In the Middle of the Abortion, Mackenna Changed Her Mind and Saved Her Baby’s Life

In a testament to the power of second thoughts and medical intervention, a Colorado woman who began a chemical abortion reversed course, crediting an amazing treatment with saving her unborn child’s life.

Mackenna, who discovered she was pregnant in late December 2023, initially panicked over complications from her first child’s birth and worries about finances and housing. At just five weeks along, she searched online for an “abortion pill” and had the drugs shipped directly to her home, bypassing an in-person doctor’s visit due to Joe Biden removing protections for pregnant women.

She took the first drug, mifepristone, which blocks progesterone — a hormone essential for sustaining pregnancy — and is designed to end the life of the unborn child by starving the baby to death.

But regret set in immediately.

SUPPORT LIFENEWS! If you want to help fight abortion, please donate to LifeNews.com!

Mackenna began researching ways to undo the effects and learned about abortion pill reversal, a process that involves prescribing progesterone to counteract mifepristone before the second drug, misoprostol, is taken that expels the body of the dead baby.

Through the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, she connected with Chelsea Mynyk, a nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife at her clinic in Castle Rock. Mynyk examined Mackenna, explained the reversal process, and provided an ultrasound image labeled with the word “HOPE.”

She prescribed progesterone, seeing Mackenna weekly until 13 weeks of pregnancy and offering prenatal care up to 20 weeks.

The treatment proved successful: In the summer of 2024, Mackenna gave birth to a healthy daughter.

Without the reversal, she believes, her daughter would have died.

Mackenna now views herself as one of the fortunate ones able to access this life-affirming care, and she advocates for other women to have the same chance to choose life after regret.

Pro-life advocates hail such stories as evidence that abortion pill reversal works, with research from the Charlotte Lozier Institute showing a 64-68% success rate when progesterone is administered timely to “outnumber and outcompete” mifepristone’s effects. Statistics suggest the protocol has likely saved over 5,000-6,000 unborn children nationwide.

Yet Mackenna’s case highlights the hurdles facing this option.

Colorado became the first state to ban providers from offering or even informing women about abortion pill reversal, a law signed by Gov. Jared Polis.

The measure has drawn criticism from groups like Alliance Defending Freedom, which argues it unconstitutionally prevents health care professionals from saving lives.

In January 2024, an anonymous individual learned of Mynyk’s involvement and filed a complaint with the Colorado Board of Nursing, prompting an investigation under the new law. Alliance Defending Freedom joined a lawsuit on Mynyk’s behalf, challenging the ban as a denial of women’s right to informed choices and professionals’ ability to provide safe, evidence-based care like progesterone, which is routinely used to prevent miscarriages and preterm labor.

“Yes, the abortion pill can be reversed with timely treatment. Mackenna’s beautiful baby girl is living proof,” Alliance Defending Freedom posted on social media, urging scrutiny of Colorado’s restrictions that make it illegal for doctors or nurses to offer this “life-saving treatment.”

For Mackenna, the outcome underscores a simple truth: Expectant mothers who change their minds deserve every opportunity to embrace life for their children.