New lawsuit adds to flurry of litigation between NY attorney general, pro-life groups

(OSV News) -- Pro-life groups in New York filed a new lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James in federal court accusing her of "censorship," arguing she is unconstitutionally seeking to prevent them from discussing a treatment they say can halt the effect of the abortion pill mifepristone -- sometimes called abortion pill reversal -- with their clients.

Attorneys with the Thomas More Society Aug. 7 filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York against James on behalf of Summit Life Outreach Center and The Evergreen Association, accusing her of "retaliatory and viewpoint-discriminatory enforcement of the laws in violation of the First Amendment."

James previously filed suit against Heartbeat International, a pro-life group, and 11 crisis pregnancy centers, accusing them of misleading and potentially causing harm to women by claiming that they can provide a treatment that reverses the effect of mifepristone.

Proponents say that if a pregnant woman takes mifepristone, the first of two drugs used in a medication or chemical abortion, and regrets her decision, administering a dose of progesterone can halt the effects of that drug. But opponents argue that it is an unproven method. A 2019 study of the abortion reversal process was ended early due to safety concerns.

Peter Breen, Thomas More Society executive vice president and head of litigation, said in a statement that James "is a vocal abortion advocate who has made no attempt to hide her deeply entrenched animus against pregnancy help organizations."

"Ms. James is on a witch-hunt to silence our pro-life ministries and shut down their constitutionally protected speech about Abortion Pill Reversal," he said. "Instead of praise for the compassionate support these pro-life ministries provide to communities in need, Ms. James has answered their selfless service with lawsuits and investigations.

"In doing so, Ms. James flagrantly violates their constitutional rights by using lawfare to silence those who disagree with her. Shamefully, Ms. James seeks to steal away a woman's choice to save her preborn child, should that pregnant woman seek to stop her in-progress chemical abortion, after taking the first abortion pill."

Breen said that "Abortion Pill Reversal gives women a second chance to choose life -- a life-saving option that Ms. James seems to think pregnant women are not entitled to choose." "With this federal lawsuit," he added, "we are once again going on the offense to put an end to Ms. James' attacks on New York's life-affirming ministries."

The lawsuit is the latest addition to ongoing litigation between James and pro-life organizations.
Prior to James' May lawsuit filed against Heartbeat International and 11 crisis pregnancy centers, the groups named in that lawsuit preemptively sued James April 30, arguing her threatened suit violated their rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Also in May, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, Gianna's House and Options Care Center -- each a faith-based, pro-life pregnancy centers or affiliates -- sued James, accusing the state's top law enforcement official of a "censorship campaign against pro-life pregnancy centers."

In a May 6 statement about her lawsuit, James said, "Abortions cannot be reversed."

"Any treatments that claim to do so are made without scientific evidence and could be unsafe," James said, arguing the defendants in her suit "are spreading dangerous misinformation by advertising 'abortion reversals' without any medical and scientific proof."

California's attorney general filed a lawsuit similar to James' in September. A federal judge temporarily blocked Colorado in 2023 from implementing a ban on abortion pill reversal treatment, siding with a Catholic medical center, while that facility's challenge is considered.