prescribing progestin pills to pregnant women who hope to save their baby. How does this make sense?

Let’s be clear: A woman who takes mifepristone and then realizes she’s making a mistake should not be denied the right to try a medication that could  save her baby- even if the odds are slim. Especially one the FDA has considered “safe” for 25 years.

“Colorado has a Right to Try Law which allows dying Coloradans to use experimental and unproven drugs to try to save themselves,” McGuire added. “What Gov. Polis and the Democrats have now said is that, when pregnant women take an abortion pill and deeply regret it – when they have just hours to try to reverse it – they will not be allowed to try to save their child and will have no choice but to finish the chemical abortion. Why is it that every Coloradan has a ‘Right to Try’ except pregnant women?”

That’s a question Democrats must answer. In the meantime, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel D. Domenico has put a temporary stay on implementing SB190 through Saturday. Here’s to him making the right call and extending the order, at least until state medical boards act.

Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. Reach Jimmy online at JimmySengenberger.com or on Twitter @SengCenter.