Colorado nurse midwife defends helping women who regret abortion

DENVER – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed a motion Wednesday asking a Colorado federal court to allow Chelsea Mynyk, a licensed nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife, to intervene in a lawsuit to defend her use of providing patients with abortion pill reversal. The protocol is a safe and effective treatment for women who change their minds about abortion and is used to reverse the effects of chemical abortion drugs, saving the unborn child.

In April 2023, Colorado enacted a law that prohibits doctors and nurses from providing abortion pill reversal, forcing women to undergo abortions they wish to avoid. As ADF attorneys explain in the proposed complaint also filed with the court Wednesday, “although Colorado claims to recognize the ‘fundamental right to continue a pregnancy,’ this law actively thwarts women from making that choice, and it makes it illegal for nurses and doctors to assist them or even inform them about their options. The law’s implementing regulations leave those prohibitions in place, making it professional misconduct for doctors and nurses to assist a woman in attempting to reverse the effects of the first abortion pill.”

“Colorado can’t silence medical professionals and prevent them from saving lives,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “Many women regret their abortions, and some choose to reverse the effects of the first abortion drug, often saving their baby’s life. But Colorado’s law wrongly denies women the freedom to make that choice. The state can’t force women to follow through with an abortion when a safe alternative is available—one that Chelsea and the pro-life plaintiffs in this case can skillfully provide.”

In the case, Bella Health and Wellness v. Weiser, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty sued Colorado on behalf of Bella Health and Wellness, a pro-life pregnancy center, in April 2023 and secured a preliminary injunction, preventing Colorado’s law from being enacted while the lawsuit continues; however, the injunction only applied to Bella Health and Wellness.

Mynyk runs her own clinic, Castle Rock Women’s Health, where she provides reproductive health care services to women. As the proposed complaint notes, Mynyk, like Bella Health and Wellness, believes that she is compelled by her faith to provide abortion pill reversal to women who request it. Last month, Mynyk received a letter from the Colorado State Board of Nursing notifying her that she is being investigated for a possible violation of the Nurses Practice Act because of an anonymous complaint about her provision of abortion pill reversal.

• Pronunciation guide: Mynyk (MIN-ick); Theriot (TAIR’-ee-oh)

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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