Scientists Sue Publisher Over Retractions Of Studies Showing Dangers Of Abortion Pills

Ten scientists are suing an academic journal that retracted major studies on the potential harm of abortion pills, saying that the retractions were “politically motivated.”

The Charlotte Lozier Institute scientists, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom and Consovoy McCarthy, say that Sage Publishing violated California contract law when it yanked three studies, including two on the dangers of the abortion pill, earlier this year. The retractions, which occurred weeks before the Supreme Court heard arguments on the availability of abortion pills, were first reported by The Daily Wire.

The lawsuit seeks to compel Sage to commit to arbitration over the scientists’ complaints about the retractions, which were issued in February.

“By retracting three studies by Charlotte Lozier Institute scholars without any legitimate objection to any of the findings, Sage put politics over publication ethics and blatantly disregarded the principles of open inquiry and commitment to science,” said Dr. James Studnicki, vice president and director of data analytics at Charlotte Lozier Institute. “The authors’ well-earned reputations as highly qualified scientists and researchers have been immeasurably harmed. We’re hopeful this opportunity to compel Sage to arbitrate in good faith will shed light on their meritless actions to silence our research.”

The retraction notice from Sage stated that an independent review of the studies was conducted due to a single reader’s complaint that the studies included misleading data and that the authors were affiliated with a pro-life organization, the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

Studnicki, one of the authors on the papers, was also kicked off the editorial board of Sage’s Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology journal, months before the retractions actually took place.

“Sage’s wrongdoing has been causing enormous and incalculable harm to the Authors’ professional reputations, as Sage intended. Because of Sage’s retractions, the Authors and their research have been attacked by the media and by other authors, and the Authors have had new research proposals inexplicably turned away by other publications that now fear associating with them,” lawyers for the scientists wrote in a petition in Ventura Superior Court. “The Authors have years—even decades—of fruitful research ahead of them, but they are now being treated as pariahs.”

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One of the now-retracted studies, published November 9, 2021, found that the rate of emergency room visits following chemical abortions had spiked 500% from 2002-2015, according to Medicaid claims data. Another one of the studies, published May 20, 2022, analyzed the likelihood of recurring emergency room visits for women who did not disclose to doctors that they had a chemical abortion.

These two studies were cited in Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision to suspend FDA approval of mifepristone.

“Politics should never sway science, especially when that science is vital for saving and protecting lives,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Phil Sechler. “Sage punished these highly respected and credentialed scientists simply because they believe in preserving life from conception to natural death.”

In addition to ending the life of an unborn baby, the abortion pill can also come with serious complications for the women who take them. A Georgia woman died in 2022 from complications with the abortion pill because she developed an infection after taking a pill to end the lives of twins she was carrying and the babies remains stayed in her uterus.