New York Attorney General Letitia James has been sued by a coalition of anti-abortion groups who say she sought to block Christian pregnancy centers from promoting so-called "abortion pill reversal" protocol.
The coalition, represented by the Thomas More Society—a conservative law firm based in Chicago—accused James of carrying out a "witch hunt" after her office sent out "Notice of Intention to Sue" letters to multiple pregnancy help organizations calling on them to stop providing "persistent misleading statements" while advertising the safety and proficiency of abortion pill reversal (APR) methods.
An APR procedure involves a woman who has changed their mind about aborting a pregnancy after taking mifepristone, a drug that is used to end a pregnancy. APR involves taking progesterone to offset the effects of mifepristone.
The Abortion Pill Rescue Network says that studies of APR have shown it has a 64-68 percent success rate of allowing the pregnancy to continue, but the course of action has not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also says that claims regarding abortion reversal treatment are "not based on science" and do not meet clinical standards.
"The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists ranks its recommendations on the strength of the evidence, and does not support prescribing progesterone to stop a medication abortion," the group added.
The groups' lawsuit says that James' office is violating the constitutional rights of the pregnancy help organizations by preventing them from promoting APR and they are suing her office to prevent any potential future prosecution.
"New York State laws protect abortionists and abortion on demand up until birth. Now they are targeting those who assist a woman in exercising her right to continue her own pregnancy," Jor-El Godsey, President of Heartbeat International, one of several anti-abortion groups named as plaintiffs in the suit, said in a statement.
"It is unconscionable to see the abortion industry and its paid-for politicians go so far as to insist she complete an abortion she no longer wants."
Newsweek has reached out to James' office via email for comment.
Peter Breen, executive vice president of the Thomas More Society, added: "This is a political witch-hunt against small nonprofits that have selflessly served New York's pregnant women and their children for over 50 years.
"Letitia James should be heralding these charities, not launching outrageously false claims against them under laws that don't apply to their noncommercial speech.
"Ms. James' Notices of Intention to Sue are a transparent attempt to harass small pro-life charities into silence, targeting her political opponents because of their beliefs, in flagrant violation of the First Amendment."
The move from James comes after California Attorney General Rob Bonta, in September 2023, sued Heartbeat International as well as five crisis pregnancy centers over their alleged "fraudulent and misleading" claims to advertise the "unproven and largely experimental" APR procedure.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy ... Read more
