Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Update on Baltimore CPCs
Not much media on this story. I seem to only be able to find articles from pro-life sources or pro-choice sources, all of which are written more like editorials than news stories. I was trying to find out if in fact the bill requiring crisis pregnancy centers in Baltimore to post that they do not dispense birth control or provide abortions. I confirmed through my local sources that in fact the bill was signed by Mayor Sheila Dixon, who by the way, is resigning as of Feb. 4, due to her guilty plea to perjury and embezzlement charges brought up against her last month. The bill went into effect Jan. 1.
In this pro-choice coverage of the bill, the author compared abortion clinics to crisis pregnancy centers to apples and oranges. Actually, it is even more dramatic a difference than that. Planned Parenthood and many other abortion clinics make tons of money, but are tax-exempt, and receive federal subsidies. Pregnancy centers have never claimed to be comprehensive health care organizations. They purely non-profit and receive most of their funding from private donors and faith-organizations. They are more like social services, providing counseling, resources, and referrals to doctors who will provide health care without pressuring women into abortions. Because they do not claim to be abortion clinics, or even clinics at all, I do not see why they have to post signs stating what medical services they do not provide. Maybe we should pass a law to have abortion clinics post signs that state: "Warning to pregnant mothers: we terminate the lives of unborn infants and dispense medication can interfere with your fertility."
More bad news: City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who sponsored the bill, will become mayor when Dixon steps down. Also, Montgomery County also has pending legislation for an even more restrictive bill. According to NARAL's website:
In this pro-choice coverage of the bill, the author compared abortion clinics to crisis pregnancy centers to apples and oranges. Actually, it is even more dramatic a difference than that. Planned Parenthood and many other abortion clinics make tons of money, but are tax-exempt, and receive federal subsidies. Pregnancy centers have never claimed to be comprehensive health care organizations. They purely non-profit and receive most of their funding from private donors and faith-organizations. They are more like social services, providing counseling, resources, and referrals to doctors who will provide health care without pressuring women into abortions. Because they do not claim to be abortion clinics, or even clinics at all, I do not see why they have to post signs stating what medical services they do not provide. Maybe we should pass a law to have abortion clinics post signs that state: "Warning to pregnant mothers: we terminate the lives of unborn infants and dispense medication can interfere with your fertility."
More bad news: City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who sponsored the bill, will become mayor when Dixon steps down. Also, Montgomery County also has pending legislation for an even more restrictive bill. According to NARAL's website:
This bill would require Montgomery County non-medical CPCs to provide clients with a disclaimer that the information that the limited service pregnancy center provides is not intended to be medical advice or to establish a doctor-patient relationship that she should consult with a health care provider before proceeding on a course of action regarding her pregnancy.These bills set a very bad precedent for the rest of the country.
