CV NEWS FEED // Democratic New York Attorney General Leitita James recently took a pro-life lawsuit to an appeals court, attempting to ban pregnancy centers from promoting progesterone therapy to reverse the effects of chemical abortion pill mifepristone.
CatholicVote previously reported that James sued 11 pregnancy centers and a pro-life organization last year for promoting progesterone as a reversal to abortion pills.
In a news release from her office at the time, she claimed that the pregnancy centers use “false and misleading statements” to advertise progesterone therapy to save the lives of unborn babies. Her statement also alleges that promoting abortion pill reversal violates New York’s business fraud and false advertising laws.
However, abortion pill reversal through the use of progesterone is a legal and safe practice backed up by statistics and multiple studies, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) stated in a news release. ADF is representing some of the centers in court. Thomas More Society represents the others.
“Statistics show that progesterone therapy has likely saved over 6,000 unborn lives, and studies demonstrate a success rate of up to 64-68%,” ADF reported.
Several of the pregnancy centers responded to James’ claim with lawsuits of their own and alleged that James violated their free speech rights.
A federal district court ruled in favor of those represented by ADF in August. In a March 18 news release, ADF announced that James has appealed the lawsuit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. ADF attorneys filed a response brief in the appeals court March 17.
“Some of these women regret their decision to begin the abortion-drug process, or have done so only under duress or by trick or force, and they seek a way to save their children’s life before their chemical abortions are complete,” the response brief states. “Progesterone therapy provides hope.”
The brief adds that the pregnancy centers do not provide progesterone to women but rather refer women seeking to save the lives of their babies to licensed medical providers who can properly treat them.
ADF Senior Counsel Caleb Dalton stated, “Multiple women in New York have saved their babies from an in-progress chemical abortion because they had access to information through their local pregnancy centers about using safe and effective progesterone therapy.”
He added, “The attorney general can’t deny women the opportunity to even hear about this potentially life-saving option.”