The General Medical Council has dramatically lifted restrictions on a Catholic doctor banned from helping women “reverse abortions” after they changed their minds during the procedure.

Caseworkers for the GMC dismissed every allegation against Dr Dermot Kearney, a past president of the Catholic Medical Association, and concluded that there is no case to answer.

They found that the women he had supported had received high-level support and, following expert evidence, that abortion reversal treatment is safe.

Dr Kearney, a Newcastle-based cardiologist, was prohibited from providing Abortion Pill Reversal treatment (APR) for up to 18 months in May 2021 by an Interim Orders Tribunal, following a referral from the GMC.

APR involves administering the natural hormone progesterone to a pregnant woman who wishes to reverse the effects of the first abortion pill, mifepristone.

The ban had followed a complaint involving what the GMC now describes as “hearsay” evidence from MSI Reproductive Choices, the UK abortion chain formerly known as Marie Stopes.

A hearing challenging the ban was due in the High Court, with lawyers preparing to submit that the interim order against Dr Kearney should never have been made and should be discharged.

But before the hearing, the GMC declared that there was no case against Dr Kearney, leaving him free to continue the practice.

Dropping the restrictions against him, the GMC stated: “The case examiners have considered the information provided by MSI Reproductive Choices, openDemocracy, Safe Abortion Action Fund UK and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and decided to conclude this case with no further action.”

Abortion providers have repeatedly claimed that APR was dangerous and should be banned but failed to provide any credible evidence to support their position.

Impartial expert evidence outlined in the GMC’s examiners’ report exonerated Dr Kearney, and states that “there was no evidence to suggest that APR increases the risk of harm to a foetus”.

Ten women provided witness statements in support of Dr Kearney as part of his legal defence.

The GMC said in its report: “We have been able to read those statements and we have recognised the consistent opinion provided in the statements that Dr Kearney left the women he had treated well informed about the treatment, was not judgemental, did not attempt to push his own views on them, and was overall considered to have been highly supportive.”

One woman who received abortion reversal treatment from Dr Kearney said in her witness statement: “He was amazing. He was not at all judgmental. He was very professional… He was not trying to sell me something I did not want. He told me how he could help me. He was not at all pushy…’

“I have kept in touch with Dr Dermot. I was blown away by his kindness. He never pushed anything on me. He just cared. He never pushed religion on me. I am very concerned about what is happening to him so I offered to do what I could to help. He did not ask me to. At a time in my life when I had no hope, he was like a little light. If it wasn’t for him I think I might even be dead now. He is a very busy man, but he makes time for people and he genuinely cares for you.”

To date, 32 women who received APR treatment from Dr Kearney and Consultant Obstetrician, Dr Eileen Reilly, have given birth to healthy babies.

Fifty-five per cent of mothers have given births to live babies following the administration of the medication, which is more than double the expected survival rate without receiving the treatment (20-25 per cent according to a previously published study).

Responding to the outcome, Dr Kearney, said: “I am relieved and delighted to have been exonerated. I have been the victim of a coordinated campaign by senior figures in the abortion industry who have been determined to prevent women in urgent need from accessing abortion reversal treatment.

“At all times my concern and priority has been the women who have been referred to me for urgent medical support. I am humbled by the support they have shown me in return.

“The whole investigation and the untruths about abortion reversal reported in the media have taken a toll on me and my family. The truth about abortion reversal treatment must now be told and medical professionals who are able and willing to support women with the treatment should be allowed to do so without fear.

“My hope is that woman across the UK will now be told by medical regulators and abortion providers that abortion reversal treatment is safe, that it is available, and that success is possible if they regret their decision to have an abortion and choose to seek help.”

Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which supported Dr Kearney, said: “We are delighted that justice has been served for this brilliant and compassionate doctor. We are, however, deeply concerned that a case was brought against him in the first place and how it was engineered by Jonathan Lord, a director at MSI Reproductive Choices.

“The government’s Pills by Post telemedicine service has led to a spike in women undertaking DIY abortion home alone without proper medical supervision. These are women in a crisis situation and many instantly regret taking the first pill and desperately search for help to save their babies.

“It is really sad to think of the many women who have been prevented from receiving life-saving treatment since this ban was in place. No woman should be prevented from changing their mind and seeking to save the life of her child. 

“The mantra of the abortion lobby of ‘my body my choice’ should extend to a women changing her mind about going through with an abortion. The abortion industry does not want to give women that choice. 

“Many women feel unbelievably grateful to Dr Kearney for helping them to save their babies. Even where the babies were not saved, or where they decided to decline the progesterone treatment, they feel that he has cared for them and helped them when they most needed it. He steps into the breach where the abortion providers are manifestly failing.”

(Photo by Simon Caldwell)

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