California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that a lawsuit has been filed against Heartbeat International, a national anti-abortion group, and RealOptions Obria, a chain of five crisis pregnancy centers in Northern California, for promoting an experimental procedure called “abortion pill reversal.”
The lawsuit alleges that the two organizations “used fraudulent and misleading claims” to advertise the procedure as being a “safe and effective way to reverse a medication abortion,” when in reality, that’s not the case.
With the lawsuit, Bonta seeks to block the two organizations from “falsely advertising APR as a safe and effective” procedure, a news release said.
The complaint also alleges that the two organizations violated California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law by sharing the alleged misinformation.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to block further dissemination of the claims by the defendants, as well as other remedies and penalties available under state law, according to Bonta’s office.
“Those who are struggling with the complex decision to get an abortion deserve support and trustworthy guidance — not lies and misinformation,” Attorney General Bonta said in a statement.
“And let me be clear: the evidence shows that the vast majority of people do not regret their decision to have an abortion — more than 95% of patients who undergo an abortion later say they made the right decision.”
Heartbeat International responded to the lawsuit in a statement to KTLA.
The complete statement is as follows:
“Heartbeat International learned through interview requests that the California Attorney General is suing to block us from ‘advertising Abortion Pill Reversal as safe and effective.’ We have not been served at this point,” a company spokesperson said.
“Through our Abortion Pill Rescue Network hotline, we know that some women almost immediately regret their chemical abortion choice. These women deserve the right to try and save their pregnancies. No woman should ever be forced to complete an abortion she no longer wants.”
“All major studies show that using progesterone to counteract a chemical abortion (Abortion Pill Reversal) can be effective since it’s the very same hormone a woman’s body produces to sustain her pregnancy.
“One study even shows an effective rate of 80 percent. Progesterone has been safely used with pregnant women and their babies since the 1950s. To date, statistics show more than 4,500 women have had successful abortion pill reversals, and that number grows higher each day.”
RealOptions Obria didn’t respond to KTLA’s request for comment in time for publication.
In light of the lawsuit, Bonta encourages Californians to visit the California Department of Justice website to learn more about obtaining reproductive health care and their rights.