Thomas More Society takes Letitia James to federal court for censoring pro-life free speech
(TMS) Nonprofit pregnancy help organizations are suing New York Attorney General Letitia James in federal court for her attempts to shut down Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) services. On August 7, 2024, Thomas More Society attorneys filed a lawsuit in United States District Court, in Rochester/Buffalo, New York, against James, outlining how her threats, prosecution, and intimidation of pregnancy help organizations, violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution.
The federal lawsuit, filed on behalf of New York pregnancy help organizations Summit Life Outreach Center and The Evergreen Association, details how James is demonstrating a retaliatory animus against those pregnancy help organizations that share information about APR. As alleged in the verified complaint, James has specifically targeted pregnancy help organizations with the aim of restricting their science-based message about the success, effectiveness, and safety of APR. Through her threat campaign and prosecution, James has unconstitutionally chilled the speech of pregnancy help organizations across the state.
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
Both Summit and Evergreen desire to share information about APR and make those services available to any mother who has taken mifepristone—the first pill in the chemical abortion process—but has then changed her mind. APR gives a pregnant woman the opportunity to safely try and save her preborn child, even after ingesting the first abortion pill. James previously filed a baseless lawsuit against Heartbeat International and a collective of nonprofit pregnancy help organizations in New York for sharing information about APR, wrongly accusing the pro-life ministries of “misleading statements.” According to this new federal lawsuit, Summit and Evergreen have both limited or avoided altogether the promotion of APR on their social media platforms and websites out of fear of targeted harassment and legal action by the New York Attorney General.
The complaint also alleges that James is engaging in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in her role as New York Attorney General. Niagara Falls-based Summit Life Outreach Center has a religiously motivated mission of providing local women with information and resources about pregnancy that they often cannot secure from any other source. Evergreen operates Expectant Mother Care and EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers in Yonkers and the Bronx. They operate on the belief that the Bible teaches that every human life is sacred, and that no woman should feel forced to have an abortion due to a lack of financial or emotional support. For nearly four decades, Evergreen has offered pregnancy resources, education, and assistance to local women.
Peter Breen, Thomas More Society Executive Vice President & Head of Litigation, said:
“Letitia James is a vocal abortion advocate who has made no attempt to hide her deeply entrenched animus against pregnancy help organizations. Ms. James is on a witch-hunt to silence our pro-life ministries and shut down their constitutionally protected speech about Abortion Pill Reversal. Instead of praise for the compassionate support these pro-life ministries provide to communities in need, Ms. James has answered their selfless service with lawsuits and investigations. In doing so, Ms. James flagrantly violates their constitutional rights by using lawfare to silence those who disagree with her. Shamefully, Ms. James seeks to steal away a woman’s choice to save her preborn child, should that pregnant woman seek to stop her in-progress chemical abortion, after taking the first abortion pill. Abortion Pill Reversal gives women a second chance to choose life—a life-saving option that Ms. James seems to think pregnant women are not entitled to choose. With this federal lawsuit, we are once again going on the offense to put an end to Ms. James’ attacks on New York’s life-affirming ministries.”
Tweet This: Letitia James is on a witch-hunt to silence pro-life ministries and quash their constitutionally protected speech on Abortion Pill Reversal.
Read the Verified Complaint for Declaratory Judgment and Injunctive Relief in Summit Life Outreach Center Inc. & The Evergreen Association, Inc. v. Letitia James, filed by Thomas More Society on August 7, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, here.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat International is currently the subjecy of two lawsuits brought by state Attorneys General concerning sharing infromation on Abortion Pill Reversal. This article was published by Thomas More Society and is reprinted with permission.
