Florida sues Planned Parenthood for lying about the safety of the abortion pill

The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood seeking damages of up to $350 million for allegedly deceptive advertising of abortion pills, reports Catholic News Agency.

According to Attorney General James Uthmeier, Planned Parenthood misled women by claiming that the drug mifepristone was "safer than Tylenol." Uthmeier said that, according to available data, about 1 in 25 female users end up in the hospital. In addition, at least 36 deaths related to the use of the substance have been recorded since 2000.

Uthmeier also points to the problem of distribution of pills by mail, often without medical supervision, which he says allows them to be abused - even by minors. He accuses Planned Parenthood of targeting the sale of these products for their high profits with alleged margins of up to 500 percent.

The lawsuit seeks a fine of 10-thousand dollars for each instance in which the pill was promoted as safe. Florida's move is an effort to limit the availability of chemical abortions, the provision of which is often bypassed through other states like California or New York, which have protective laws for providers.

(mja)