NY AG sues anti-abortion group known for blocking access to clinics

NEW YORK (AP) — New York's attorney general filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday against an anti-abortion group whose members have been arrested for blocking access to health care clinics in New York and other states.

The group, Red Rose Rescue, "has made it their mission to terrorize reproductive health care providers and the patients they serve,” said Attorney General Letitia James said in announcing the lawsuit against the organization and several members who she said have trespassed at suburban New York clinics, occupied waiting rooms and barricaded entrances.

The lawsuit filed in federal court for the Southern District of New York seeks to prevent Red Rose members from coming within 30 feet of any reproductive health care facility in addition to civil penalties and damages.

Red Rose Rescue started in 2017 and has staged actions in states including New Mexico and Michigan, in addition to New York. A message seeking comment on the New York lawsuit was sent to the organization.

Red Rose members have been criminally charged and convicted for actions carried out at three New York clinics — two on Long Island, one in Westchester County — in 2021 and 2022.

James said one member got inside All Women’s Health in White Plains on Nov. 27, 2021, by pretending to be a patient, then opened the doors to fellow Red Rose members who occupied the waiting room. Three Red Rose members who took part in that action were sentenced to three mo...