New York Attorney General Letitia James has already lost the first battle in corut after she tried to shut down pro-life pregnancy centers.
The New York attorney general is facing multiple lawsuits for using her power to censor pro-life pregnancy centers because they tell women about the option of using progesterone for abortion pill reversal. Progesterone is a safe and naturally occurring hormone that can be used to counteract the life-ending effects of abortion drugs.
James recently sued 11 faith-based pro-life pregnancy centers and a network of affiliated centers in the state, alleging—despite evidence to the contrary—that the centers are spreading “false and misleading” information about this progesterone treatment. She is unlawfully targeting pro-life pregnancy centers, threatening punishment for promoting and offering a service that gives women the option of changing their mind and attempting to save their baby’s life.
Now Thomas More Society attorneys have responded to a court order rejecting New York Attorney General Letitia James’ attempt to move litigation involving pregnancy help organizations to Manhattan from upstate New York.
New York Supreme Court Justice Sam Valleriani issued the consolidation order on May 24, 2024. This combines a lawsuit brought by James against pregnancy help organizations in Manhattan, New York, with the previously filed case brought by the organizations in Rochester’s Monroe County Court. James had tried to relocate the lawsuit against her from its Rochester venue to New York County Court in Manhattan, hundreds of miles away.
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Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation told LifeNews:
“For the past month, Letitia James’ has tried to illegally frighten and harass New York’s pregnancy help organizations into silence, threatening them with lawsuits if they keep speaking their truthful message about Abortion Pill Reversal. We brought suit in Rochester, near to where most of the organizations are headquartered and work. Instead of agreeing to a convenient venue, James then sued these charitable organizations in Manhattan, despite the fact that not a single one of the organizations is located there. We are pleased that the Court in Monroe County agreed that the cases should be consolidated together and heard in Rochester, the ‘most fair, appropriate and logistically convenient venue,’ and not in Manhattan, which has no connection to the case. We look forward to defending Heartbeat International, CompassCare, and all of New York’s pregnancy help organizations targeted by James’ unconstitutional witch-hunt. New Yorkers deserve to know that Abortion Pill Reversal is not just possible but safe and effective, and our clients have the right to share that truth with women who are undergoing a chemical abortion that they do not want to continue.”
Thomas More Society attorneys filed suit on April 30, 2024, against James in Monroe County, on behalf of Heartbeat International and a group of New York pregnancy help organizations. On May 6, 2024, James filed a lawsuit against the same organizations, in New York County, which covers Manhattan.
Meanwhile ADF attorneys represent the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, Gianna’s House, and Options Care Center. These faith-based, pro-life pregnancy centers and network of affiliated centers wish to truthfully inform women who have taken the first abortion drug that it may be possible to counteract its lethal effects if they change their mind and seek treatment within the first few days of taking the first drug. But their truthful speech about the progesterone treatment is chilled by the attorney general’s politically motivated lawsuit targeting similar speech.
“Many women regret their abortions, and some seek to stop the effects of chemical abortion drugs before taking the second drug in the abortion drug process. Taking supplemental progesterone at that time can often save their baby’s life,” said ADF Legal Counsel Gabriella McIntyre. “The New York attorney general, however, is doing everything she can to deny women the freedom to make that choice. Women should have the option to reconsider going through with an abortion, and the pro-life pregnancy centers we represent in this case truthfully inform them about that choice. We are urging the court to affirm the pregnancy centers’ freedom to tell interested women about this lawful, life-saving treatment.”
The information the pro-life pregnancy centers wish to provide women is supported by multiple studies. Progesterone is a natural hormone needed to sustain pregnancy and has been used for decades to prevent miscarriage and forestall preterm labor safely and effectively. Statistics show that abortion pill reversal has likely saved over 5,000 unborn lives and has a 64-68% success rate. Yet the attorney general has targeted centers that tell women about this option because of the centers’ pro-life viewpoints and the content of their speech. ADF attorneys explain in the lawsuit that such actions from a government official violate the pregnancy centers’ First Amendment rights to speak freely and practice their religious beliefs.
