This interview originally appeared in the Thomas More Society 2024 Impact Report. To explore the full Impact Report, click here.

TMS: Why is it important for Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) to be available to women?

Danielle White: It’s really important that Abortion Pill Reversal is available to women because every woman has the right to continue her pregnancy if she so chooses. We don’t think that just because a woman starts an abortion, that means she has to finish one. It would really be akin to holding her down to the table if you forced her to complete an abortion against her will. So, we believe that every woman has the right to withdraw her consent to an abortion. And when she does, she has the right to enough information to make an informed choice about what to do next.

TMS: What was it like to find out that California Attorney General Rob Bonta was suing Heartbeat?

DW: It was a shocking moment. We were all in our annual staff meeting, and then we learned that we were being sued [through] a press release… not by being served papers! A news outlet had reached out to us for comment on the lawsuit, I think before the lawsuit had even been filed.

TMS: Shortly after that, New York Attorney General Letitia James threatened to sue Heartbeat. What was that like, and why do you think that these attacks came so close together?

DW: I don’t know why they came so close together! It was surprising. And in some ways, it’s a little surprising we haven’t been sued more. The thing that’s so interesting about these lawsuits is that these politicians have not hidden the ball on how they feel about pregnancy centers and pregnancy help to begin with. So, it’s really just a continued crusade against those who would offer life-affirming options to women. It’s sad that they are opposed to women having the choice to continue their pregnancies. Letitia James sent us notices that she intended to sue. I think the notice period was five days. We felt like our constitutional right to speak our message was violated from that very moment because there was a threat on the table against us, if we chose to speak this message that she was so opposed to.

TMS: The legal attacks have won a sort of standstill as the state case continues and a preliminary injunction has been ordered for pregnancy centers separate from Heartbeat. But how are pregnancy centers on the ground feeling with these legal threats still looming over their heads?

DW: Pregnancy centers are no stranger to politicians who are not friendly to the cause. I think that they’re very resolute to continue offering services to women and to continue offering them the high level of care that they’ve always given them. It can be very intimidating to feel like, ‘Oh my, are we going to be shut down because of this message, because of our viewpoint that women ought to have the right to continue their pregnancies?’

TMS: What advice do you have for other pregnancy centers whose First Amendment right to speak about APR is being threatened, either right now or in the future?

DW: I think it’s really important that we stay united and that we continue to speak. We can’t be silenced. We cannot be bullied when there’s a life on the line and not just a life, but the heart of a mom. That’s a woman who wants this baby, who wants to give birth to this baby. I think that’s the idea that really animates all of us—just to imagine the feeling that if you knew that your baby was facing such a high likelihood of dying and then to seek help from someone, that’s the position that these women are in. Stay resolute and continue to stay strong. We have the truth on our side.

TMS: What evidence or success stories do you have that point to the effectiveness of APR as promoted by Heartbeat?

DW: APR is backed by scientific studies. A 2018 study by Dr. Delgado demonstrates about a two-thirds success rate, 64% to 68%. Even the studies that the AGs would like to use to suggest that APR doesn’t work, they’re flawed and small… but they do show that APR can be successful. And it’s also just mind-boggling to think that the AG can say that APR doesn’t work when I’ve held those babies! I’ve met those moms!

“I think it’s really important that we stay united and that we continue to speak. We can’t be silenced.” ‍

TMS: If Rob Bonta and Letitia James succeed in restricting Heartbeat’s ability to promote the life-saving option of APR, what would that mean across the country?

DW: I think it would be devastating. If they were successful in these lawsuits, what that would mean is that women who don’t want their abortions now have to finish them. And I just think that’s appalling. I think it would be devastating and heartbreaking. Hopefully APR would still continue throughout the rest of the nation.

But what a world we would live in if California and New York women were forced into abortions against their will.

TMS: What message do you hope that this litigation is going to send to these other states and pro-abortion politicians who are considering similar lawfare against organizations like Heartbeat International?

DW: We have great litigators through Thomas More Society, and I really hope that this [battle] is going to lead to some pretty decisive case law on the protections of being able to speak this critical message. I hope that it will shut down this line of attack against pregnancy centers and against APR, that we can succeed in court and be able to use that to protect our rights and the rights of women who are seeking this critical service all throughout the country.

We are so grateful to Thomas More Society for the work that they’re doing and the way that they are defending this critical service for women in the courts. They have been unflinching and devoted and hardworking, and we are so grateful to them. And of course, by extension, we’re so grateful to all of their supporters who give sacrificially to allow this work to continue. Pregnancy centers are in the crosshairs, but knowing that there are law firms out there, especially law firms like Thomas More Society who will stand in the gap and help them when they are targets of viewpoint discriminatory prosecutions like this… It’s life-changing for them and it’s life-changing for Heartbeat. It’s what helps to give us the confidence to keep moving forward.

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