New York AG hits anti-abortion group with lawsuit for blocking entry to well being care clinics

New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James filed a lawsuit Thursday in opposition to an anti-abortion group, Pink Rose Rescue, alleging its members have repeatedly blocked entrances to well being clinics and have “made it their mission to terrorize reproductive well being care suppliers and the sufferers they serve.”

“Solely we’ve the suitable to make selections about our personal our bodies — not anti-choice legislators, and never bigoted zealots. We is not going to permit Pink Rose Rescue to harass and harangue New Yorkers with their outrageous militant ways,” James said in a press launch saying the lawsuit. “Make no mistake: abortion is well being care, and as New York’s Legal professional Basic, I’ll proceed to guard and defend everybody’s authorized proper to soundly entry well being care.”

James is looking for to ban any member of the Pink Rose Rescue group to come back inside 30 toes of a reproductive well being care facility in New York state. She can also be looking for civil penalties and damages.

Within the lawsuit, James claimed members of the Pink Rose Rescue group have been arrested and convicted quite a few occasions, some even presently serving sentences, but they’ve publicly said that they don’t intend to cease their “Pink Rose Rescue” missions.

“Legal trespass at reproductive well being services will not be incidental to Pink Rose Rescue members’ activism, however quite is the core mission of their group. As they clarify of their Mission Assertion,” James wrote within the lawsuit, earlier than quoting from the assertion, “’Throughout a Pink Rose Rescue, a staff of pro-lifers enter the precise locations’ the place abortions are carried out and ‘is not going to go away’ however ‘should be taken away.’”

James named three clinics specifically – two in Nassau County and one in Westchester County – at which members of the anti-abortion group have “invaded” the clinic or prevented sufferers from accessing care in another approach.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the highest Democrat on the Home Judiciary Committee, praised the Legal professional Basic for taking this step.

“Below Federal and New York State legislation, anti-abortion extremists are forbidden from blocking sufferers’ entry to reproductive care. I applaud @NewYorkStateAG taking motion to cease Pink Rose Rescue’s hateful, disruptive, and prison misconduct and defend the suitable to abortion care,” he wrote.