Pregnancy Centers Could Face National Attack if Barack Obama Wins
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 9, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Pregnancy centers across the country that provide women with abortion alternatives could be shut down or face severe regulations if Barack Obama wins next month. That’s because a bill targeting pregnancy centers could easily be approved in a pro-abortion Congress and land on Obama’s desk.
Obama has already promised pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood and NARAL that he will be their lap dog in the White House and these are the groups leading the effort to pass the bill.
Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey reintroduced the bill in April in the Senate and issued a statement alleging that pregnancy centers mislead women by giving them information on abortion’s risks and alternatives.
The so-called "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act" would place burdensome regulations on pregnancy centers.
It would also force the Federal Trade Commission to create and enforce rules to prohibit deceptive practices that pregnancy centers say they never use to reach women — such as advertising under the "abortion services" section of the phone book.
Melinda Delahoyde, the president of Care Net, a network of about 1,000 pregnancy centers from across the country, talked about the attacks in a recent interview with CBN News.
"This is not unexpected, when you’re coming against abortion in America. And the hurt and the pain and the lives lost, the lives destroyed through that – there’s always going to be opposition," Delahoyde said.
One leading pro-abortion group, the Feminists Majority Network, has reportedly hired a full-time staff member whose sole job is to launch attacks on pregnancy centers and dig up dirt on them for use in legislation.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York congresswoman, introduced the House version of the attack bill last summer.
In previous comments about her bill she claimed some pregnancy centers "take a more underhanded approach to lure in women seeking abortions by using tactics that should be illegal."
Kristin Hansen, a Care Net representative, previously spoke with LifeNews.com about older versions of this bill, which have never moved past their introduction.
“What’s clear in these attacks is that the multi-million dollar abortion industry is growing increasingly frustrated with the success of pregnancy centers, which, unlike abortion providers, offer a wide range of free services to men and women facing unplanned pregnancy and sexual health-related concerns," Hansen said.
While the bill has not ever been voted on in either the House or Senate, abortion advocates, who are expected to see their numbers increase after the elections, could find themselves emboldened by an Obama presidency and push for the bill harder than they have before.
Related web sites:
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates – https://www.nifla.org
Care Net – https://www.care-net.org
Heartbeat International – https://www.optionline.org
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