National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Bonta
Description: After the California attorney general used his power to censor pro-life pregnancy centers that inform women about abortion pill reversal, a nonprofit pro-life pregnancy center and nonprofit network of affiliated centers filed a lawsuit against the attorney general for violating their First Amendment right to free speech.
California pro-life pregnancy centers sue AG for censoring their speech
LOS ANGELES – On behalf of a nonprofit pro-life pregnancy center and a nonprofit network of affiliated centers, Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed suit against the California attorney general for using his power to censor pro-life pregnancy centers because they tell women about the option of taking supplemental progesterone for abortion pill reversal. Progesterone is a safe and naturally occurring hormone that can be used to counteract the life-ending effects of abortion drugs.
In September 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Heartbeat International, a national network of pregnancy centers, and RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics, a chain of five pregnancy centers in California, for publishing information about abortion pill reversal, including that it is safe and can be an effective treatment. Bonta’s politically motivated lawsuit threatens other pregnancy centers in the state that have made, or would like to make, similar statements. ADF attorneys are challenging the attorney general on behalf of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates and SCV Pregnancy Center in Santa Clarita.
“Access to information is a hallmark of a free society and is essential to making informed medical choices. But California’s attorney general is silencing pregnancy centers and censoring information about life-saving medical options,” said ADF Senior Counsel Caleb Dalton. “Attorney General Bonta and his allies at Planned Parenthood may not like it, but the truth is that many women regret their abortions, and some seek to stop the effects of chemical abortion drugs before taking the second drug in the abortion drug process. Women deserve to know all their options every step of the way.”
“Every woman should have the option to reconsider going through with an abortion, and the pro-life pregnancy centers we represent in this case truthfully inform women about that choice,” Dalton added. “We are urging the court to affirm the pregnancy centers’ freedom to tell the public about this lawful, life-saving treatment.”
NIFLA and SCV Pregnancy Center wish to inform women in California who have taken the first abortion drug that it may be possible to counteract its lethal effects if they change their minds and seek treatment within 72 hours of taking the first drug. But their scientifically backed speech about the supplemental progesterone treatment is chilled by the attorney general’s censorship campaign against similar speech.
Multiple scientific studies support the statements that the pro-life pregnancy centers wish to share with women. Progesterone is a natural hormone needed to sustain pregnancy and has been used for decades to prevent miscarriage and preterm labor. Statistics show that abortion pill reversal has likely saved over 5,000 unborn lives and one study found a 64-68% success rate. Yet the attorney general has targeted centers that tell women about this option because of the centers’ pro-life viewpoints and the content of their speech. ADF attorneys explain in the lawsuit that such actions from a government official violate the pregnancy centers’ First Amendment rights to speak freely and practice their religious beliefs.
In a similar ADF case in New York, a district court recently ruled that two nonprofit faith-based pregnancy centers and NIFLA are free to tell women about the life-saving potential of using progesterone for abortion pill reversal while their lawsuit continues.
ADF attorneys filed the lawsuit, National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Bonta, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Charis Lex P.C. attorney Sean Gates, one of more than 4,500 attorneys in the ADF Attorney Network, is serving as local counsel on behalf of the pregnancy centers.
Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.
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ABOUT Caleb Dalton
Caleb Dalton serves as senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom's Center for Life, where he brings over a decade of civil rights litigation and public advocacy experience to the team, securing the rights of the unborn and those who advocate for them. Since joining ADF, Dalton has served on multiple teams representing private individuals and government entities to affirm the fundamental freedoms of speech and religious liberty. With ADF's Center for Conscience Initiatives, he played a key role in the successful petition for certiorari in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission at the U.S. Supreme Court. With the Center for Academic Freedom, he successfully represented students and faculty seeking to speak freely on public university campuses across the country. Dalton earned a J.D. at the Regent University School of Law, graduating cum laude. He is a member of the bar in Arizona, Virginia, and the District of Columbia; he is also admitted to practice before multiple federal district and appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.