ADF files lawsuit after abortion-related studies were retracted ‘without any justifiable cause’

A group of 10 research scientists represented by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has filed a petition in Ventura County Superior Court in California against Sage Publications. The publisher retracted three peer-reviewed, abortion-related studies in 2024 due to the fact that some of the study authors had “affiliations with pro-life advocacy organizations.”

As Live Action News previously reported, “the three now-retracted studies were led by researcher James Studnicki (who reportedly trained at Johns Hopkins University) and published in Sage’s journal ‘Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology.’ Two were funded by the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI), the research arm of the pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. In addition, several of the authors were also associated with CLI.”

In February 2024, Sage Publications retracted the studies due to “undisclosed conflicts of interest.” According to ADF, the studies were retracted “after a professor submitted an anonymous complaint about the authors’ pro-life views.” However, at the time, two of the three studies were cited by plaintiffs in the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine [AHM] v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lawsuit which called into question the 2000 approval of the abortion pill mifepristone by the FDA. Because these studies directly related to adverse effects of the abortion pill, some questioned if the real reason they were retracted was an attempt to undermine the Supreme Court’s consideration of the case. More information about the retraction of the studies can be found in an analysis by Live Action researcher Carole Novielli.

READ: Is a dangerous double standard at play with studies on the abortion pill?

In a January 2025 press release, ADF announced its October 2024 lawsuit, Studnicki v. Sage Publications, calling the retractions “unjustified,” while noting that the study authors disclosed their pro-life affiliations during the study review process — well before Sage published the studies.

“By censoring these pro-life authors without any justifiable cause, Sage has harmed the authors’ reputations and deprived the public of objective, honest reporting that these authors can provide,” the release states.

“Sage took action against these highly respected and credentialed scientists because they believe in preserving life from conception to natural death,” said ADF Senior Counsel Phil Sechler. “Sage’s retractions have caused irreparable harm to the authors of these articles, and we are urging Sage to come to the arbitration table—as it is legally bound to do—rescind the retractions and remedy the reputational damage the researchers have suffered.”