Pregnancy Help Centers Win Injunction Against New York Attorney General

A federal judge ruled New York Attorney General Letitia James cannot prevent the groups from promoting abortion pill reversal services.

The abortion drug Mifepristone, also known as RU486, is pictured in an abortion clinic in a file photo. Phil Walter/Getty Images

A federal judge on Sept. 24 temporarily blocked New York Attorney General Letitia James’s efforts to prevent pro-life pregnancy help organizations from promoting abortion pill reversal services.

James was ordered by Buffalo-based Judge John Sinatra not to enforce anti-fraud provisions of two state laws against the plaintiffs for making what they consider to be true statements. The plaintiffs, Summit Life Center Inc., Evergreen Association Inc., and EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers, are represented by the Thomas More Society.

The state claims that the groups are misinforming the public about the abortion pill reversal (APR) protocol, which is used when women who have begun the medication abortion process change their minds. The groups argue that the protocol has been proven safe, but the state counters that it is not universally accepted and has not been approved by federal regulators.

Some pregnant women opt for reversal when they change their minds about proceeding with an abortion after taking one of the two pills required in the medication abortion procedure.

This type of chemical abortion generally involves the use of mifepristone, which blocks the hormone progesterone, and misoprostol, which induces contractions. In the APR protocol, a large dose of progesterone is administered to the pregnant woman, counteracting the mifepristone, which would otherwise prevent the progesterone from being absorbed by the womb and causing contractions.

The groups’ legal complaint filed on Aug. 7 stated that the New York attorney general said pregnancy help organizations’ statements about APR constituted commercial fraud as defined by two statutes.

The attorney general “sought not to restrict the practice of APR itself, which, because it is perfectly safe, remains entirely legal under U.S. and New York law,’” the complaint stated.

In May, James said “abortions cannot be reversed. Any treatments that claim to do so are made without scientific evidence and could be unsafe.”

“Amid the increase in attacks on reproductive health care nationwide, we must protect pregnant people’s right to make safe, well-informed decisions about their health,” James said.

Sinatra’s Sept. 24 order specifically directed the attorney general not to enforce anti-fraud provisions of two state laws against the plaintiffs for making statements to the public or “women considering or in the midst of a chemical abortion” indicating that APR or progesterone is safe or effective.

Before that, on Aug. 22, the court temporarily blocked the state from enforcing the same law provisions against three other pregnancy help organizations known as the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NILFA), Gianna’s House, and Options Care Center. Alliance Defending Freedom is serving as legal counsel for those plaintiffs.

“These small nonprofits, which exist to compassionately serve women and offer them alternatives to abortion, deserve to have their speech elevated—not chilled,” Thomas More Society Executive Vice President Peter Breen said in a statement.

The Epoch Times reached out to James’s office but did not receive a reply by publication time.