A panel of legal experts provided updates on current litigation involving pregnancy centers to attendees of Heartbeat International’s 53rd Annual Conference. Heartbeat is the largest network of pregnancy help in the U.S. and globally. Its Pregnancy Help Conference took place on April 24-26 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Panelists for the litigation discussion included Tim Garrison, senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom’s Center for Life; Peter Breen, executive vice president and head of Litigation at Thomas More Society; Angie Thomas, general counsel for National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA); and Danielle White, general counsel for Heartbeat International.
White kicked off the session by saying, “The legal landscape has changed significantly and quickly since the Dobbs decision,” and warned the audience that the information they were about to hear might shift suddenly, “maybe before we walk out of this room.”
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Accusatory “consumer alert” cases
Multiple cases currently in litigation involve state attorneys general trying to leverage “consumer alerts” to scare people from seeking help at pregnancy centers. This is being alleged despite the fact that nonprofit pregnancy centers are not engaging in the kind of commercial speech.
“They’ve started taking the laws that were designed to protect consumers from time share scams and Ponzi schemes, and started training their fire on PCs on the pretext that they are misleading people into thinking that they are full-service, comprehensive reproductive health centers, but hiding the fact that they don’t provide abortions,” Garrison said.
He named the cases of New Jersey’s First Choice Women’s Resource Center and Washington state’s Obria Pacific Northwest as examples of state overreach.
“In both cases, these attorneys general then bring investigations against these two pregnancy centers,” Garrison said. “And in these two cases, they cite their authority under their state consumer protection statutes and say, ‘We want you to provide us with a lot of information’ under the pretense that they are investigating potentially false or misleading advertising.”
But the information demanded includes names of donors, volunteers, employees, and board members, as well as tax returns and other communications with the IRS. “And that is a bridge too far,” Garrison said.
In both cases, Alliance Defending Freedom sued in U.S. District Court for violations of their clients’ First Amendment rights to speak freely about the services they offer and to exercise their faith, by which they feel compelled to serve women in unexpected pregnancy circumstances.
Obria also experienced violation of their First Amendment right to free association when their attempts to initially comply with the information requests led to investigations of those with whom they were associated.
Garrison said these cases were in the early stages of litigation,
Abortion Pill Reversal cases
In Bella Health and Wellness v. Weiser, the U.S. District Court has granted a preliminary injunction, preventing the state of Colorado from enforcing a 2023 statute that “classified abortion pill reversal as professional misconduct,” Garrison said. The law prohibited doctors and nurses from not only offering but even discussing the treatment with their patients.
Only two days before the panel session, Chelsea Mynyk, a nurse practitioner and certified midwife who offered Abortion Pill Reversal, was included in the injunction as a plaintiff in the suit. At this time, only Bella Health and Wellness and Chelsea Mynyk are allowed to continue providing life-saving Abortion Pill Reversal services under this injunction.
Meanwhile, the state of California filed suit against Heartbeat International and RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics for “unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices,” by providing information about and access to Abortion Pill Reversal through California-licensed physicians.
Breen called The People of the State of California v. Heartbeat International & RealOptions “a bet the movement” case. Speech on controversial subjects is protected by the First Amendment, he pointed out; any move by a state to regulate it is subject to the highest level of scrutiny. Further, California’s legislation on reproductive rights applies equally to women choosing abortion as well as those choosing to carry a pregnancy to term.
White said she first learned of the lawsuit when a reporter called Heartbeat to ask, “Do you want to comment on the litigation?”
“They’re intent on silencing speech about APR,” she told conference-goers, noting that Google has blocked Heartbeat’s messaging on the subject.
However, she said, headlines about the case “shine the light on their own media blackout,” resulting in three times as many women reaching out for help from the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network.
“God takes a lawsuit from an attorney general to save lives,” White said.
Panelists and questions from the audience brought up additional cases now in varying stages of litigation:
Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA has been argued before the Supreme Court, Garrison said, although there was some pushback from unexpected justices. A decision is expected this summer as to whether the FDA’s 2016 REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies) will be reinstated for mifepristone, restoring common sense safety precautions for this first pill in the chemical abortion regimen.
In the case of NIFLA v. Clark, The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates and two pregnancy care centers are challenging Vermont state officials for unconstitutionally restricting the centers’ speech and provision of services.
In a Massachusetts case, Jane Doe v. Clearway Clinic, a pregnancy center is under fire for allegedly missing an ectopic pregnancy. Lawyers for the clinic made a motion to dismiss, but this was not allowed. The case will move forward.
Breen highlighted a recent win in NIFLA v. Raoul. Illinois’ attorney general had accused pregnancy centers of “false advertising,” and of “deceptive practices.” However, when pressed to bring forth the “scores of reports of complaints” it claimed to have received, the attorney general could produce none.
Breen said the case set national precedent. “The entire movement came together,” he said. “The other side hadn’t seen us go after them unified.”
In the case NIFLA v. Treto, White said, “Illinois took the gold standard for a healthcare right of conscience act and completely distorted it” through a 2016 law that forced pro-life doctors and pregnancy centers to promote abortion.
A federal court issued an injunction in 2017 to temporarily halt enforcement of the law. That injunction still stands, and the case was tried in September 2023. The court is still considering that case, and a ruling is anticipated soon.
Stay United for Life
Thomas said the Treto case was a “beautiful” example of the kind of collaboration exhibited by the four organizations represented on the panel. “We all work together, and we all have our own lane in this.”
Breen said pregnancy help organizations themselves need to “stick together” too. “They’re trying not just to frighten you but divide us,” he told the audience.
Tweet This: Pregnancy help organizations themselves need to stick together too and not allow the abortion lobby to frighten and divide the community.
Panelists suggested keeping up to date on litigation through both Pregnancy Help News and the Alliance Defending Freedom website, and Thomas added, “State coalitions can help you keep up on what’s happening across your state.”
Editor’s note: On April 22, 2024, New York Attorney General Letitia James sent Notice of Intent to sue to Heartbeat International and several pregnancy help organizations in the state of New York regarding providing information about Abortion Pill Reversal. On April 30 Thomas More Society filed a complaint on behalf of Heartbeat International and the Pregnancy Help collective. Thomas More Society filed an Emergency Injunction against AG James on May 1 to halt the threatened prosecution of Heartbeat and the pregnancy help organizations. On May 6 AG James Sued Heartbeat International and 11 New York pregnancy centers for promoting Abortion Pill Reversal treatment.
Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network and Pregnancy Help News. Tim Garrison serves on the Board of Directors for Heatbeat International.
