Reversed Abortion: Refugee Office Discussed Trying Controversial Method On Undocumented Teen

Scott Lloyd, a long-time proponent against abortion and head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), had considered the use of unscientific methods to reverse the abortion of an undocumented pregnant teen who was detained in their custody in Texas in March last year.

According to Vice News, Lloyd said in a deposition that he and his staff did discuss the possibility to reverse abortion by using controversial hormone progesterone — a pill prescribed to sustain pregnancy on a 17-year-old girl from El-Salvador.

Mifepristone, the first pill to abort the pregnancy, works by blocking the hormone progesterone and preventing a pregnancy from continuing. Misoprostol, the second pill, is to be taken 24 to 48 hours after consuming the first pill to cause contractions that empty the uterus.

The controversial method of prescribing progesterone entails consuming the pill in spades in order to reverse the effects of the first pill. There is no credible scientific evidence to back up the theory of reversal. In fact, its deemed highly controversial by doctors.

In a court document, it was noted that on March 3, 2017, an unaccompanied minor began the process of abortion by taking the first pill but did not complete the medicated procedure that Involves consuming the second pill 24-48 hours after administering the first pill.

The evidence, produced in the case against ORR who was accused of blocking her access to abortion, disclosed a memorandum issued by Kenneth Tota, the acting director of the ORR dated Mar. 4, 2017, stated that the girl was ordered to be taken to the emergency room to determine the status of the unborn child before she could be given the second pill.

The memo reads: “If steps can be taken to preserve the life of the (teenager) and her unborn child, those steps should be taken.”

The minor was eventually allowed to take the second pill by the officials and complete the abortion process.

This incident comes in the wake of the events which revealed that four teenagers who were under the supervision of the Office of Refugee Resettlement led by Scott Lloyd in October, were prevented from terminating their pregnancy by the administration by blocking their access to abortion. The legal documents were disclosed by the lawyers of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU confirmed four cases where women who had been detained at the detention centers were held hostages in order to stop them from reaching abortion clinics.

“I’ve never seen anything quite as blatant and brazen as this,” said the ACLU’s senior staff attorney Brigitte Amiri. “We are celebrating the 45th anniversary of Roe v Wade, which clearly states that the government cannot ban abortion, yet this is precisely what the Trump administration is doing to these women," Guardian reported

Amiri added: “It’s shocking. The government is physically holding these women hostage for the purpose of preventing them having abortions.”

The new policy to prevent undocumented pregnant minors to obtain an abortion was introduced by Scott Lloyd in March last year. The policy states that the minor should possess parental consent in order to obtain an abortion and in the absence of the parent the child falls under the care of ORR, who is authorized to make all the medical decisions in place of the child’s parent.

A legal battle that ensued between another teenager who was denied an abortion and the Trump administration resulted in a victory of the minor who was granted the right to abort her child after undergoing counseling to comprehend the ramifications of her decisions.

Lloyd who asserted his views while denying abortion to the minor rape victim. He stated he didn’t deem the abortion to be in the best interest of the girl.

“How could abortion be in their best interest where other options are available, and where the child might even survive outside the womb at this stage of pregnancy?” Lloyd said. “Here there is no medical reason for abortion, it will not undo or erase the memory of the violence committed against her, and it may further traumatize her. I conclude it is not in her interest,” Vice news reported.