California sues pro-life pregnancy crisis centers over ‘abortion pill reversal’

 California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit last week against two pro-life pregnancy crisis centers regarding their “abortion pill reversal” advertisements.

On Thursday, Bonta announced a lawsuit against Heartbeat International and RealOptions Obria, claiming that the clinics spread “misinformation” and false advertising. 

Bonta stated that abortion pill reversal is “scientifically unproven and risky.” He accused the religious clinics of “misleading patients” about the “risky experimental protocol.” The AG encouraged individuals who believe they have been a “victim of deceptive, misleading, or unlawful conduct” to file a complaint.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Bonta called the clinics “predatory” and accused them of targeting vulnerable patients with alleged misinformation regarding the treatment.

According to RealOptions Obria, the abortion pill, mifepristone, works by blocking progesterone receptors. Patients seeking an abortion first take mifepristone, then a second medication called misoprostol, which causes contractions and expels the baby. If a pregnant woman wishes to reverse the abortion, the clinics state they may be able to do so. 

“Time is of the essence. For those seeking to reverse the effects of the abortion pill (also known as a chemical abortion or a medical abortion), the goal is to start the protocol within 24 hours of taking the first abortion pill, mifepristone, or RU-486. However, there have been many successful reversals when treatment was started within 72 hours of taking the first abortion pill,” RealOptions Obria’s website states. 

Abortion pill reversal involves taking progesterone, a necessary hormone for pregnancy. The clinics reported that the treatment has shown a 64%-68% success rate.

“Progesterone is the natural hormone in a woman’s body that is necessary to nurture and sustain a pregnancy. By giving extra progesterone, we hope to outnumber and outcompete the mifepristone in order to reverse the effects of the abortion pill (also known as mifepristone). Mifepristone blocks progesterone’s actions by binding to progesterone receptors in the uterus and the placenta,” RealOptions Obria explains.

Heartbeat International’s Abortion Pill Rescue Network released a 2022 Impact Report that stated 150 women start the reversal treatment each month.

The lawsuit claimed that abortion pill reversal is “an experimental protocol.” Specifically, California accused Heartbeat International of using the terms “reverse” and “reversal” to describe the treatment, arguing that it is “more akin to a ‘competition’ between progesterone and mifepristone.”

Bonta hopes to block the pregnancy clinic centers from advertising that abortion pill reversal is “safe and effective.”

Heartbeat International released a statement regarding the AG’s lawsuit, noting that it had not yet been served.

“Through our Abortion Pill Rescue Network hotline, we know that some women almost immediately regret their chemical abortion choice. These women deserve the right to try and save their pregnancies. No woman should ever be forced to complete an abortion she no longer wants,” the clinic stated.

“All major studies show that using progesterone to counteract a chemical abortion (Abortion Pill Reversal) can be effective since it’s the very same hormone a woman’s body produces to sustain her pregnancy. One study even shows an effective rate of 80 percent. Progesterone has been safely used with pregnant women and their babies since the 1950s. To date, statistics show more than 4,500 women have had successful abortion pill reversals and that number grows higher each day,” Heartbeat International added.