Pregnancy care centers in California , of which there are 176, are a great thorn in the side of the “pro-choice” state. These centers , most staffed on a volunteer basis by people of faith, give expectant mothers who want to bear their children free help along the way. But California is not pro-choice when it comes to these centers.

In 2018, the state passed the FACT Act, which required pregnancy care centers to advertise the services of abortion clinics with a government-drafted script. This law was sensibly struck down by the Supreme Court for violating the First Amendment’s protection of free speech. Last month, the state was at it again. California’s attorney general sued five pregnancy care centers for promoting abortion pill reversal, a procedure offered to mothers who change their minds after starting a chemical abortion and decide to try to rescue their child.

The state claims that progesterone, the drug used in the procedure, is not safe or effective. In fact, neither of these assertions is true. Food and Drug Administration-approved progesterone has been used for over 50 years to treat women in danger of miscarrying, and studies have shown statistically significant positive results, with more women carrying to term than those given a placebo. In fact, progesterone is naturally present in pregnant women and has not been shown to cause any significant harm when used as an intervention.

I’m a practicing radiologist in South Florida, and I volunteer as the medical supervisor of several pregnancy care centers in the area. Although we don’t do abortion pill reversal, we do refer our mothers to a local network of caring gynecologists who, for free, will prescribe for them the vaginal micronized progesterone that they prescribe to their patients when they are in danger of miscarrying.

Last year, one of our expectant mothers had taken mifepristone, the first pill of the chemical abortion regimen. Diagnosed as pregnant at a Planned Parenthood clinic, she had panicked and taken them up on their quick offer of the “abortion pill.” She paid Planned Parenthood $600 for the pills and took the mifepristone while still at the abortion facility. She went home with the second pill (misoprostol), which she was directed to take two days later. When she returned home, she was surprised to find loving support and acceptance of herself and the baby instead of anger and rejection. The young woman not only changed her mind about the abortion, but she was also suddenly filled with a great motherly passion to protect her child.

The mifepristone she had taken at Planned Parenthood blocked the pregnancy hormone progesterone, which is responsible for maintaining the uterine lining where an embryo implants early in pregnancy. By blocking progesterone, mifepristone causes shedding of the uterine lining, thus starving the embryo of its blood supply. “Abortion pill reversal” consists of administering bioidentical progesterone to overcome the effects of mifepristone. It must be done as quickly as possible. Initial studies have shown a success rate of 64% to 68%, but every moment counts.

She was concerned about harmful side effects to herself or the child and was glad to learn that there were none. Neither the mifepristone she took nor the progesterone for the rescue procedure would damage the baby, although the second pill in the chemical abortion regime, misoprostol, can cause birth defects in babies that survive its administration. She was also glad to know that the only cost to her would be the cost of the medication, which her insurance might cover. And if she couldn’t afford it, the pregnancy care center would find a way to reduce the cost of treatment.

The poor mother was tearful but thankful. Her first choice, made hastily in a moment of panic, was the wrong one for her. She wanted a second choice, a better one, and she felt strongly that her baby deserved it.

I wish I could say the outcome was successful. Sadly, the woman miscarried a couple of weeks later. The progesterone was unable to reverse the effect of the mifepristone. Perhaps we didn’t act quickly enough. In any case, she will always know that once her panic subsided, she did everything she could to save her baby. That’s doubtless a great consolation.

This is how abortion pill reversal works. These are the people involved: mothers regretting an initial decision and reaching out to physicians who donate their time and expertise to help them rescue their pregnancies. These are the situations that the politicians running California cannot abide. When they call themselves pro-choice, which they do, avidly and loudly, they mean one choice: abortion. Those of us with a wider vision of human flourishing and the potential for future happiness in even the most precarious circumstances think women can choose and then choose again, the second time for life.

Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie is a Catholic Association senior fellow and practicing radiologist.