On Friday, California became the first state to pass a law regulating the nearly 170 anti-abortion clinics in the state. Barely 48 hours later, two clinics had already sued California Attorney General Kamala Harris, deeming the new law unconstitutional.
The law, called the called the Reproductive FACT Act, requires clinics commonly referred to as “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” (CPCs) to inform their patients about how they can obtain affordable birth control, abortion, and prenatal care. If the CPC does not have a medical license, staff must inform each patient that their their clinic is not licensed to provide health care.
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However, the lawsuit claims this act “unconstitutionally compels [the clinics] to speak messages that they have not chosen, with which they do not agree, and that distract, and detract from, the messages they have chosen to speak,” therefore undermining their free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
This constitutional argument has been the key to shutting down similar laws in the past. Cities like Austin, Baltimore, and New York City have all been sued for violating clinics’ freedom of speech and religion with laws regulating CPCs. In each case, the laws were overturned. Supporters of the Reproductive FACT Act, which is the first law passed at the state level, hope it won’t see the same fate.
[See: You Won’t Believe What New York Tried To Make Crisis Pregnancy Centers Post For Women! Look How Judges Responded...]
In the process of crafting the bill, state and advocacy groups like NARAL tried to ensure they wouldn’t fall into the same legal trap as the cities before them. They expected a lawsuit. In the past, Everitt said, courts have upheld that that the state has authority to regulate speech done in the course of a profession, like in providing medical services — which could negate the free speech argument.
California Becomes The First State To Crack Down On Misleading 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers' | ThinkProgress
See also:: California Law Prohibits Phony Pregnancy Centers From Lying And Evangelicals Are Furious
What the CPC system is so terrified of with California’s new “truth in advertising,” or prohibition against “false advertising,” law is that the entire crisis pregnancy center system is founded on the principle that it is necessary and acceptable to lie to women to trick and frighten them into giving birth and in many cases getting pregnant. It is just a typical and standard anti-choice procedure closely related to the Mormon concept of “lying for the lord” which is all well and good to garner more tithing adherents, but it is unacceptable for deceiving women with “medical advice” borne of religious mendacity to make them birthing machines.
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However, the evangelicals at CPCs actually know for a fact, and believe, that not only is “abortion incredibly safe,” it is actually 14 times safer than giving birth. CPCs claim that “abortion is bad and has many adverse side effects. Abortion is associated with preterm birth, emotion (sic) and psychological impact, and spiritual consequences.” As the pro-choice organization NARAL reported in a study of California CPCs, lying is the norm and most important tool that CPCs use to pressure and frighten women into giving birth no matter the consequences to the woman. Lying for religion is what CPCs regard as sound, fact-based medical advice, and now the organization is very, very angry that California passed a law forcing them to be truthful.
