Federal Court Declines To Protect Pro-Life Speech, Prompting Ninth Circuit Appeal
Thomas More Society attorneys appeal to protect speech about Abortion Pill Reversal
San Diego, CA - A U.S. District Court judge has declined to grant a preliminary injunction for pro-life pregnancy center Culture of Life Family Services (“COLFS”), which seeks to block California Attorney General Rob Banta from expanding his unconstitutional attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers’ speech about Abortion Pill Reversal.
On behalf of COLFS, Thomas More Society attorneys are appealing this decision in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to defend the free speech of pregnancy centers and to protect the right for women to hear life-saving information about Abortion Pill Reversal. The judge also issued a separate decision denying Bonta’s attempt to throw out the lawsuit, allowing the case’s free speech claims to continue forward.
“By unconstitutionally trying to silence speech about Abortion Pill Reversal, Attorney General Rob Bonta refuses to recognize a woman’s right to save her baby when she has changed her mind in the midst of a chemical abortion. Bonta’s politically motivated lawfare violates Culture of Life Family Services’ right to speak and help women in a desperate situation,” said Peter Breen, Executive Vice President and Head of Litigation at Thomas More Society.
“In labeling constitutionally protected speech about Abortion Pill Reversal as ‘fraudulent’ and ‘deceptive,’ Bonta is stripping pregnant women of their constitutional right to choose to have their babies and shutting down the right of people to speak about this life-saving, effective, and science-backed option. While the lower court has refused to protect our pregnancy center client, we are optimistic the Ninth Circuit will reject Bonta’s campaign to censor pro-life speech.”
In September 2023, Bonta sued Heartbeat International, a global network of pregnancy centers and operator of the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network, and RealOptions Obria Medical Clinics, a chain of pregnancy centers in California, for sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal. Thomas More Society is defending both Heartbeat International and RealOptions against Bonta’s California state court lawsuit. In this appeal, COLFS seeks to prevent further lawsuits by Bonta against it, suing in federal court for declaratory and injunctive relief to establish that sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal is constitutionally protected.
“We are proud to continue representing COLFS in fighting to protect its rights and the rights of its patients. Bonta is weaponizing the California Department of Justice to shut down speech that he and abortion activists deem out of line with their pro-abortion dogma. We will not let his campaign against pro-life ministries go unchecked,” said Paul M. Jonna, Special Counsel at Thomas More Society and Partner, LiMandri & Jonna LLP.
“Our fight doesn’t end here. We look forward to bringing this case to the Ninth Circuit so pro-life pregnancy help ministries can continue operating without government retaliation getting in the way of saving lives.”
Additional Information:
- Notice of Appeal (June 17, 2025)
- Order Denying Motion for Preliminary Injunction (June 13, 2025)
- Order Denying in Part and Granting in Part the Motion to Dismiss (June 13, 2025)
