Maryland Pregnancy Center Livid Over Having to Tell the Truth

by Roxann MtJoy · 2010-05-25 06:00:00 UTC
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Centro Tepeyac Women's Center, an anti-abortion pregnancy center in Montgomery County, Maryland, has filed a lawsuit against the county over a law requiring it to post information about the type of services it provides. Specifically, the law requires that the center post a disclaimer that there is no licensed medical professional on staff and that a consultation with such a professional is encouraged.

Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) sure do hate it when they are forced to reveal the true nature of their business. Funny, isn't it? Most businesses want nothing more than for the public to understand what services they offer. Crisis pregnancy centers, clearly, are not most businesses. For the uninitiated, CPCs are agencies that claim to offer comprehensive care to pregnant women, but fail to provide abortion services or referrals, dole out misleading information, and often, as in the case in Maryland, don't even have medical professionals on staff.

Lawyers for the Centro Tepeyac Women's Center claim that the law is an example of religious discrimination. Mark Rienzi, an attorney representing Centro Tepeyac, says, "The government cannot create special speech rules just because people want to talk about pregnancy choices." Ummm... Mark? No one created "special rules" because women wanted to discuss their options. The county passed a law so that women would be able to make informed decisions about where to seek counsel.

If there is nothing wrong with what the CPCs are doing and they believe their services are the best, then what have they got to lose by letting people know what they are all about? The only time honesty isn't the best policy is when you've got something to hide.

This isn't the first time that a center has sued over mandatory disclaimers. Last month, Alex DiBranco told you about a Baltimore CPC that was suing the city for the same reason. Like I said, these centers really hate it when they have to tell the truth about what services they do and do not provide. It is important to realize that these deceptive pregnancy centers are everywhere, not just Maryland. According to the Feminist Majority Foundation, there are an estimated 3,500 CPCs nationwide and 87% of those have been found to "provide false and misleading information about birth control and abortion." This is unacceptable.  Tell Congress to support legislation that would stop CPCs’ deceptive advertising practices.

Photo credit: Dyanna

Roxann MtJoy is a freelance writer who previously worked as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter. She is currently attending graduate school for theater in Mount Vernon, N.Y.

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