(Reuters) - Arizona abortion providers have sued to block part of a state law that requires doctors to tell women that drug-induced abortions can be reversed, Planned Parenthood has said.
A law due to take effect on July 3 requires doctors to tell patients that the effects of abortion pills may be undone with high doses of a hormone. This provision was hotly contested during legislative debate on the law.
Supporters said abortion reversal was possible if acted upon quickly, but provided no peer-reviewed studies to support this. Critics called the argument "junk science".
"This reckless law forces doctors to lie to their patients, and it puts women's health at risk," Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which runs some 700 health centers across the United States, said on Thursday.
An Arizona chapter of the organization is listed along with physicians as a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Arizona on Thursday that seeks declaratory and injunctive relief.
It argues the state law violates providers' constitutional rights by compelling doctors - against their medical judgment and in violation of medical ethics - to give patients a state-mandated message that is not scientifically supported.
A spokeswoman for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, named in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.