New York City to Follow Baltimore, Austin in Attacking Pregnancy Centers
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 12, 2010
New York, NY (LifeNews.com) — The New York City Council is moving in the same direction as local officials in Baltimore, Maryland and Austin, Texas. Officials are considering a proposal that would target pregnancy centers that offer women information about abortion alternatives because abortion advocates don’t like them.
Thousands of pregnancy centers provide practice help, information and support for pregnant women unlike anything abortion businesses offer.
Because of that, and their communicating to women accurate information on the risks and dangers associated with an abortion, pro-abortion groups like NARAL and Planned Parenthood have targeted them with new bids to put local ordinances in place making them post disclaimers that the information is reportedly not medically accurate.
Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, and Councilwoman Jessica S. Lappin are upset by a slate of new subway ads promoting some of the centers run by EMC Frontline.
Their proposal, according to the New York Times, would make pregnancy centers include information in their ads saying they do not give out the morning after pill or make abortion referrals.
The bill, expected to be introduced today, would also require pregnancy centers to post the signs with the disclaimers at the entrance of their clinic and in patient waiting and exam rooms. The signs must also say whether or not a licensed medical professional is on staff, though that is frequently the case with most centers.
The New York City measure is a response to a "report" the state pro-abortion group NARAL issued claiming women are given inaccurate information — defined by NARAL as information it doesn’t agree with such as statistics on how abortion increases women’s risk of breast cancer and mental health problems.
Baltimore officials approved a sign ordinance there, although the centers, with the help of the Catholic Archdiocese, have filed a lawsuit to overturn the ordinance.
On April 8, pro-abortion Austin City Council members introduced an ordinance to require pregnancy centers to display similar signs.
The ordinance requires pregnancy centers to prominently display, at the entrance of their office, two black and white signs — one in English and one in Spanish — saying: "This center does not provide abortions or refer to abortion providers. This center does not provide or refer to providers of U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved birth control drugs and medical devices."
In Baltimore, pro-life city council members attempted to get their colleagues to approve an amendment to the ordinance requiring abortion centers to post similar signs saying they do not provide or refer to places that provide abortion alternatives or pregnancy support. Members of the Baltimore city council rejected the amendment.
Melinda Delahoyde, the president of Care Net, a national network of pregnancy centers, told LifeNews.com that such laws are “nonsensical,” “unwarranted,” and “discriminatory.”
Delahoyde said the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute noted the abortion rate in the U.S. has decreased nine percent since 2000 to 19.4 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age in 2005.
That is thanks in part to pregnancy centers that provide women medical, legal, educational, financial and other support during their pregnancies.
“Pregnancy centers help to reduce abortions by providing free, compassionate support and practical help to women facing unplanned pregnancies. For nearly 30 years, the first center Care Net opened, the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, has been faithfully serving the women of Baltimore," the women’s leader told LifeNews.com.
“In this economy, and with abortion on the rise, wouldn’t it make more sense for the City Council to pass a resolution praising the contribution of pregnancy centers, which rely solely on charitable contributions, not on state or local funding?" she asked.
“Sadly, this sends a message to city residents that local pregnancy centers may not be completely forthcoming about their services. This couldn’t be further from the truth and is an affront to women who rely on their support," she added.
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