Federal Judge Stops Letitia James From Going After Pregnancy Centers

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New York State Attorney General Letitia James has been stopped in her attempt at another power overreach.

A federal judge this week issued a preliminary injunction that stopped the Democrat attorney general from going after pregnancy centers on the grounds that it would violate their free speech, Fox News reported.

“In sum, on this record, Plaintiffs have standing,” Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr., who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, said. “No abstention doctrine applies. And no other prudential, discretionary or equitable obstacle to such relief exists.

“Based on a careful application of the preliminary injunction factors, especially as they relate to Plaintiffs’ First Amendment Free Speech claim, motion for a preliminary injunction is granted,” the judge said.

”The judge ordered that James ‘in her official capacity, as well as her officers, agents, employees, attorneys and all persons in active concert or participation with her’ are enjoined from enforcing consumer fraud laws against the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates; Gianna’s House, Inc.; and Choose Life of Jamestown Inc. for discussing and promoting the abortion pill reversal procedure,” the Fox News report said.

The attorney general sued Heartbeat International and 11 other pregnancy centers that promoted a procedure to reverse the abortion pill mifepristone.

James accused the centers of engaging in fraud, deceptive business practices, and false advertising and said that they were “spreading dangerous misinformation by advertising … without any medical and scientific proof.”

“The First Amendment protects Plaintiffs’ right to speak freely about [abortion pill reversal] protocol and, more specifically, to say that it is safe and effective for a pregnant woman to use in consultation with her doctor,” the judge said. “Indeed, the ‘very purpose of the First Amendment is to foreclose public authority from assuming a guardianship of the public mind through regulating the press, speech, and religion.’ To ‘this end, the government, even with the purest of motives, may not substitute its judgment as to how best to speak for that of speakers and listeners; free and robust debate cannot thrive if directed by the government.’ And this is particularly true ‘in the fields of medicine and public health, where information can save lives.’”

The judge’s order said that the injunction is to stay in place until the case is decided.

“Women in New York have literally saved their babies from an in-progress chemical drug abortion because they had access to information through their local pregnancy centers about using safe and effective progesterone for abortion pill reversal. But the attorney general tried to deny women the opportunity to even hear about this life-saving option,” Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Caleb Dalton said in a press release on the group’s website.

“Many women regret their abortions, and some seek to stop the effects of abortion drugs before taking the second drug in the abortion drug process. Taking supplemental progesterone may give them a chance to save their baby’s life. Women should have the option to reconsider an abortion, and the pro-life pregnancy centers we represent in this case truthfully inform them about that choice. The court was right to affirm the pregnancy centers’ freedom to tell interested women about this life-saving treatment option,” Dalton continued.

“Multiple studies support the information the centers wish to provide women. The body uses progesterone naturally to sustain pregnancy, and medical professionals have used it for decades to prevent miscarriage and forestall preterm labor safely and effectively,” the group noted further.

“Statistics show that abortion pill reversal has likely saved over 5,000 unborn lives and has up to a 64-68% success rate. Yet the attorney general has targeted centers that tell women about this option because of the centers’ pro-life viewpoints and the content of their speech. ADF attorneys explained in the lawsuit that such actions from a government official violated the centers’ First Amendment right to speak freely and practice their religious beliefs. Today, the court agreed,” the group said.

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