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CNS Story:
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CLINICS-SERVICES Nov-30-2009 (590 words) xxxn
Pro-lifers vow to fight new requirements imposed on pregnancy centers
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Catholic News Service
BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Pro-life leaders are vowing to fight a measure passed Nov. 23 by the Baltimore City Council that imposes new requirements on four pregnancy resource centers in the city.
The bill, approved in a 12-3 vote, requires pro-life pregnancy centers to post signs stating that they do not provide abortion or birth control.
Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien had campaigned against the bill, arguing that it unfairly singles out pro-life centers for harassment.
"To say I'm disappointed is too mild," said Nancy Paltell, associate director for the respect life department of the Maryland Catholic Conference. "I'm disgusted that lobbying organizations like Planned Parenthood and NARAL hold such power over a governmental body like the City Council."
Paltell was holding out hope that Mayor Sheila Dixon will veto the bill, and she urged pro-life supporters to let the mayor know they oppose the measure.
"It's just bad public policy," said Paltell, a representative of the state's Catholic bishops in Annapolis, the state capital. "There's no reason to put that blemish on Baltimore City. It's unnecessary, unfair and unwarranted."
Paltell pointed out that City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, lead sponsor of the measure, acknowledged that pregnancy resource centers do "good and charitable work."
"We should leave them alone," Paltell said, noting that the centers offer help with clothing, baby supplies, counseling, job referrals and other services.
"The state and the city are sending clients to these charities because they are providing services that no other city or state agency provides," Paltell said.
Sean Caine, communications director for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, said the archdiocese was considering suing the city should the bill become law. Paltell noted that several other groups were taking the same path.
Supporters also have organized a petition drive to amend the city charter to prohibit the City Council from passing legislation requiring any speech concerning abortion and birth control.
When she introduced the bill in October, Rawlings-Blake said its purpose was to promote "truth in advertising." She acknowledged that lobbyists for groups that support legal abortion asked her to sponsor the measure after they alleged that pro-life pregnancy centers were giving out misleading information. During a hearing, none of the 50 people who testified was an actual patient who claimed to have been misled.
Councilman James B. Kraft was the only lawmaker who rose to speak on the bill prior to the Nov. 23 vote. He opposed it, he said, because it does not require women's centers that provide abortion to indicate what pregnancy-related services they do not offer. His amendment to broaden the bill had been defeated in a 10-5 vote Nov. 16.
"It should not just apply to these four centers," Kraft said.
Carol A. Clewes, executive director of the Center for Pregnancy Concerns in Baltimore, said she was not optimistic Dixon, who supports keeping abortion legal, will veto the bill.
"The Center for Pregnancy Concerns doesn't feel nearly as welcomed in the city of Baltimore as it used to," Clewes said of the measure's passage. She asserted that the bill "impugns our integrity."
Although pro-life centers already post signs saying they do not provide abortion or birth control, Clewes said her charity will comply with the bill if it becomes law.
The Baltimore bill, which imposes a $150 daily fine on pregnancy centers that fail to post signs, is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation. Elsewhere in the state, the council that governs Montgomery County, a Washington suburban area, was considering a similar measure.
END
Copyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
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