A judge has rejected Planned Parenthood’s effort to dismiss a complaint from the Florida Attorney General’s Office accusing the nation’s leading abortion provider of violating laws against false advertising.
Circuit Court Judge J. Scott Duncan of the First Judicial Circuit in and for Santa Rosa County issued an order last week denying Planned Parenthood’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
At issue is whether Planned Parenthood violated state law when it claimed that abortion-inducing drugs are safer than various over-the-counter drugs.
Duncan wrote that “the Court cannot conclude at this stage of the litigation” whether the abortion provider’s claims constituted “non-actionable puffery,” or exaggerated claims about a product that are protected by law.
“In making a comparison, the Defendants went beyond vague promotional language,” Duncan wrote. “Now whether these statements are actionable or non-actionable may depend upon the context in which they were made.”
Last November, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood for allegedly misrepresenting the risks of abortion drugs. The state accused the abortion provider of violating the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
“It is vile that Planned Parenthood cares more about lining their pockets than providing women with factual information about the health risks of chemical abortion drugs,” Uthmeier stated.
“When it comes to health and safety in Florida, we won’t tolerate blatant lies using fabricated medical ‘facts’ that have no scientific basis.”
At issue is information disseminated by Planned Parenthood claiming that abortion-inducing drugs such as mifepristone are safer than over-the-counter aspirin.
“Medication abortion is very safe,” an entry on the abortion provider’s website states. “In fact, it’s safer than many other medicines like penicillin, Tylenol, and Viagra. Serious problems are rare, but like all medicines, there can be risks.”
Planned Parenthood identified certain risks associated with abortion medication, including infection, blood clots in the uterus and excessive bleeding, but added that such side effects “aren’t common” and are “usually easy to take care of with medicine or other treatments.”
Florida is not the only state suing Planned Parenthood over its claims about the safety of abortion drugs. Missouri filed a complaint against the national abortion provider last July, accusing it of violating the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
