California’s top prosecutor continues to attack Christian groups trying to help women save their unborn babies.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said Friday he is confident the state will prevail in its lawsuit against anti-abortion providers he has accused of making misleading claims about “abortion pill reversal,” even though the case has not yet been decided.
Bonta sued Heartbeat International and RealOptions in 2023, alleging they falsely promoted high-dose progesterone as a way to reverse the effects of the abortion pill mifepristone without adequately warning of risks such as severe bleeding.
Despite Bonta’s war against the groups and their missions, they’ve seen success.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the case of Elizabeth Barrett, who was a college dropout in Southern California. Barrett swallowed an abortion pill from a clinic and then had immediate regrets, changing her mind.
Barrett then discovered Heartbeat International online and eventually gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
“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,” the nonprofit said in a statement.
After six weeks of testimony in Alameda County Superior Court, both sides have finished presenting evidence. Bonta said he remains confident the court will rule in the state’s favor, while Heartbeat International continues to defend the procedure.
The group recently cast doubt on the medical experts used by Bonta’s agency in the trial, noting a doctor who admitted in court to performing more than 5,000 abortions over the course of his career.
“These are not the views of a disinterested scientist — they place the AG’s expert squarely within an ideological tradition that has long advocated population control in developing nations through expanded abortion access,” said Joe Barnas with the Thomas More Society, which is representing the group.
The scientific debate around the reversal procedure is ongoing and “not settled,” argued the anti-abortion groups’ attorneys.
Closing arguments are scheduled for September 17 and a ruling from the judge is due within 90 days of that date.
