California Sues Clinics Promoting 'Abortion Pill Reversal' As Safe And Effective

Topline:

Why it matters: “Abortion pill reversal” treatments involve patients taking a high dose of progesterone after ingesting abortion-inducing pills in order to keep a pregnancy. In a statement, Heartbeat International says the treatments have safely been used with pregnant people and their babies for decades. But the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the treatments are “not based on science and do not meet clinical standards."

California Attorney General Rob Bonta says the controversial procedure is “harmful” and therefore should not be advertised as safe and effective.

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“The first and only credible study that tried to test the safety of this protocol had to be halted,” says Bonta. “After three of its 12 participants experienced severe bleeding and had to be rushed to the emergency room.”

Why now: Bonta’s actions are just the latest in a long series of political attempts to restrict what he calls misinformation from “crisis pregnancy centers”. He says advertising “abortion pill reversal” treatments as safe and effective puts vulnerable pregnant people at risk. A state law passed in 2015 required “crisis pregnancy centers”, which often administer these treatments, to better disclose who they are. The law was eventually blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018.

What's next: The lawsuit alleges HBI and RealOptions broke state law when promoting the efficacy and safety of “abortion pill reversal” treatments. Bonta says it specifically violates the state’s False Advertising and Unfair Competition Law.

The Attorney General’s Office is asking for the judge to “block further dissemination of the misleading claims by the defendants."

In a statement to LAist, Heartbeat International says they haven’t been served yet. RealOptions has not responded to our requests for comment.

Go deeper:

• A Year Since Dobbs, These Are The Many Ways CA And Other States Are Protecting Abortion
• Why ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Will Be California’s Next Abortion Battleground
• Pregnancy Centers In LA Could Face 10k Fine For Misleading Patients
• These LA Pregnancy Centers Don't Have To Talk To You About Abortions