New Project Helps Women Who Change Their Mind During Abortion Procedure

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Nov 30, 2010   |   6:28PM   |   Washington, DC

It’s never too late to change your mind about having an abortion — and a pro-life group hopes to reinforce that concept with a new project it is unveiling along with local medical and pregnancy help centers.

The Pro-Life Action League today announced a new alliance with Resurrection Medical Center and The Women’s Center to establish medical and support protocols for assisting women who change their minds after initiating a second trimester abortion procedure.

The organization calls the partnership “groundbreaking” as a first-of-its-kind in Chicago and what it hopes will become a model for Catholic hospitals around the country.

“Recently, our sidewalk counselors have seen several women who have changed their minds about abortion, and who wish to continue their pregnancies even once the late-term abortion procedure has started,” Ann Scheidler, vice president and director of sidewalk counselor training for the Pro-Life Action League told LifeNews.com this afternoon.

She said, “This new process enables us to provide the most comprehensive medical care and emotional support for the pregnant woman who is facing this stressful situation.”

“Never before have we had such a streamlined process to save the life of a child after the abortion procedure has been initiated,” said Scheidler.

Officials with PLAL, Resurrection and The Women’s Center, a crisis pregnancy center on the northwest side of Chicago drafted the protocols.

Dr. Anthony Levatino, a former abortion practitioner and practicing gynecologist from Las Cruces, New Mexico, who has guided women for many years to abortion alternatives since becoming pro-life, was enlisted to advise the hospital’s physicians and staff on the procedures involved in a later-term abortion and the reversal of the process.

The protocols include directing women who indicate that have had a change of heart during the abortion procedure to The Women’s Center. There, a trained counselor will have access to a designated phone number to alert the emergency room at Resurrection that the women will be arriving shortly for medical care.

The emergency room at Resurrection will handle the initial evaluation and transfer the patient to the obstetrics department where the necessary procedures will be done to ensure the abortion process will not claim the life of her child or pose medical risks for her.

The Women’s Center will continue to follow up with the pregnant woman throughout her pregnancy and the delivery of her baby, meeting any emotional and material needs as they arise and provide help in arranging prenatal and post-natal care.

Sister Donna Marie, chief executive officer of Resurrection Medical Center, said the facility is excited to be a part of the new process.