Several Arizona health care providers filed a new lawsuit in federal court today, challenging a recently passed state law that forces doctors to tell patients that it may be possible to reverse a medication abortion. Arizona’s law SB 1318 is scheduled to take effect on July 3, 2015.
Because there is no medically accepted evidence that a medication abortion can be reversed, this law is opposed by some medical experts, including the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Dr. Ilana Addis and Dr. Julie Kwatra, chairwoman and legislative chair of the Arizona Section of ACOG respectively, called the Arizona law “bad medicine” and “tantamount to quackery.”
“Plain and simple, this law would force doctors to lie to women about their health care options, and that is never acceptable,” said Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Women and their health care providers must be able to make decisions about the care that’s right for them based on solid evidence and sound medical practice, not the agendas of politicians who have no business interfering in these matters.”
Women in the United States have been using medication abortion for over a decade, with approximately one in four women who make the decision to end a pregnancy choosing this method if they’re eligible — in Arizona, the number is closer to half.
The plaintiffs in this case — Planned Parenthood Arizona, Eric Reuss, M.D., Paul A. Isaacson, M.D, Desert Star Family Planning, and DeShawn Taylor, M.D. — are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Arizona, the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR), Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PFFA), and Squire Patton Boggs.