2008 Legislative Issues

Legislative Issues

Legislative Session Spotlight 2008:
Crisis Pregnancy Centers under Attack

Maryland Right to Life was instrumental in stopping a bill in the 2008 General Assembly that would have crippled the ability of Maryland's Crisis Pregnancy Centers to serve women in need.

The bill would have required all pregnancy centers that do not provide abortions to tell their clients, "We are not required to provide factually accurate information." This would have undermined the credibility of the centers and confused the women who come to them for help.

Background
Last winter, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland released a report titled “The Truth Revealed,” which claimed that Maryland pregnancy centers threaten women's health by providing false information about abortion. The report was based on visits to 11 of Maryland's crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) by 12 NARAL interns posing as pregnant women in need. The NARAL report considered any mention of post-abortion syndrome or a possible increased risk of breast cancer following an abortion as examples of the “deception” supposedly practiced by the CPCs.

NARAL turned their allegations into a proposed bill known as SB690/ HB1146: Limited Service Pregnancy Centers-Disclaimers. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Richard S. Madeleno (D-18) and Jennie Forehand (D-17) and Del. Roger P. Manno (D-19), would have required CPCs to give a disclaimer upon their first interaction with a potential client.

In other words, CPC volunteers would have been forced to impugn their own integrity and undermine the confidence of women who come to them for free support, counseling, and financial assistance.

MDRTL's Response
Recognizing that CPCs do not lobby and would need aid in combatting this attack, MDRTL partnered with Nancy Paltell, pro-life representative of the Maryland Catholic Conference, to develop a defense strategy. The first step was to contact every CPC in the state and alert them to the danger. Next, MDRTL convened a meeting in the Annapolis office to discuss a defense strategy. Calls followed to CareNet, Heartbeat International, and the National Institute of Family & Life Advocates.

A coalition was born! Our mission: to show legislators that Maryland's CPCs are committed to strict standards of integrity; to defend the CPCs against NARAL's biased allegations; and to illustrate the harmful impact that this bill would ultimately have on the thousands of women who annually receive free services from Maryland's crisis pregnancy centers.

Success
The coalition put together a stellar line-up to testify at the Senate and House committee hearings. CPC directors and medical staff, licensed social workers, constitutional law attorneys, CPC clients, medical experts, and religious leaders testified in opposition to the bills. The committee members learned that Maryland's CPCs provide free services to more than 30,000 clients each year, at no cost to the state.

When the hearings were over, you went to work! Planned Parenthood Maryland, in its 2008 state legislative summary, said this about your efforts: "The Maryland pro-choice community did not generate the grassroots response to counter the huge anti-choice response."

So, kudos to all you "anti-choice" grass roots! Thanks to you, the bill died in both the House and Senate committees without a vote.

What Now?
The attack on crisis pregnancy centers is not over. Similar initiatives have been attempted in other states and at the federal level. We anticipate that Planned Parenthood Maryland and NARAL Pro-choice Maryland will bring this legislation back in the 2009 session.

Download a fact sheet on Maryland pregnancy centers

Download MDRTL pregnancy center petition

Go to prior year voting records

The pregnancy center directors gather in the Maryland Right to Life office to plan a legislative strategy for the 2008 General Assembly.