A California deputy attorney general questioned the witness from two religious organizations about his credentials and his analysis of studies on the abortion pill reversal.
OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) – An attorney for the state of California confronted a statistician testifying on behalf of two anti-abortion organizations Tuesday, trying to poke holes in his position that abortion pill reversal treatment is safe and effective.
On a bench trial, now in his fourth week in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, Dr. Michael New, an associate professor in the business department at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, told the court his findings were based on a statistical analysis of several studies. Treatment against the abortion pill, he testified, has a high probability of continuing a pregnancy without major consequences.
“APR increases embryo survival rates, improves survival rates that are clearly significant,” he said under questioning from defendant lawyer Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, a conservative law firm.
Anti-abortion pill treatment is a pharmaceutical regimen not approved by the Food and Drug Administration that requires the administration of a large dose of progesterone after the administration of the first mifepristone pill in a medical abortion.
Two religious organizations, Heartbeat International and RealOptions Inc., offer access to the abortion pill cancellation protocol, but California says their portrayal of the treatment as safe and effective is false and misleading.
California Deputy Attorney General Gillian Hannahs questioned New’s testimony and expertise on Tuesday, pointing out how he did not get tenure at some of his former college employers, including the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Alabama. She cited faulty research as the reason for at least one denial.
When asked by Hannahs about the potential side effects of canceling the abortion pill, including heavy bleeding, New said his analysis showed the treatment did not pose a serious health risk to pregnant people, although he acknowledged the sample size was not large enough to do a more thorough analysis.
Hannahs pushed back, noting that he didn’t use Heartbeat’s own data to form his opinion, which relied on calls made to abortion pill cancellation hotlines. New said “pregnancy centers are not research institutions” and often people were called without being followed up, ultimately admitting that using the Heartbeat data was “problematic”.
California is asking the court to enjoin false and misleading statements by both groups and impose a penalty of up to $2,500 per violation against each group, which is approximately $20 million for Heartbeat International and more than $600,000 for RealOptions. The state accuses the organizations of violating California’s false advertising law and unfair competition law.
A small percentage of people – about 0.004% – may reconsider their decision to have an abortion in the middle of a medically induced procedure. Those people are likely to experience emotional turmoil, be anxious and not know what choices they have. They deserve accurate information, the state said.
Heartbeat International and RealOptions say switching the abortion pill is a valid option. or website for RealOptions there is a section of the site dedicated to the procedure.
Currently in California, crisis pregnancy centers – like those operated by RealOptions – outnumber abortion provider facilities. Crisis pregnancy centers do not provide abortions or refer people to them. They also lack comprehensive reproductive health care.
“They often appear and are located near real health care facilities,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference after the filing of the document. complaint in the year 2023.
At the end of Tuesday’s proceedings, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Patrick McKinney granted Heartbeat International’s motion to quash a subpoena for documents related to communications between Heartbeat International and Dr. George Delgado, one of the first doctors to advocate and administer the abortion pill reversal treatment. Delgado is scheduled to testify on July 20.
New’s testimony continues Wednesday.
Subscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing arguments provides the latest on ongoing trials, major litigation and decisions in courts around the US and the world, while monthly Under the lights feeds legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
