There have been a series of recent legal attacks launched against pregnancy centers around the country by NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League). These law suits aim to restrict the freedom of speech of pregnancy centers by requiring them to post signs designed to scare women away.
Before understanding the NARAL attacks, it is imperative to know how successful these pregnancy centers have been. According to Heartbeat International, a non-profit Pro-Life organization, there are over 2000 pregnancy resource centers, Pro-Life medical clinics, and maternity homes nationwide. These organizations provide women with the most important tools of the Pro-Life movement: hope, love, and the emotional, physical, and spiritual care they desperately need. Pregnancy centers have begun to turn the tide against the culture of death and as abortion sales have fallen, NARAL and Planned Parenthood now understand what a threat these centers have become.
The strategy that NARAL is using to attack these centers is comprehensive, complex, and poses a real danger of becoming successful. Heartbeat International summarizes the approach as two-fold. The first step is to publish studies that centers “mislead” women. These studies are composed of fraudulent evidence, often gathered by women on the NARAL and Planned Parenthood payroll sent into the centers posing as clients.
The next step of the strategy involves finding “sympathetic lawmakers” who will push for legal restrictions against the centers. The restrictions often force centers to post huge signs that declare what services the centers do not offer. For example, centers can be required to post signs stating that they do not provide contraceptives or abortions and that state health officials encourage women to make appointments with licensed health care providers. In Austin, TX and Montgomery County, Maryland these signs are already required. They have no discernable purpose other than to try to scare already frightened women away from the one place they can get Pro-Life help.
It is important to help protect these pregnancy resource centers so that they can continue their important life-saving work. Locate the centers are in your area, and find out how you can support them either financially or by volunteering.
Read more about NARAL’s attack on pregnancy centers:
Hartshorn, Peggy. “Pregnancy Centers Fight Back Against NARAL Attacks” St. Michael Society. 02 June 2010.http://stmichaelsociety.com/2010/06/02/guest-post-pregnancy-centers-fight-back-against-naral-attacks/