Another lawsuit has been filed against pregnancy help centers, this time for offering abortion reversal treatment.
On Thursday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta held a press conference to announce a lawsuit against two organizations, Heartbeat International Inc. and RealOptions, for allegedly making false and misleading statements about abortion pill reversal treatment.
Abortion reversal is a procedure for women who, following the ingestion of the first of two drugs that comprise the “medication abortion” regimen, change their minds. Instead of taking the second drug, they take progesterone, which represents an updated application of a treatment that has been used since the 1950s to combat miscarriage. It is estimated that as many as 68% of these babies can be saved, with over 4,000 cases having been documented to date.
In addition to making the false assertion that there is “absolutely no scientific basis to support the claim,” Bonta emphasized that “I can’t emphasize that enough for anyone who’s listening.” He further asserted that “Both organizations know this, yet continue to advertise and promote abortion pill reversal,” according to Alan Riquelmy for Court House News. Such a claim is, at the very least, a smear.
After challenging the veracity of the numbers and the research, Bonta proceeded to disseminate a falsehood that NRL News has repeatedly refuted. Furthermore, the groups do not inform individuals of the potential for severe bleeding as a side effect. A study designed to test the efficacy of abortion pill reversal was terminated prematurely after three of its 12 participants were transported to an emergency room due to severe bleeding. Bonta further asserted that medical organizations such as the American Medical Association have declined to endorse abortion pill reversal.
NRLC’s Randall K. O’Bannon has repeatedly challenged the veracity of this study. Nevertheless, pro-abortionists persist in citing the 2019 study as definitive proof that APR is ineffective and dangerous.
In fact, the data indicated that reversal with progesterone was often effective. However, the results also indicated that failure to offer progesterone after mifepristone may result in severe bleeding.
It is noteworthy that the first sentence of a story by Kristen Hwang [https://calmatters.org/health/2023/09/california-sues-crisis-pregnancy-centers-abortion-reversal] states, “In its continued battle to bulletproof the right to abortion, California is suing two major anti-abortion groups over claims made about the viability of ‘abortion pill reversal,’ Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday.”
In essence, Californians are afforded an unimpeded “right” to abortion. Those in opposition to abortion rights are particularly concerned that there are more women’s health centers than abortion clinics. As Hwang reports, while less than 62% of counties have an abortion clinic, nearly 80% have a crisis pregnancy center, according to a database compiled by CalMatters. In rural areas where there are acute primary care shortages, the centers outnumber abortion clinics by a ratio of 11 to 2.
One might inquire as to whether a lawsuit could be a more effective means of resource depletion for these life-affirming organizations.
Bonta in the suit asks an Alameda County Superior Court judge, among other things, to stop the false and misleading statements by the two groups and impose a penalty of up to $2,500 per violation against each group. He also seeks to recoup the costs of the legal action. He said their actions are violating California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law.
Wonderful people, aren’t they?
Chelsea Garcia is a political writer with a special interest in international relations and social issues. Events surrounding the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel are a major focus for political journalists. But as a former local reporter, she is also interested in national politics.
Chelsea Garcia studied media, communication and political science in Texas, USA, and learned the journalistic trade during an internship at a daily newspaper. In addition to her political writing, she is pursuing a master's degree in multimedia and writing at Texas.
