DENVER, Colorado — A federal court has ordered Colorado to pay $5.4 million in attorneys’ fees after the state lost a lawsuit over a law that banned abortion pill reversal treatments, according to a ruling issued this week.
The fees will be paid to Becket, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization that represented Bella Health and Wellness, a Denver-area Catholic health clinic. The lawsuit challenged a 2023 state law that classified it as “unprofessional conduct” for medical providers to offer medication intended to reverse the effects of abortion drugs after a woman had taken the first pill but decided to continue her pregnancy.
The law was sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Janice Marchman and signed by Gov. Jared Polis. Supporters argued it was intended to prevent deceptive practices by what the legislation described as “anti-abortion centers.” Bella Health and Wellness filed suit the same day the bill was signed.
A federal judge quickly issued a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the law, followed two years later by a permanent injunction. In that ruling, the court found the ban violated the clinic’s First Amendment rights and concluded the state failed to demonstrate a compelling interest in prohibiting abortion pill reversal treatments.
The judge noted that while the clinical efficacy of the treatment remains debated, there was no evidence of patient harm and documented cases of successful births following the treatment.
The decision marked the first time such a ban was struck down nationwide, and the fee award concludes the case’s litigation phase.
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