A federal court ruled Thursday in favor of New York pregnancy resource centers (PRCs), affirming the right of those centers to inform their clients about the so-called abortion pill reversal protocol.
The decision stems from a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James against the state’s PRCs in May, alleging they were spreading “false and misleading” information when informing their clients about “abortion pill reversal” (APR). James’ lawsuit was an attempt to silence the centers and ensure that women who experience abortion regret were not told of any options available to them. APR is a process which utilizes progesterone to counteract the effects of the mifepristone abortion pill, and it has been credited with saving the lives of preborn children whose mothers sought help soon after taking the abortion pill. Live Action News has previously reported on APR’s safety and efficacy.
The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA), Gianna’s House, and Options Care Center filed a countersuit against James in June, arguing that she was violating their First Amendment rights of free speech. In its ruling Thursday, the district court found that the PRCs are likely to succeed in their lawsuit, thereby halting the AG’s efforts to silence them.
“The First Amendment protects Plaintiffs’ right to speak freely about [abortion pill reversal] protocol and, more specifically, to say that it is safe and effective for a pregnant woman to use in consultation with her doctor,” the court wrote in its ruling. “Indeed, the ‘very purpose of the First Amendment is to foreclose public authority from assuming a guardianship of the public mind through regulating the press, speech, and religion.’”
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The plaintiffs were represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which put out a statement following the ruling.
“Women in New York have literally saved their babies from an in-progress chemical drug abortion because they had access to information through their local pregnancy centers about using safe and effective progesterone for abortion pill reversal. But the attorney general tried to deny women the opportunity to even hear about this life-saving option,” said ADF Senior Counsel Caleb Dalton.
He added, “Many women regret their abortions, and some seek to stop the effects of abortion drugs before taking the second drug in the abortion drug process. Taking supplemental progesterone may give them a chance to save their baby’s life. Women should have the option to reconsider an abortion, and the pro-life pregnancy centers we represent in this case truthfully inform them about that choice. The court was right to affirm the pregnancy centers’ freedom to tell interested women about this life-saving treatment option.”
