Sign of the Times

The Baltimore City Council has passed legislation that would, if enacted, require crisis pregnancy centers to display signs saying that they don’t offer birth control or abortions. This measure is annoying on a number of levels, as the libertarian in me generally supports a business’ or charity’s prerogative to operate according to its own mission and guidelines and beliefs. I mean, it’s a bit like telling a Catholic church it must post a sign saying there are no Torahs or Qurans in the pews: Duh. It’s also insulting to the women who go to these centers: Aren’t they smart enough to figure out pretty quickly what a place has to offer? If they wanted an abortion, wouldn’t they have sought out Planned Parenthood or an abortion clinic?

Also, if you’re really pro-choice, as compared to pro-abortion, shouldn’t you want women to be able to get the help they need to bring their children into the world in a warm and secure environment? Shouldn’t you want to work with and encourage people who are trying to help these women? Laws like this send a message that crisis pregnancy centers are the enemy and set up adversarial relationships between the centers and the cities that so desperately need their services.

But, as much as it pains me to say it, the pro-life movement kind of had this coming. If you want to require doctors to recite statements about abortion that they don’t believe or force them to conduct and “describe” ultrasounds for women seeking abortions (laws in South Dakota and Oklahoma, respectively, that have been struck down), you’re opening yourself up to this kind of restriction. Neither side is going to reduce the number of abortions or unintended pregnancies by telling the other side how to deal with the women who come to them.

Tags: abortion referrals, Baltimore City Council, crisis pregnancy centers

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Rachael Larimore Slate copy chief and mother of three. Addicted to coffee, Facebook, and the Sprout channel.

Comments

Crisis pregnancy centers

By: Jules717 | Wed, 11/25/2009 - 13:08

Another problem with some crisis pregnancy centers is that they are affiliated with or own adoption agencies. Some mothers have accused the centers of pressuring them to give their children up for adoption when they wanted to raise them, and even of withholding aid unless they were planning to give their children up.

I'm sure many CPCs are legitimate and honest charities, but I think the picture you have of these centers as a whole is too idealized and rosy.

Who is insulting the intelligence of these women?

By: qualm | Wed, 11/25/2009 - 12:28

Duh. It’s also insulting to the women who go to these centers: Aren’t they smart enough to figure out pretty quickly what a place has to offer? If they wanted an abortion, wouldn’t they have sought out Planned Parenthood or an abortion clinic?

Actually, no, THIS is insulting. You are insulting women who are getting duped during a personal crisis.

Kit-Kat is right on.

By: auros | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 19:24

Also, in regard to the "must read" statements being handed to doctors by medically-ignorant legislators: There is a huge difference between requiring a medical professional to read a statement that is deceptive, if not outright false, versus requiring businesses that are known to engage in deceptive practices to start being a little more truthful.

Does your "libertarian streak" drive you to believe that restaurants should be able to advertise a $10 price in the window and on the menu and then charge people $15? Should an incompetent, unlicensed plumber be allowed to advertise himself as licensed without consequence? Governments intervene all the time in the market, to ensure that we, as consumers, can have a little more trust in the information that businesses provide. Providing a level playing field, and preventing fraud, is one of the core functions of government.

Um, do you not know anything about these centers?

By: Kit-Kat | Tue, 11/24/2009 - 16:56

Many of these so-called crisis pregnancy centers actively work to disguise their true nature, which is to prevent women from having abortions. Although there are certainly legitimate CPCs, there are some extremely bad apples. These mislead women into believing that they do provide abortions or contraception, including having themselves listed under "Abortion Services" in the yellow pages of the phone book, using names that are almost identical to the names of legitimate clinics in order to divert business, and lying to women who call in to inquire about the services they offer. They pose as medical clinics even if they do not have any medical staff and are not licensed by the state. They provide false and misleading information about the health risks of abortion. They have been sued for trademark infringement, medical malpractice, fraud, and false advertising.

In other words, they are not helping women. They are lying to them. There is no freedom to operate your business, whatever it is, through the use of fraudulent and illegal means. The legislation, which is not the first of its kind, is an attempt to help women make informed choices and avoid being the victims of fraud and deception.

Please, please, try to learn something about a topic before you post on it. I know it's fun to make snarky comments and flip judgments, but you'd look a lot less stupid if you tried doing at least the bare minimum of research.