Excessive California Abortion Law

California Forces Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers to Promote Abortion Programs, by Philip Hodges 1/6/16

(CNS) Effective January 1^st, pro-life pregnancy centers in California have to provide pregnant women with information about free or low-cost abortion options that are offered elsewhere. If these centers refuse to provide that information, they’re fined $500 for the first offense, and $1,000 for every subsequent offense. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) and the Pacific Justice Institute both filed lawsuits on behalf of six pregnancy centers following

Arguing that the law violates their First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and free exercise of religion, the clinics sought preliminary and permanent injunctions against the law. The requests for preliminary injunctions were denied in the past couple of weeks.

The Pacific Justice Institute’s request for injunction was denied on December 21 by U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller in Sacramento.

“Though the public interest favors upholding the First Amendment, the public interest also favors ensuring California women are fully informed as to their reproductive healthcare options,” Mueller argued.  She also ruled the centers’ free speech claim was not likely to succeed in court.

“Judge Mueller determined that the interests of the clinics in refusing to promote abortion were outweighed by the interests of the State to ensure women receive information about all their options,” the Pacific Justice Institute said in a statement.

“This ruling should alarm everyone who believes in a robust First Amendment,” said institute president Brad Dacus. “The notion that the government can compel religious non-profits to promote practices antithetical to their values is chilling.”

The rationale is that these women end up not being “fully informed.” Democrats think that pro-life pregnancy centers are deliberately misleading women into believing that their only option is to go through childbirth.

Did it ever cross these pro-abortion politicians’ minds that maybe the whole point of having crisis pregnancy centers is to provide an alternative to abortion? Abortion is the norm nowadays. Everyone knows about it, and especially in a state like California, if a pregnant woman wanted to get an abortion, she could get one.

Pregnant women go to crisis pregnancy centers, because they’re not sure what to do. They’re scared. They need help. They need someone to talk to. A crisis pregnancy center will provide them with counsel, encouragement, and options, including adoption.

Democrats will of course interpret that as “forced childbirth.” But we could say the same thing about abortion centers. They’re there to talk women into having abortions. They’ll convince the woman that she’s not ready to have a baby. And besides, she doesn’t make enough money, and she’s too young and irresponsible. The only “responsible” and “compassionate” thing to do is to kill the child inside her so that she can get on with her life. Oh, and abortion centers don’t promote crisis pregnancy centers. So, in that case, it’s perfectly fine not to be “fully-informed.”

A woman who chooses to go to a crisis pregnancy center can at any time leave if she’s not satisfied. At no time is she forced to stay there. If the woman decides to have her baby and put her baby up for adoption, that’s her choice, not the pregnancy center’s. While a woman might also choose to go the abortion route, what they conveniently leave out is that that baby’s life is not hers or the doctor’s to take.

http://lastresistance.com/15598/california-forces-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-to-promote-abortion-programs/

Comments

California continues to shrink due to bad state governance.  High taxes, businesses leaving, corrupt state legislature, oppressive regional commissions violating property rights, lack of reservoirs and lack of water are all due to bad state governance.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader