A state law, currently blocked, could prevent other mothers from saving their babies if it’s upheld.
Mackenna Greene’s future was an open door.
Having just embarked on a promising new career path, she was ready to hit the ground running.
Then, with just two little lines, the universe hit pause.
“I found out that I was pregnant,” Greene, 26, of Colorado Springs told The Epoch Times.
Fearing that her door of opportunity was about to slam shut, Greene spent days convincing herself that an abortion was what she wanted and needed.
“I was afraid,” she said. “And this abortion pill … it was an easy way out of a difficult situation.”
The chemical abortion regimen consists of two pills: mifepristone and misoprostol.
Hoping for some relief, Greene took the first pill. What she felt instead was “instant regret.”
Desperate to reverse course, she conducted a quick Google search to find out if that was even possible.
That search led her to nurse Chelsea Mynyk, who offers abortion pill reversal. And together, they saved Greene’s baby girl, who was born in August and is now healthy and thriving.
“Obviously, I was so blessed to have her and to be able to look at her, but I’m kind of struggling a little bit right now with forgiving myself,” Greene said, holding back tears.
That process can be difficult. But for Greene, it starts with speaking out against a Colorado law that, if upheld, will prevent other regretful mothers from reversing their chemical abortions.
The treatment process for reversing a chemical abortion involves taking high doses of the naturally occurring pregnancy hormone progesterone to counteract the effects of the first abortion pill, mifepristone.
Mifepristone blocks progesterone to halt the pregnancy’s progression. The uterine lining then begins to break down, ending the unborn child’s life.
The second pill, misoprostol, causes dilation and uterine contractions to expel the fetus and the remaining tissue from the uterus.
The reversal process—which has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—can only be attempted before the second pill is taken.
Although the process is not guaranteed to work, a 2018 study observed a success rate of 68 percent when oral progesterone was taken and 64 percent when the hormone was injected.
The study concluded that the use of progesterone to reverse the effects of mifepristone is “safe and effective.”
However, a Colorado law that Gov. Jared Polis signed in April 2023 deems abortion pill reversal to be a “dangerous and deceptive practice” unsupported by science or clinical standards, citing the pro-abortion American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Under the law’s provisions, medical professionals are prohibited from discussing, offering, or providing chemical abortion reversal services to women who change their minds after taking an abortion pill.
The law also states that providing the service to be “unprofessional conduct” and is grounds for discipline.
A judge temporarily blocked the statute’s enforcement in October 2023 in light of a lawsuit brought by pro-life medical clinic Bella Health and Wellness.
Just two months later, Greene learned she was pregnant.
“I’m just so frustrated that Colorado law is … prohibiting women in my circumstance from receiving this lifesaving care for their unborn children,” Greene said.
She noted that in some cases, progesterone is prescribed to support the pregnancies of women with a history of miscarriages, yet lawmakers have not outlawed that treatment.
“Both groups of women are just wanting healthy pregnancies,” she said. “Both groups of women want their pregnancies, but only one of them is getting the lifesaving treatment for them.”Mynyk, who is also a certified nurse midwife, runs Castle Rock Women’s Health.
Her practice focuses on helping women through their pregnancies by providing them with life-affirming care, including abortion pill reversal.
Chemical abortions, Mynyk noted, are not without health risks.
“Women are allowed to access the abortion pill without any interaction with a medical professional,” she said.
“And statistically, there’s roughly one in 25 women who will end up in the emergency room from a complication. That is way too many.”
Two such cases in Georgia were recently thrust into the spotlight when ProPublica reported the deaths of Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, and Candi Miller, 41, due to complications from chemical abortions.
Mynyk said her job as a nurse is to save the lives of women and their babies. But her ability to do so has been called into question amid the passage of Colorado’s new law.
In January, she received an anonymous complaint against her license for offering abortion pill reversal, prompting the Colorado Board of Nursing to launch an investigation.
“If the law is upheld … I could lose my medical license, and I could be exposed to hefty fines of up to $20,000 per violation,” she said.
That’s why Mynyk joined Bella Health’s lawsuit—to challenge what she sees as an unlawful attempt to silence her and other medical professionals.
Upon receiving the complaint, she immediately reached out to the nonprofit Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) to find out if she had a case.
ADF senior counsel Kevin Theriot, who is representing Mynyk in court, said his organization was eager to help.
“As a religious liberties organization, we want to make sure that medical professionals like Chelsea are free to practice their faith through their work and to help save lives,” Theriot said.
“Because the bottom line is … women regret their abortions—many of them do. And this is a way to avoid ongoing regret and to save the baby.”
He said that saving as many babies as possible is “priority No. 1” for ADF, which has argued many cases on behalf of pro-life clients, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision that overturned the federal right to abortion.
As far as Mynyk’s case is concerned, Theriot is hopeful for another victory.
In the meantime, Mynyk intends to continue providing abortion pill reversals to women looking to undo chemical abortions.
And Greene, thankful to be a new mom, said she is determined to share her story to let other women know that the process does work. She is also urging others to do the same.
“To women that have taken the pill, or have taken the abortion pill reversal, what I would love to say to them is … stand up for those women who come after you,” she said.