Colorado can’t prohibit a Catholic health clinic from using a controversial medication abortion “reversal” treatment, a federal judge ruled over the weekend in a lawsuit that seeks to block the first-of-its-kind state law on religious freedom grounds.
U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico late Saturday granted Bella Health and Wellness — an independent medical clinic with locations in Englewood and Denver — a narrow preliminary injunction against the state’s ban on a treatment that proponents say can reverse medication abortions.
The ruling blocks Colorado from enforcing the prohibition against Bella Health and anyone working “in concert” with the Catholic clinic while its lawsuit proceeds.
“The law at issue here runs afoul of… First Amendment principles,” Domenico wrote in his 45-page decision. “Because it does, the State must come forward with a compelling interest of the highest order to maintain the law. It has not even attempted to do so.”
In early 2023, the Colorado legislature passed Senate Bill 23-190, which declared the offering of “abortion-reversal medication” as unprofessional conduct under the state’s medical licensing laws.
The legislation specifically bars medical professionals from giving the hormone progesterone to patients who decided to keep their pregnancies after taking medication that induces abortions. Prominent medical groups such as the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say the practice has no scientific basis.
On the same day that Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill into law in April, providers from the Catholic medical center filed the lawsuit, alleging a violation of their constitutional rights, alongside an emergency motion to prevent the state from enforcing the one-of-a-kind law. Domenico at the time denied that request, since the state had agreed to hold off on enforcing the ban.
In early September, the Colorado Medical Board voted to push back enforcement of the new rules against the use of progesterone until at least Oct. 23 because of Bella Health’s pending lawsuit. The clinic filed an amended complaint and renewed its request for an injunction on Sept. 22.
The clinic’s lawsuit claims that it has provided treatment to dozens of individuals seeking abortion reversals.
“There is no question whether (the law) burdens Bella Health’s free exercise of religion,” Domenico wrote in his ruling. “It does. Bella Health considers it a religious obligation to provide treatment for pregnant mothers and to protect unborn life if the mother seeks to stop or reverse an abortion.”
Domenico also blocked enforcement against Bella Health of another portion of the law that prohibited the use of “deceptive advertising” by crisis pregnancy centers, also known as “anti-abortion centers,” to imply they offer abortions when they do not.
Medical providers at Bella Health argued the prohibitions on advertising further violated their First Amendment rights.
Domenico barred penalties from being enforced under consumer-protections part of the bill “to protect (the) plaintiffs’ free-speech rights which may be at risk absent court intervention,” he wrote in his decision.
The Bella Health medical providers named Attorney General Phil Weiser, members of the state’s medical board, and members of the state’s nursing board in their official state capacities in the lawsuit.
Three Colorado district attorneys also were named in the lawsuit: Beth McCann, John Keller and Michael Dougherty. All three serve districts hosting current or former locations of Bella Health’s medical facilities.
Domenico dismissed the Bella Health providers’ claims against McCann, Keller and Dougherty, but denied both the attorney general’s and nursing board’s motions to dismiss.
“Some of these women have had abortion pills forced on them, and others change their minds,” said Dede Chism and Abby Sinnett, co-founders of Bella Health, in a Sunday news release. “We are relieved and overjoyed to continue helping the many women who come to our clinic seeking help.”
In his decision, Domenico concluded the law violates the Free Exercise Clause for three reasons.
First, he said the law “treats comparable secular activity more favorably than Bella Health’s religious activity,” citing a lack of bans on other off-label uses of progesterone, the primary drug used in the so-called reversals.
Second, he noted that Colorado’s medical, pharmacy and nursing boards decided to review complaints about reversal cases on a case-by-case basis. This precedent means the law shouldn’t be applied broadly, because it allows for “individual exemptions.”
Finally, Domenico referred to transcripts and notes from legislative hearings showing the lawmakers sponsoring the bill allegedly knew the ban would largely affect religious-based institutions providing the medication.
“This ruling ensures that pregnant women across the state will receive the care they deserve and won’t be forced to have abortions against their will,” said Rebekah Ricketts, counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, who represented Bella Health in the case, in Sunday’s news release.
A spokesman for the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which defended the law, could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Colorado has 30 days to appeal the decision to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
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