MILWAUKEE, WI — July 15, 2026 — Today 13 people from across the country joined together to demand that Live Action News—the self-described “news arm” of the extremist anti-abortion organization Live Action—issue an apology and retract the dozens of articles and social media posts it has published about them. They are represented  by Amplify Legal, the litigation arm of Abortion in America, who sent a cease and desist letter to Live Action today detailing their pattern of publishing false and defamatory statements about people who ended doomed pregnancies. The anti-abortion website targeted these grieving families, labeling them as “killers” and in some cases exposing them to death threats.

The group that has come forward to demand an end to Live Action News’ malicious disinformation campaign includes people from 7 states who at the time of their fatal fetal diagnoses were living in  Wisconsin, Texas, Idaho and Iowa. They decided to seek abortion care after receiving devastating fatal fetal diagnoses because it was the best and most compassionate choice for their families, their health, and their future fertility. 

Live Action News has claimed that these families “wanted” to “kill” their babies, incorrectly arguing that the diagnoses were not fatal or that the pregnant person’s health was not at risk. For example:

• Kate Cox of Texas has been defamed by Live Action News several dozen times, including statements that she “eugenically killed” her wanted pregnancy. 

• Megan Kling of Wisconsin has feared for her life and the lives of her husband and children as a result of Live Action News’s false, defamatory statements about her. 

• Taylor and Travis Edwards of Texas received death threats as a direct result of Live Action News’s defamatory lies about them. 

The letter demands that Live Action News immediately remove all articles about these families from their website and social media accounts, and issue a public apology retracting all false statements by July 28. 

Though these posts are often labeled as “fact checks,” Live Action News has never reached out to any of Amplify Legal’s clients or their medical providers for comment or clarification before publication. In fact, when Texas mother Ashley Brandt contacted Live Action News to correct the record, she never received a response.  Live Action News has repeatedly published blatant lies while linking to articles debunking those very lies in the same sentence. 

“I knew my baby would not survive,” said Kling, who was pregnant and raising two daughters when she and her husband received a devastating fetal diagnosis. “To me, continuing to carry the pregnancy would have meant prolonged suffering, not only for my baby, who would have been crushed by the time I gave birth, but for myself. The cruelty of carrying a baby who could not survive felt like pure torture. Live Action knew all of this, yet their articles about me falsely stated that I could’ve saved my son. Their behavior is cruel, twisted, and borderline obsessive. That’s why I’m proud to join with the other families to demand an end to Live Action’s hate and abuse.” 

“The harm caused by this deliberate spread of disinformation adds to the trauma these families have already experienced because abortion bans prevented them from receiving the compassionate medical care they needed,” said Lauren Peterson, Chief Executive Officer of Abortion in America. “Live Action’s medically inaccurate and dangerous statements show exactly why decisions about pregnancy should be made by families and their doctors – not politicians or anti-abortion websites.” 

“The lying, bullying, and complete disregard for the truth must end now,” said Molly Duane, Litigation Director of Amplify Legal. “Live Action needs to be held accountable for exacerbating the harms our clients have endured, and for putting their lives at risk. What they are doing is not only cruel – it’s illegal.”

The demand letter can be found HERE.

The individuals:

• Megan Kling (Wisconsin) learned at around 20 weeks’ gestation that her baby had a severe form of Potter Syndrome, meaning that he had developed with no kidneys. Doctors informed Ms. Kling that the baby had no chance of survival: he lacked other critical internal organs, including his bladder, and his brain and heart were not developing as expected. Because of the laws in place in Wisconsin at the time, Ms. Kling and her husband were forced to travel out-of-state to receive an abortion via induction of labor. Months later, Live Action News published defamatory statements, including that she was “angry” she could not have her baby “killed” in her home state. These false statements were made around the same time a man with deeply held anti-abortion beliefs was accused of fatally shooting Minnesota state lawmakers, and had a “hit list” that included several Wisconsin lawmakers and abortion rights advocates, causing Ms. Kling and her family severe emotional distress and fear for their safety. 

• Jennifer Adkins (Idaho) was 12 weeks pregnant when she and her husband, John Adkins, learned that their baby had a severe and fatal form of Turner Syndrome, a condition where one of the X chromosomes is deleted early in development. Doctors told Ms. Adkins she was at high risk for developing mirror syndrome, a life threatening condition that causes edema and preeclampsia. Live Action News acknowledged the severity of her diagnosis yet still falsely represented that she and her husband were told “their daughter might have a non-terminal condition,” and so she and her husband simply had “eugenic motives” to “kill [their] living baby.”  The Adkins family now live in Utah.

