Abortion Reversal Treatment is Free Speech - even in New York

 

Yesterday a judge issued a preliminary injunction in NIFLA v. James regarding a case in NY where the New York Attorney General had issued a prohibition on speech surrounding abortion reversal. (The National Institute for Family and Life Advocates – NIFLA – is a leading protector of pro-life speech rights.) Efforts to prohibit medical advice to a mother who has ingested chemicals to bring about an abortion were ruled a restriction on free speech. The injunction now protects speech and care surrounding abortion pill reversal (APR) treatment. Medical professionals and pregnancy resource personnel may indeed legally speak about and prescribe APR. A pregnant woman who has changed her mind about her chemical abortion has a right to advice and treatment to reverse that abortion of her child.  This was a major legal loss to New York State, and will likely reverberate across the country to other states that may try to silence abortion reversal care.

 

 

The decision (attached), cited two other NIFLA victories - NIFLA v. Becerra (our Supreme Court victory against the state of California) and NIFLA v. Raoul (our federal court victory against the state of Illinois).  Some significant quotes from the decision include: "The First Amendment protects Plaintiffs' right to speak freely about APR protocol and, more specifically, to say that it is safe and effective for a pregnant woman to use in consultation with her doctor.” “Plaintiffs are irreparably harmed each day that their First Amendment freedoms are infringed.” The Attorney General … "admits that no one has been harmed by Plaintiffs' speech."  "A preliminary injunction... would "further the societal interest in the fullest possible dissemination of information."  And a preliminary injunction fosters the First Amendment rights discussed above. Moreover, pregnancy centers' statements about the availability of APR are of interest to women who have begun a chemical abortion and seek ways to save their unborn child's life. A preliminary injunction is in the public interest.”   Speech and medical care surrounding abortion reversal treatment is a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution, and should never be restricted.