A Catholic pro-life medical provider just sued Colorado for banning the life-saving abortion pill reversal treatment.
The lawsuit from Bella Health and Wellness, a Catholic OB-GYN and family medical practice based in Englewood, challenges a pro-abortion law that Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed last week, saying medical providers could be fined $20,000 just for trying to save an unborn baby’s life. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is representing the organization.
“Even though Bella can offer the hormone [progesterone] to women in any other circumstance, including natural miscarriage, it is barred from doing so if the purpose is to reverse the effects of the abortion pill,” the pro-life medical group said in a statement. “This forces pro-life clinics to choose between their deeply held religious beliefs and their ability to operate as healthcare ministries in the state.”
Pro-abortion state lawmakers claimed the law is needed to prohibit “deceptive practices at anti-abortion centers,” but Senate Bill 190 actually censors pregnancy resource centers and bans the life-saving abortion pill reversal treatment. The new law claims the treatment is “unprofessional conduct” even though studies show it is safe and effective and at least 4,000 babies’ lives have been saved.
Those who violate the law could be fined up to $20,000 per offense and medical professionals could lose their licenses.
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In their lawsuit, Bella Health argues that the law violates the First Amendment by targeting pro-life and religious medical providers, the Denver Catholic reports.
“We opened Bella because of our belief that life is a precious gift from God, worthy of protection at all stages,” said Dede Chism, a nurse practitioner and co-founder of the pro-life clinic. “When a woman seeks our help to reverse the effects of the abortion pill, we have a religious obligation to offer every available option for her and her child.”
Chism began the medical clinic with her daughter to provide life-affirming healthcare to men, women and children.
Its OB-GYNs offer women progesterone, a naturally occurring hormone that is essential for a healthy pregnancy, to women at risk of miscarriage. They also offer it to pregnant mothers who have taken the first abortion pill, mifepristone, but quickly regret it. Mifepristone works by blocking progesterone and basically starving the unborn baby to death. Much like miscarriage prevention treatments, the abortion pill reversal involves giving women progesterone to counteract the abortion drug and save her baby’s life.
One study found that nearly 70 percent of women who underwent the treatment were able to reverse the effects of the abortion drug and save their babies’ lives. The study did not find any increased risks of complications or birth defects.
Chism’s daughter, Abby Sinnett, who also is a nurse practitioner, said the law prevents them from helping pregnant mothers who want to save their unborn babies’ lives.
“All we want is to continue our ministry of serving expecting mothers in need, regardless of circumstance,” Sinnett said. “In their most vulnerable state, a pregnant woman needs to know that she and her unborn child will be treated with the utmost dignity and care.”
In a statement, the Catholic bishops in Colorado thanked Bella and the Becket law firm for taking action against the new pro-abortion law.
“The Colorado bishops applaud and support this legal effort by Becket and Bella, which affirms the First Amendment rights of pregnancy centers and the ability of medical providers to freely prescribe [the abortion pill reversal] treatment as a life-affirming option for women in Colorado,” the bishops said.
According to the Catholic News Agency, the Catholic bishops also spoke out against the legislation before it passed. They criticized lawmakers for prioritizing “abortion over life-affirming reproductive healthcare decisions for women, at the expense of the mother’s health and, even more grave, at the cost of countless children’s lives.”
The bishops told Catholic lawmakers who supported the pro-abortion legislation that they must repent before participating in Communion.
Anyone who has taken the first abortion pill and wishes to stop the abortion is urged to immediately visit www.abortionpillreversal.com or call the Abortion Pill Reversal hotline at 877-558-0333.
