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The clinic sued the pregnancy center for stealing data and intercepting patients.
The Four Women Health Services Gynecology Clinic in Attleboro, USA, sued a nearby pregnancy crisis center, accusing it of a cyberattack on a confidential web portal and misinforming patients in order to prevent abortions.
The clinic accuses the Attleboro Women's Health Center (also known as the Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center) of violating laws on computer fraud, consumer protection, and illegal wiretapping.
Four Women has been providing health services since 1998, helping women, especially those from underserved communities. The clinic provides abortion services and surgical abortions. The clinic operates on a commercial basis with insurance or direct payments from patients.
Attleboro Women's Health Center, on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that provides free services. However, according to the lawsuit, the center does not have a state license, despite the fact that it performs pregnancy diagnostics and conducts ultrasound examinations.
According to Reproductive Equity Now, the Attleboro Women's Health Center is a pregnancy crisis center that presents itself as a resource for women with unplanned pregnancies but actually tries to discourage them from having an abortion.
Problems between the two facilities began in 2018 when the Attleboro Women's Health Center tried to open an office in the same building as the Four Women Clinic but did not receive permission. As a result, the center moved to a neighboring building, with which the clinic has a common parking lot.
Representatives of the crisis center repeatedly interfered with the work of the Four Women clinic, trying to interact with patients in the parking lot and hand them information booklets. It is also reported that the center's employees wore the same vests as the clinic's volunteers, confusing patients. In cases where women accidentally entered the crisis center, they were not informed that they had made a mistake, but lengthy procedures were carried out to detain them.
In addition, Four Women accuses the crisis center of cyberattacks on its electronic systems. According to the clinic, the center's employees illegally gained access to confidential messages between patients and the clinic in order to intercept them. Rapid7, a company hired to investigate the incident, identified a vulnerability in third-party platforms that the clinic uses to record patients and maintain medical records.
As one example of a violation, the clinic cites a case when, on October 30, 2023, a patient contacted Four Women through an online platform for scheduling an ultrasound. About 15 minutes later, the woman received a call and made an appointment, but later it turned out that it was not the Four Women, but the Attleboro Women's Health Center crisis center.
Four Women are demanding in court a ban on the crisis center's access to her data, as well as on misleading patients and providing medical services without a license. The clinic is also seeking damages of up to $20,000 and triple damages for unfair competition.
Attleboro Women's Health Center declined to comment on the allegations. At the same time, the Attleboro police did not record any incidents or allegations of an alleged violation.
Source
The Four Women Health Services Gynecology Clinic in Attleboro, USA, sued a nearby pregnancy crisis center, accusing it of a cyberattack on a confidential web portal and misinforming patients in order to prevent abortions.
The clinic accuses the Attleboro Women's Health Center (also known as the Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center) of violating laws on computer fraud, consumer protection, and illegal wiretapping.
Four Women has been providing health services since 1998, helping women, especially those from underserved communities. The clinic provides abortion services and surgical abortions. The clinic operates on a commercial basis with insurance or direct payments from patients.
Attleboro Women's Health Center, on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that provides free services. However, according to the lawsuit, the center does not have a state license, despite the fact that it performs pregnancy diagnostics and conducts ultrasound examinations.
According to Reproductive Equity Now, the Attleboro Women's Health Center is a pregnancy crisis center that presents itself as a resource for women with unplanned pregnancies but actually tries to discourage them from having an abortion.
Problems between the two facilities began in 2018 when the Attleboro Women's Health Center tried to open an office in the same building as the Four Women Clinic but did not receive permission. As a result, the center moved to a neighboring building, with which the clinic has a common parking lot.
Representatives of the crisis center repeatedly interfered with the work of the Four Women clinic, trying to interact with patients in the parking lot and hand them information booklets. It is also reported that the center's employees wore the same vests as the clinic's volunteers, confusing patients. In cases where women accidentally entered the crisis center, they were not informed that they had made a mistake, but lengthy procedures were carried out to detain them.
In addition, Four Women accuses the crisis center of cyberattacks on its electronic systems. According to the clinic, the center's employees illegally gained access to confidential messages between patients and the clinic in order to intercept them. Rapid7, a company hired to investigate the incident, identified a vulnerability in third-party platforms that the clinic uses to record patients and maintain medical records.
As one example of a violation, the clinic cites a case when, on October 30, 2023, a patient contacted Four Women through an online platform for scheduling an ultrasound. About 15 minutes later, the woman received a call and made an appointment, but later it turned out that it was not the Four Women, but the Attleboro Women's Health Center crisis center.
Four Women are demanding in court a ban on the crisis center's access to her data, as well as on misleading patients and providing medical services without a license. The clinic is also seeking damages of up to $20,000 and triple damages for unfair competition.
Attleboro Women's Health Center declined to comment on the allegations. At the same time, the Attleboro police did not record any incidents or allegations of an alleged violation.
Source
