Florida Attorney General James Usmayer, a Republican, has initiated a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood for claiming that abortion pills are “safer than Tylenol,” a well-known painkiller.
Usmayer expressed his outrage on Thursday, stating, “It’s despicable that Planned Parenthood is more concerned about lining its own pockets than providing women with factual information about the health risks of chemical abortion drugs.” He emphasized that lies masked as medical facts will not be tolerated when it comes to health and safety in Florida.
In the complaint filed in Santa Rosa County, Usmayer accuses abortion providers of “making false claims about the safety of abortion pills.” He highlights assertions from family planning organizations claiming that these drugs are “safer than Tylenol.” The lawsuit alleges that Planned Parenthood has breached state laws regarding deceptive and unfair trade practices, characterizing its actions as “extortion.”
The lawsuit argues that “various stakeholders at Planned Parenthood and the State of Florida know that this claim is false,” warning that this misinformation misleads women seeking accurate information on the risks associated with chemical abortions. It claims these abortion drugs are significantly more hazardous than over-the-counter painkillers, and that the deceptive messaging could lead women to pursue dangerous chemical abortions.
Additionally, it references a startling study released in April, which suggested that complications from Mifepristone, the first drug in the two-drug abortion protocol, might be 22 times more prevalent than previously reported.
New findings from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) indicate that 10.93% of women undergoing mifepristone abortions faced serious complications, such as sepsis or severe bleeding, within 45 days post-abortion. This figure starkly contrasts the under 0.5% cited in FDA-approved drug labels. The study analyzed data from an extensive insurance claims database covering 865,727 mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023.
The study has prompted calls from Republicans for the FDA and HHS to reinstate prior safety measures for the drug that were lifted during the Obama and Biden administrations. In response, abortion rights advocates and the Democratic Party dismissed the research findings.
Officials from Planned Parenthood have labeled the lawsuit a “politically motivated attack” aimed at tightening abortion access in Florida. Currently, the state restricts abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, allowing very few exceptions.
Manning, Planned Parenthood’s general counsel, asserted, “Anti-abortion lawmakers and officials aggressively work to eliminate all abortion care and prevent patients from receiving accurate medical information. We will persistently safeguard access to this safe and effective care.” She concluded, “See you in court.”
The state is pursuing roughly $350 million in damages and is requesting the court consider forcing Planned Parenthood to sell its property, dissolve, or ban abortions altogether.
This lawsuit resembles a case brought in July by the attorney general of Missouri. A hearing on this matter is set for February, according to the Associated Press.
It’s reported that Planned Parenthood maintains an information page that compares abortion pills to other common medications.
The page claims, “Medical abortion is very safe; in fact, safer than many other drugs such as penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra. Serious problems are rare, but like any drug, risks can exist.”
In 2023, medical abortions represented 63% of all abortions within the formal healthcare system in the U.S., which translates to an estimated 642,700 fetuses. This percentage has increased notably from previous years, going from 53% in 2020 and 39% in 2017. However, the statistics do not encompass abortion pills acquired through underground networks.
For a medical abortion, mifepristone blocks the action of progesterone necessary for sustaining pregnancy. By obstructing progesterone, the uterine lining deteriorates, cutting off nourishment to the developing baby and resulting in death within the womb. Following this, another drug, misoprostol (also known as Cytotec), induces contractions and bleeding to expel the fetus.
The case is titled Florida v. Planned Parenthood Federation of America, No. 235301468 in the First Judicial Circuit Court of Santa Rosa County, Florida.
