No, you can't "reverse" an ectopic pregnancy

Sunday, April 3, 2022 blog Share


An ectopic pregnancy cannot be transplanted into the uterus

Woman looking at laptop

In the latest horror-fest that is abortion access in the United States, a bill introduced into the Missouri state House on March 11 would ban the termination of an ectopic pregnancy. You read that correctly: House Bill 2810 would make it a felony to perform or induce an abortion for a pregnancy, that, if allowed to continue, would kill the pregnant person or render them infertile.

An ectopic pregnancy occurs when the fetus develops outside of the uterus, 95% of the time in a fallopian tube (it's sometimes called a tubal pregnancy). If an ectopic pregnancy isn't addressed, the tube will likely rupture, cause internal bleeding, and potentially, death.

It is important to mention that ectopic pregnancies are rare - they account for 1-2% of all conceptions. That being said, an ectopic pregnancy looks a lot like a regular one for the first 6 weeks, after which the anomaly can be detected via ultrasound. If a pregnant person is experiencing severe pelvic pain, shoulder pain, vaginal bleeding and spotting, weakness, dizziness, and fainting, they should seek medical attention. It might not be an ectopic pregnancy, but it's worth checking out.

An ectopic pregnancy cannot be transplanted into the uterus - the medical technology simply doesn't exist.  Anyone who tells you it can be "saved" is regurgitating pseudoscience seeking to harm and punish people who can get pregnant. The only way to treat an ectopic pregnancy is via the removal of the fetus, and possibly the fallopian tube, depending on how far along the pregnancy is and if the tube can be salvaged. (The sooner an ectopic pregnancy is caught, the more likely it is that the tube will be preserved.)

Abortion pills will not end an ectopic pregnancy. If a person who has an ectopic pregnancy uses them, they might experience bleeding, but not see the clots that should come with terminating a viable pregnancy. In order to treat an ectopic pregnancy, one may receive a shot of methotrexate, which will dissolve the pregnancy, but this only works if the tube hasn't ruptured. If the tube has ruptured, a healthcare provider may remove it entirely. So when anti-choicers advocate for a person pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy to stay pregnant, they're actually in favor of someone losing their fertility and risking a ruptured tube. There's nothing that makes sense about the Missouri bill, unless we look at it for what it really is: another means of controlling people who can get pregnant.