California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is suing controversial clinics known as crisis pregnancy centers for allegedly falsely advertising “abortion pill reversal,” a procedure considered experimental and opposed by top medical organizations.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, is the latest attempt by Democratic state leaders to rein in faith-based anti-abortion clinics, which have so far dodged legislative attempts at stricter regulation despite health warnings about the procedure.

Bonta called the centers “predatory” and claimed they “took advantage” of vulnerable pregnant patients by making false promises. He is asking a judge to block “further dissemination of the misleading claims,” ​​citing violations of California’s false advertising and unfair competition laws.

Those struggling with the complex decision to have an abortion deserve support and reliable guidance, not lies and misinformation, said Bonta, who held a news conference in Oakland on Thursday.

The so-called reversal, touted by pregnancy centers across the state and country, involves taking the hormone progesterone after a patient takes a dose of abortion-inducing pills. The practice is considered unethical and not supported by science by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

In 2019,

University of California, UC

Davis researchers conducted an investigation into the practice after three of the 12 women who participated in the medical experiment were sent to the hospital for “very severe bleeding.”

The lawsuit was filed in Alameda County Superior Court on

Thursday

names the anti-abortion group Heartbeat International and RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics, a Bay Area chain, as defendants, claiming they violated state law by falsely promoting the procedure as safe and effective.

The

religious

The crisis pregnancy center industry has long been accused of misleading women about their services to steer them away from abortion. Some California centers advertise “pre-abortion screenings” but do not offer abortions, and advertise

wrong information about the procedure

that has been refuted by the American Cancer Society and other leading medical organizations.

But supporters of the centers say they are an asset to communities, pointing to resources offered to parents in need, such as diapers and car seats and certain health screenings. Some state clinics have denied claims that they are pressuring patients

to wear

abortion or deliberately mislead them, saying that they have a right to oppose the procedure, just as others do to support it.

Even in liberal California, home to the nation’s strongest abortion protections, previous legislative efforts to more strictly regulate crisis pregnancy centers have failed, in part because of legal arguments over constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and religion.

Clinics across the state that advertise “abortion pill reversal” are licensed to operate by the California Department of Public Health. The real

The option centers named in Thursday’s lawsuit are state-licensed community clinics.

In 2018, the Supreme Court blocked enforcement of a California law that required clinics to notify patients that the state offers subsidized abortions, contraception and prenatal care.

The bill, known as the Reproductive Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care and Transparency Act, was sponsored by Vice President Kamala Harris, then attorney general.

The court’s ruling was led by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, who said the law unfairly targeted faith-based centers by forcing them to provide a government-written script about the services they opposed.

Earlier this year, legislation aimed at restricting crisis pregnancy centers quietly stalled in the state Legislature. Opponents of the bill, including the California Catholic Conference, said the proposals were biased

D

in favor of one reproductive health choice over another.

There are at least 165 crisis pregnancy centers in California, and that number exceeds the number of abortion clinics, according to a report released last year by the Alliance, a women’s advocacy group.

The report

found said

that many centers in the state make deceptive and misleading claims, do not employ a physician and offer non-diagnostic ultrasound scans that are not recognized as a medical service but as a memento or souvenir.

Colorado became the first state in the nation to pass a law banning abortion pill reversals earlier this year, but enforcement has been put on hold due to a pending lawsuit.