State gov't attacks on pro-life pregnancy care centers on the rise, legal expert says
State government legal attacks on pro-life pregnancy care centers have been increasing since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, according to a conservative legal expert.
Daniel Schmid, associate vice president of Legal Affairs at Liberty Counsel, told The Christian Post in an interview Thursday that he believed "there's no question" that such attacks are on the rise.
"You see it with the efforts by the attorney general in New York; you're seeing it in Massachusetts right now with the AG there and the governor engaging in this campaign to smear a bunch of pro-life centers to the point where there is a lawsuit now against the attorney general and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," he said.
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"What they have done there is target them and say 'these people are frauds, these people are lying to you, these people are X-Y-and-Z,' even though they are not. They're just offering alternatives to abortion for women who might want the counseling, who might want the resources they provide, all the rest of it."
Schmid referenced the wave of vandalism and threats of physical harm that struck pro-life pregnancy care centers that occurred in 2022 when the Supreme Court struck down Roe via the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision.
"We saw attacks on pro-life centers significantly occur across the country after Dobbs, and now it has transitioned from criminals who are engaging in vandalism and threats and all the rest of it to state efforts, government-backed efforts to suppress the speech and views and sheer existence of the crisis pregnancy centers," Schmid told CP.
In May, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a civil enforcement action against the pro-life group Heartbeat International and 11 pregnancy care centers for allegedly unlawfully deceiving women by promoting the abortion pill reversal treatment.
"Heartbeat International and the other crisis pregnancy center defendants are spreading dangerous misinformation by advertising' abortion reversals' without any medical and scientific proof," James claimed, as quoted in the announcement.
"Amid the increase in attacks on reproductive health care nationwide, we must protect pregnant people's right to make safe, well-informed decisions about their health."
Last week, U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. of the Western District of New York granted a preliminary injunction against James' lawsuit, arguing that it violates the First Amendment rights of the pro-life centers.
"Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment Free Speech claim," wrote Sinatra. "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."
Schmid told CP that he believed Sinatra's decision was "the correct one" and that what James had done was "attack a bunch of pro-life pregnancy centers for just advocating a viewpoint."
"All they're doing is giving these women information," he continued. "But the attorney general of New York doesn't like the information that's being provided. So, she says, 'Well, I'm going to target you, say you're engaging in fraud and all types of stuff.'"
"These centers are entitled under the First Amendment to espouse their views, they're entitled to speak their mind, and they're entitled to counsel these women. And it's particularly critical in the medical arena that people are given the full story and the full range of information."
According to Heartbeat International, an abortion pill reversal treatment is done in response to when a pregnant woman who is undergoing a medication abortion changes her mind about terminating her pregnancy or is coerced into having an abortion.
During a chemical abortion, a woman takes two medications at two different times to terminate the unborn baby. The reversal involves using "the natural hormone progesterone to counteract the life-ending effects of chemical abortion drugs."
"Progesterone is a natural hormone needed to sustain pregnancy and has been used for decades to safely and effectively prevent miscarriage and forestall preterm labor," stated Heartbeat International.
"Abortion pill reversal displaces mifepristone (the first drug in a chemical abortion) from progesterone receptors using the natural progesterone hormone, counteracting the effects of mifepristone and allowing the baby to continue growing. For women who have begun abortion pill reversal, progesterone treatment is continued through the end of the first trimester at a minimum, and beyond that if needed."
According to Heartbeat's Abortion Pill Reversal Network, from 2012 to early 2023, approximately 4,500 babies were successfully born due to their abortion pill reversal process.
Critics like the pro-choice group the Center for Reproductive Rights dispute the effectiveness of the reversal procedure, with a spokesperson directing CP to a statement by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists repudiating the practice.
"Facts are important, especially when it comes to policies and discussions that impact patients. Claims regarding abortion 'reversal' treatment are not based on science and do not meet clinical standards," stated the ACOG.
