Faith-based Colorado center sues over new state law that prohibits abortion pill reversal
A Colorado judge over the weekend allowed a temporary restraining order against a bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis on Friday. The measure outlaws "deceptive practices" by anti-abortion centers, which are known to market themselves as abortion clinics but don't actually offer the procedure. Instead, they attempt to convince patients to not terminate their pregnancies. The bill also prohibits sites from offering what's called an abortion pill reversal -- and unproven practice to reverse a medical abortion.
The anti-abortion centers are also known by some as crisis pregnancy centers.
Bella Health and Wellness filed the lawsuit requesting the restraining order on Friday. It has faith-based centers in three different locations in the Denver metro area. They argue that this new law targets centers that have a religious duty to help all pregnant women, including those who decide to continue their pregnancies after taking the abortion pill. However, supporters of the bill say it's unethical to be deceiving and offer reverse abortion treatments whose efficacy hasn't been scientifically proven to stop an abortion in a safe manner.
Mark Rienzi, President and CEO of nonprofit religious liberty law firm Becket, is representing Bella Health and Wellness in their lawsuit.
"Whatever somebody thinks about pro-choice or pro-life, it ought to be something we can agree on that if somebody has decided they don't want the abortion, they shouldn't be made to do it," said Rienzi.
Bella Health and Wellness argues Senate Bill 190 is unconstitutional in that if forces clinics to offer a hormone like progesterone to reverse the effects of an abortion.
"This Colorado law makes it illegal to help women who have taken the first abortion pill and then change their minds and the decision to have an abortion is obviously a very stressful one."
The centers can still offer the hormone to women in any other circumstance, like a natural miscarriage, but it is prohibited if the purpose is to reverse the effects of the abortion pill.
Rienzi believes the state will have to eventually amend the law.
"The state's going to fail because it violates the constitution and it violates Colorado law. It violates federal law for them to try to punish Bella for telling women about their safe and effective options for keeping their babies when they want to and it violates the rights of those women," said Rienzi.
However, bill supporters say it is misleading and unethical to provide treatment that has not been scientifically proven and to act as if they provide all options for reproductive care. That includes the group COLOR Latina, a reproductive rights organization that believes the judge's order is harmful to the community.
"We have heard the arguments from these anti-abortion centers saying there has been no sort of damage or impact on pregnant people's health, but there is a reason why there are," Aurea Bolaños Perea, communications director for the group, said. "There was only one study that exists that has researched the so-called abortion pill reversal and it was not only dangerous, but deemed unsafe by the American Medical Association and also ACOG."
She said the state can't allow to "in good faith offer a medication that is not only unproven and unethical, but truly dangerous for the people that may assume it does reverse an abortion when that is not a fact."
If the judge's ruling is overturned, the centers could face up to $20,000 per violation and the loss of their medical license for its providers.
Bolaños Perea says their mission is not to encourage the closing of these centers, but rather ask those clinics for complete transparency.
"It is truly a disservice to our movement to assume that what we are trying to do is halt choice and care altogether. There's a reason why SB 190 does not do anything about closing down these anti-abortion centers. What we are saying is you can keep your doors open, but make sure that when the people walk in there, they have access to the facts and all options that you advertise," said Bolaños.
Gov. Jared Polis's office isn't named in the lawsuit but his team said they will not be commenting on pending litigation at this time, and that the governor stands by a woman's right to choose.
A preliminary hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for April 24.
