California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that he has filed a lawsuit against two pregnancy resource center chains in the state: Heartbeat International and RealOptions Obria (RealOptions). Bonta claims that the pro-life centers are “misleading patients” in offering women in California information about abortion pill reversal (APR).
In a video, Bonta called it “horrifying” that “there are more crisis pregnancy centers in California than abortion care clinics,” because pregnancy centers “do not provide abortion or abortion referral.”
“Those who are struggling with the complex decision to get an abortion deserve support and trustworthy guidance — not lies and misinformation,” Bonta said in a press release. “And let me be clear: the evidence shows that the vast majority of people do not regret their decision to have an abortion — more than 95% of patients who undergo an abortion later say they made the right decision. HBI and RealOptions took advantage of pregnant patients at a deeply vulnerable time in their lives, using false and misleading claims to lure them in and mislead them about a potentially risky procedure.” In claiming that 95% of women do not experience abortion regret, Bonta likely gets his statistic from the flawed Turnaway Study, which has been repeatedly debunked.
Bonta’s claim that abortion pill reversal is nothing more than misinformation is also baseless. Abortion pill reversal is a process in which women are administered progesterone after taking the first abortion pill, mifepristone. The progesterone may counteract the effects of the mifepristone and enable the child to survive, though time is of the essence.
The reversal procedure is headed by the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, which operates a 24/7 hotline at 1-877-558-0333. The organization says that 64% of women who have sought abortion pill reversal have successfully been able to maintain their pregnancies. Statistics released in December 2022 state that the process has saved 4,000 lives. Furthermore, there is no indication that the process is risky — progesterone has been routinely given to women to prevent early miscarriage for years.
Live Action has shared the stories of countless woman who have spoken out about their abortion regret. These women and many others attest to feeling immense pain and regret following their decision to abort. Sometimes that regret takes years before surfacing, but other times, it is immediate. In instances where a woman experiences regret directly after taking the mifepristone, abortion pill reversal may give her the opportunity to potentially save her child.
In a statement to the Daily Caller, a spokesperson for Heartbeat International said the organization has not yet received formal notice of the lawsuit. “Heartbeat International learned through interview requests that the California Attorney General is suing to block us from ‘advertising Abortion Pill Reversal as safe and effective,’” the spokesperson said. “We have not been served at this point. Through our Abortion Pill Rescue Network hotline, we know that some women almost immediately regret their chemical abortion choice … No woman should ever be forced to complete an abortion she no longer wants.”
Read further response from Obria Clinics/Heartbeat International here.
Editor’s Note, 9/25/23: Video of Bonta and partial quote have been added.