• Ashley Brandt (Texas) was 12 weeks pregnant with identical twins when one was diagnosed with acrania, a fatal condition where the fetus does not develop a skull. The best chance of survival for the other twin was an abortion for the twin with acrania, which Ms. Brandt was forced to seek out of state. Live Action News published false statements including that her abortion “was not medically necessary” and the “aborted twin was denied her humanity, unnecessarily labeled a threat to her sibling, and killed by abortion.” Because of Live Action News’s defamatory publications, Ms. Brandt now lives in fear that her daughter will be exposed to the lies that paint both Ms. Brandt and her daughter as having “killed” her twin. 

• Samantha Casiano (Texas) was 20 weeks pregnant when she was told that her baby would not survive due to anencephaly, a severe diagnosis where a baby is born without part of the brain or skull. Unable to obtain an abortion in Texas and without the resources necessary to travel out of state to receive care, Ms. Casiano was forced to carry the pregnancy to term and witness her daughter, who she named Halo, struggle in pain for the few short hours of her life. Live Action News acknowledged Ms. Casiano’s diagnosis, yet still falsely stated that “intentional killing by induced abortion is not necessary for anencephaly, as the condition it [sic] is not dangerous in any way to the mother.” 

• Kate Cox (Texas) learned at around 20 weeks that her baby had a fatal form of Trisomy 18 and had no chance of survival. Doctors informed Ms. Cox that carrying the pregnancy placed her own health and future fertility at risk. Live Action News knew that Ms. Cox’s diagnosis was  fatal, yet it still claimed that Cox’s daughter “wasn’t necessarily doomed to die.” Live Action News has in fact repeatedly asserted that Ms. Cox’s diagnosis was not fatal in over 25 different articles, videos, and social media posts about her. 

• Dr. Austin Dennard (Texas) was 11 weeks pregnant when her baby was diagnosed with anencephaly. Though Live Action News quoted Dr. Dennard affirmatively stating that “there was absolutely no chance of survival”, it then claimed Dr. Dennard’s abortion “was desired and elective” and she just wanted to “hurry up and kill a child.” 

• Jessica Djukanovic (Iowa) was around 10 weeks pregnant when her baby was diagnosed with a fatal form of Trisomy 18 and she developed mirror syndrome, a life-threatening condition that caused chest pain, swelling, and emerging kidney dysfunction. Without reviewing her records, Live Action News falsely stated that Ms. Djukanovic’s diagnoses had “absolutely no medical support” and “the situation was not an emergency.” 

• Taylor and Travis Edwards (Texas) learned at their 17-week ultrasound that their baby had encephalocele, a fatal condition which causes brain matter to herniate out of the skull. Their doctors told them that no fetal surgery could correct their specific case and that their baby would not survive. Live Action News linked to articles confirming the severity of the diagnosis, yet asserted that they “dismembered” their baby. Live Action’s post about Mr. and Ms. Edwards generated almost two million views on X and resulted in hundreds of hateful comments and death threats, causing Ms. Edwards to fear for her reputation and her employment. 

• Lauren Miller (Texas) learned she was pregnant with twins when she was diagnosed in the emergency room with hyperemesis gravidarum, a severe form of nausea that carries significant risks for pregnant people and their babies. A few weeks later, Ms. Miller was told that one of the twins had a severe form of Trisomy 18, as well as several other fatal diagnoses. Live Action News acknowledged Ms. Miller’s fatal diagnosis but nonetheless stated that because other babies with far less severe forms of Trisomy 18 have survived, Ms. Miller’s baby could have as well, and she simply chose to “kill” her “unhealthy” baby. 

• Kayla Smith (Idaho) has a history of preeclampsia—a pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and organ damage—and was 19 weeks into an already high-risk pregnancy when her ultrasound revealed her baby had a severe heart condition. Doctors said her condition was the worst they had ever seen and was not operable, but Live Action News nonetheless repeatedly insisted that her baby’s conditions were “operable” and abortion was “not medically necessary". Ms. Smith and her family now live in Washington State.

• Jilliane St.Michel (Idaho) was told at 20 weeks that her baby had several fatal genetic and developmental conditions impacting multiple organs, including the heart, bones, and lungs. Yet, when describing her diagnosis Live Action News still put scare quotes around “fatal” and asserted that “dismembering” Ms. St.Michel’s baby was “not necessary.” Ms. St.Michel and her family now live in Minnesota.

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The individuals are represented by Molly Duane and Victoria Abut of Amplify Legal, the litigation arm of Abortion in America.

Abortion in America, a project of Hopewell Fund, is a national effort to bring greater public attention and urgency to the toll abortion bans are taking on people’s health, lives, work, and families. Abortion in America is focused on documenting and sharing personal stories, supporting and organizing people who come forward to share their experiences, and creating change with organizing, strategic partnerships, and litigation through Amplify Legal. To learn more about Abortion in America, please visit abortioninamerica.org.