Some people have a selective definition of the word “choice.” Imagine fighting against women having the choice to change their mind after starting an abortion by pills.
The New York state Attorney General has sued pregnancy centers throughout the state, trying to censor them from sharing Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) information and threatening to punish them for offering a service that may save their baby’s life.
But if a woman’s choice is to interrupt a chemical abortion and seek a reversal, shouldn’t she have that choice?
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There are three New York suits involving Attorney General Letitia James.
In Letitia James v. Heartbeat International & CompassCare, et al, Heartbeat and a group of 11 centers sued James April 30 in state court to block her threatened legal action against them for sharing information about APR. James followed through with her threat to sue Heartbeat and the pregnancy help organizations on May 6 to prevent them from advertising the APR protocol.
In National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. James, filed in federal court May 28 by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), NIFLA (the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates), Gianna’s House, and Options Care Center are suing James in federal court for her efforts to censor their work over their sharing information with women about APR.
In Summit Life Outreach Center & The Evergreen Association v. Letitia James, Thomas More Society (TMS) attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against James on August 7 representing Niagara Falls-based Summit Life Outreach Center and The Evergreen Association, also over James’s “unconstitutionally threatening, prosecuting, and intimidating pregnancy help organizations” over APR.
Attorneys in the latter two cases were in federal court August 15 requesting a preliminary injunction against James to bar her from prosecuting pregnancy help centers while the cases are litigated. Pregnancy help personnel from centers across the state were on hand for the hearing in Buffalo as well.
U.S. District Judge John Sinatra ruled that the pregnancy centers are likely to succeed in their claims and emphasized that the First Amendment protects their right to provide truthful information about abortion pill reversal.
Attorneys for the varied pregnancy help organizations have said James’ lawsuits are part of a larger trend of hostility toward pro-life pregnancy centers across the U.S, and also called them a political witch-hunt.
"Our staff has been praying for weeks for this case and we have coalitions in New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey that are all united in prayer for this effort,” said Anne O'Connor, vice president of Legal Affairs for NIFLA. “We are trusting God for a favorable outcome and one that frees pregnancy centers to do their important work."
On Long Island, in New York State, Women First Pregnancy Options has been closely following the Attorney General’s attempts to silence them. With four locations, each center has staff and volunteers praying for a positive outcome. Those who comes in to drop off donations are given a flier about the cases and a request for prayers.
Director Gloria Schreiber described the pregnancy help community’s approach to women who change their mind after starting a chemical abortion.
“No woman should ever be forced, unduly pressured or coerced into having an abortion or continuing one,” she said.
The state’s effort to silence pregnancy care centers in assisting women who want to continue their pregnancies is evil, Schreiber said.
“Our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and donors are praying for a court victory to maintain the fundamental right to free speech and the right to protect the most vulnerable amongst us, the preborn,” she said.
Tweet This: We are all praying for a court victory to maintain the right to free speech and the right to protect the most vulnerable amongst us.
Alpha Pregnancy Care Centers has five centers in Albany County. Executive Director of the Amsterdam center, Will Babarczy, also serves on the board of the New York State Coalition for Life.
He said it’s important for pregnancy centers to support each other.
“We are a coalition of pregnancy centers in the state that are being harassed by the state government,” he said. “If one is being attacked, it’s an attack on all of us and we need to support each other.”
Soundview Pregnancy Services on Long Island is also praying for victory.
The centers began praying beginning with the first case in May, said CEO Doreen Jansson.
“We did pray through this prayer challenge between May and June,” she said. “As far as our supporters, I posted a video on our closed Facebook group about the case and called some specific donors who know and trust us.”
When she speaks in churches, Jansson talks about the case and encourages people to pray. The centers have also committed to prayer and fasting.
Despite James’s persecution of pregnancy centers taking crucial time and effort away from the pregnancy help mission, the centers are resolved to pray and stand together.
Heartbeat International shares the beautiful testimonies of moms whose children are alive today because of APR. These families are grateful that they were able to find a way to reverse the effects of the first abortion pill when they changed their mind.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of two lawsuits brought by two state AGs concerning sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal.
