Colo. pays over $6M to settle legal challenge to abortion pill reversal ban
January 8, 2026
The State of Colorado has agreed to pay more than $6 million in legal fees to settle a lawsuit against a state law that barred pro-life groups from providing an abortion pill reversal treatment to women who have started a chemically-induced miscarriage.
The Christian Post reports that Bella Health and Wellness, a pro-life Catholic clinic based in Denver, sued Colorado over a law that prohibited the clinic from counseling women not to complete an abortion pill regimen.
An abortion pill reversal treatment takes place when a pregnant woman undergoing a chemically-induced abortion changes her mind and takes progesterone, a natural hormone, to counteract the effects of the first pill.
In April 2023, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a law labeling any effort to provide or recommend abortion pill reversal as “unprofessional conduct” and “subject to discipline in this state.”
In August 2025, United States District Judge Daniel Domenico for the District of Colorado issued a permanent injunction against enforcing the state law.
Rebekah Ricketts, senior counsel at the religious liberty law firm Becket, which helped represent Bella Health, announced earlier this week that Colorado had agreed to pay $5.4 million in attorneys’ fees to settle the lawsuit.
In a statement provided to the Christian Post, Ricketts said, “At least 18 moms who received abortion pill reversal care at Bella just celebrated Christmas with babies born during this case,” adding, “All Coloradans should celebrate those little miracles and the brave medical team at Bella that helped their moms when no one else would.”
The State of Colorado also agreed to pay $700,000 in legal fees to settle a challenge by nurse practitioner Chelsea Mynyk, who joined the Bella Health lawsuit in 2024.
Kevin Theriot, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Mynyk, said in a statement, “Many women regret their chemical abortions, and some choose to reverse the effects of the first abortion drug, which can save their baby’s life.”
Theriot added, “But Colorado’s law wrongly attempted to deny women the freedom to make that choice. We’re pleased Chelsea and the other pro-life plaintiffs in this suit are allowed to get back to their life-saving work of helping women and children.”
Photo: top, Credit: Takako Phillips/iStock