Federal judge rules against silencing of New York pro-life groups

U.S. District Judge John L Sinatra Jr. issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday barring New York Attorney General Letitia James from silencing pro-life pregnancy centers from sharing about abortion pill reversal treatments, or APR. James intimidated pro-life pregnancy groups that advertised APR and threatened them with lawsuits, alleged a joint filing by Summit Life Outreach Center and The Evergreen Association. James’ threats made the groups avoid promoting APR online, violating their First Amendment rights to free speech, alleged the Thomas More Society, a not-for-profit law firm representing the groups. James maintains that the groups are making false and misleading statements, and that abortion cannot be reversed.

What happens next in the lawsuit? The injunction only temporarily protects the groups from prosecution while the case plays out in court. If the lawsuit is thrown out or the court rules against it, the groups lose the legal protection to advertise APR.

About a dozen pro-life groups joined a similar lawsuit against James in April in state court. That lawsuit also accused her office of threatening and intimidating pregnancy centers that offer APR. Her office sent at least a dozen pregnancy centers a notice of her intention to sue, accusing the centers of repeated misleading statements and omissions regarding APR. Heartbeat International led the coalition of pregnancy centers represented by the Thomas More Society.

How does APR even work? A woman undergoing a chemical abortion takes two drugs. First, a dose of mifepristone causes the uterine lining to thin, making the uterus uninhabitable for the embryo. A second drug, misoprostol, would be taken a day or two later to induce labor. However, between the two drugs, a woman can reverse the process and take doses of progesterone to restabilize her uterus, according to the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs.

Dig deeper: Read Liz Lykins’ report for more on International Heartbeat’s lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James.