Culture of Life Family Services v. Bonta

Public Rights Project filed an amicus brief supporting the authority of local governments to investigate practices that may endanger the health and safety of their communities. It was filed on behalf of two local governments and three city attorneys in California.

The brief is for a case brought by Culture of Life Family Services (COLFS) against California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Even though Bonta hasn’t taken any action against COLFS, the organization claims Bonta is selectively targeting its promotion of “abortion pill reversal,” a medically unproven practice that claims to reverse the effects of medication abortion. COLFS argues that if a public prosecutor enforces a consumer protection law against a religious entity they must enforce it against all similar secular entities. Otherwise this violates the First Amendment. 

Our brief explains that California’s consumer laws are neutral. They apply equally to everyone and don’t favor secular activities over religious ones. These laws simply ban misleading advertising and unfair business practices, no matter who is engaging in them.

We emphasize that California law gives attorneys general and local governments the tools they need to investigate and stop deceptive or harmful practices that could put communities at risk. If the court accepts COLFS’s argument, it would limit the ability of public prosecutors to protect vulnerable residents — especially those who may not have the resources or knowledge to protect themselves. It would also place an immense administrative burden on local governments.

We are asking the appeals court to uphold a lower court’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction and dismiss COLFS’s claims.