A federal appeals court has determined that New York officials cannot prevent pro-life pregnancy centers from informing women about abortion pill reversal, ruling such restrictions unconstitutional.
In a unanimous decision issued Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a lower court ruling in favor of two pro-life centers, Gianna’s House and Options Care Center.
The pro-life pregnancy centers brought a preemptive lawsuit against Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had previously sued 11 similar pro-life groups, accusing them of fraud for promoting abortion pill reversal.
James asserted that these pro-life groups engaged in “false and misleading” speech by telling women that abortion pill reversal may stop an induced miscarriage and save their baby.
Monday’s ruling affirms a preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, which found that the plaintiffs are likely to show that enforcement against the centers would violate their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
“A preliminary injunction is in the public interest,” the appeals court stated. “The preliminary injunction serves to secure the First Amendment rights of the […] plaintiffs by allowing them to make religiously and morally motivated statements that provide information about APR [abortion pill reversal] to women who may wish to attempt to counteract the effects of an abortion initiated by oral medication.”
While James and other Democratic leaders have questioned the science behind abortion pill reversal, a 2023 study from the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute reported that 29 of 36 women who attempted reversal were able to continue their pregnancies.
The New York case arises amid a broader national push by Democratic officials to scrutinize or restrict pro-life pregnancy centers following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and held that the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion.
In 2022, Washington’s then-Attorney General Bob Ferguson launched an investigation into two pregnancy centers over their promotion of abortion pill reversal, though the probe ended last year with no charges.
Similarly, in 2024 the Massachusetts Department of Public Health threatened disciplinary measures against centers offering information about abortion pill reversal.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court this week heard oral arguments in a case involving New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who is accused of violating the First Amendment by ordering a pro-life pregnancy center to reveal donor information.
