California sues nonprofits offering ‘abortion pill reversal’ treatment

(The Center Square) – Lawyers representing organizations delivering “abortion pill reversal” treatments requested that the courts throw out a lawsuit by California Attorney General Rob Bonta that alleges the treatment’s advertising is “misleading” and science does not prove the treatment is “safe and effective.”

APR is the administration of progesterone, a hormone that is part of the female menstrual cycle and helps maintain a pregnancy, after the first of two pills taken in a chemical abortion has been taken by a pregnant woman.

California’s lawsuit contends that APR does not “reverse” an abortion but instead results in a “competition” between progesterone and mifepristone, the drug contained in the first abortion pill in the chemical abortion sequence, and that the term “reversal” thus constitutes false advertising. The suit also claims “not a single credibly designed medical study has verified” claims on APR effectiveness. 

In response, lawyers at the Thomas More Society, who represent the defendants in the trial — APR providers Heartbeat International, RealOptions, and 100 unnamed women — say progesterone use “is a cutting-edge application of a time-tested, FDA-approved treatment used for decades to prevent miscarriage and preterm birth.” 

Heartbeat International operates a network of over 1,300 APR providers and an APR hotline.