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A law due to take
effect on July 3 requires doctors to tell patients that the
effects of abortion pills may be undone with high doses of a
hormone. This provision was hotly contested during legislative
debate on the law.
Supporters said abortion reversal was possible if acted upon
quickly, but provided no peer-reviewed studies to support this.
Critics called the argument "junk science".
"This reckless law forces doctors to lie to their patients, and
it puts women's health at risk," Cecile Richards, president of
Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which runs some 700
health centers across the United States, said on Thursday.
An Arizona chapter of the organization is listed along with
physicians as a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in federal court in
Arizona on Thursday that seeks declaratory and injunctive
relief.
It argues the state law violates providers' constitutional
rights by compelling doctors - against their medical judgment
and in violation of medical ethics - to give patients a
state-mandated message that is not scientifically supported.
A spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, named
in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Tom
Heneghan)
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