Investigation

Lithuanian groups promote ‘irresponsible’ procedure to ‘reverse’ abortions

openDemocracy and LRT reveal that unproven ‘abortion reversal treatment’, supported by US Christian Right organisations, has reached LithuaniaRead in Lithuanian

By Tatev Hovhannisyan and Jurga Bakaitė

Lithuanian groups promote ‘irresponsible’ procedure to ‘reverse’ abortions — Illustration: Inge Snip

Published: December 15, 2021, 5:56 am

A doctor and NGOs in Lithuania are promoting a controversial ‘treatment’ that claims to be able to ‘reverse’ medical abortions, a joint investigation by openDemocracy and Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT can reveal.

The doctor – who was willing to prescribe medication for so-called ‘abortion pill reversal’ and who described a medical abortion as a form of “poisoning” – is linked to US Christian Right group Heartbeat International.

‘Abortion pill reversal’ (APR) is an unproven procedure that prescribes large doses of the hormone progesterone, to be taken after the first of two pills used for a medical abortion.

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