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Maryland Right to Life, Inc. 420 Chinquapin Round Rd. Suite 2-I Annapolis, MD 21401 Phones: (410) 269-6397
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Current Legislative Efforts
Abortion Lobby Seeks to Discredit Pregnancy Centers
Bill Enacted in Baltimore City; Another Considered in Montgomery County
The attack engineered by NARAL Pro-choice Maryland and Planned Parenthood against Maryland's pregnancy centers continues, despite strong grassroots opposition to the effort. Abortion proponents were successful in Baltimore City, enacting a bill to require pro-life pregnancy centers to post certain signs listing the “services not provided,” i.e., abortion.
Currently, the Montgomery County Council is considering a proposed regulation that would require pro-life pregnancy to make certain statements to clients that would have the effect discrediting themselves to the very women they are seeking to serve.
The ultimate goal of these legislative efforts is to keep vulnerable women away from resources that might encourage them to choose life for their unborn babies. The attacks are similar to one launched in the Maryland General Assembly in 2008, but it is centered this time in local legislative councils.
The abortion lobby claims these bill are necessary to protect women's health, supposedly because dishonest pregnancy centers deceive, manipulate, and trick women into staying pregnant against their will in order to promote the “anti-choice” agenda. These bills would be the first of their kind in the country and could be used as a precedent to promote similar, and even more restrictive, legislation elsewhere.
Their effort to impose discriminatory and unwarranted regulations on Maryland’s pregnancy centers follows a 2007 “investigation,” in which NARAL interns posing as pregnancy center clients visited 12 Maryland centers gathering “evidence” of what they claimed were deceitful practices. The so-called investigation, in itself deceitful, became the basis of a widely circulated report titled The Truth Revealed: Maryland Crisis Pregnancy Center Investigations.
The Attack on Baltimore's Pregnancy Centers
In Baltimore, the bill would require pro-life pregnancy centers (but not any facilities serving pregnant women that are not specifically pro-life) to post easily-readable signs in two languages listing the services they do not provide. Attempts to amend the bill to require other facilities that provide services to pregnant women to post similar signs failed twice, demonstrating conclusively that the purpose of the bill is to target pro-life pregnancy resource centers.
The bill passed the Baltimore City Council on Nov. 23 by a vote of 12–3. Mayor Sheila Dixon has signed the bill into law on December 4, 2009.
A complete timeline, with roll call votes, is found below.
The Montgomery County Proposal
Duchy Trachtenberg, a Council member who is a past president of the Maryland chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), introduced a pregnancy center bill on Nov. 10. The Montgomery County Bill would go further than the Baltimore bill, requiring pro-life pregnancy resource centers to provide clients with a disclaimer that the information they provide “is not intended to be medical advice or to establish a doctor-patient relationship” and that the client “should consult with a health care provider” before deciding whether to keep the baby.
One of the county‘s four pregnancy resource centers, the Rockville Pregnancy Center, is in fact a licensed medical clinic. It was not initially clear how the proposed bill would be interpreted with regard to pro-life pregnancy resource centers with a medical license.
The Montgomery County Council held a public hearing on the bill from 7:30 to 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 1. Much of the testimony — and a majority of the public who attended —opposed the bill. So many people came out to oppose the bill that an overflow room was designated, and that room itself overflowed.
The bill is being sent to the Health and Human Services Committee, which will hold a hearing on Thursday, Dec. 10.
| 10/5 | Baltimore City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake introduces bill, titled Limited-Service Pregnancy Centers – Disclaimers (09-0406), which is co-sponsored by 10 of the Council's 14 other council members. Targeting the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns and other pregnancy centers operating in Baltimore, it would require pro-life pregnancy centers to post signs indicating that they do not refer for or provide abortions or birth control. The bill is assigned to the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Commmittee. |
| 10/27 | The Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee hold a public hearing on Bill 09-0406. Nearly 3 hours of testimony is heard from city residents, pregnancy resource center directors and staff, and representatives from Care Net, Heartbeat International, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and Maryland Right to Life, as well as Planned Parenthood and NARAL. None of the testimony shows that any woman has ever been harmed by a Baltimore pregnancy center. |
| 11/2 | The Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee holds a public voting session on 09-0406 and corresponding amendments. The Committee approves amendments requiring that pregnancy centers not in compliance receive a notification citation before a fine is imposed, changing the penalty from a criminal offense to a civil or environmental citation (handled within a City Department, rather than through the court system), and changing the fine from $500 per day to $150 per day. The committee rejects amendments to require abortion providers to post similar signs listing services they do not provide and chooses not to take up other amendments such as delaying the time the bill would go into effect if passed. The Committee then votes in favor of referring the bill to the whole Council by a vote of 3–1. |
| 11/16 | The Baltimore City Council holds a vote, called 2nd Reader, on Bill 09-0406, and considers additional amendments, which fail (see votes below). The Bill is then was referred for 3rd Reader, which is a final vote to pass the bill. |
| 11/23 | The bill passes by a vote of 12–3 and is sent to Mayor Sheila Dixon for signature. |
| 12/4 | Mayor Sheila Dixon signs 09-0406 into law. |
Baltimore Council Voting Record
Nov. 2 Committee Hearing
The bill passed in the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations Committee by just 1 vote, as a 2–2 vote would have killed the bill in committee.
| Council Member Name | Vote |
| Chairman James B. Kraft (Dist. 1) | No |
| Mary Pat Clarke (Dist. 14) | Yes |
| Robert Curran (Dist. 3) | Yes |
| Rikki Spector ( Dist. 5) | Yes |
| Agnes Welch ( Dist. 9) | Absent |
Nov. 16 Second Reader
Three sets of amendments were considered. The first set involved technical amendments that simply clarified language and grammar without changing the bill’s meaning. These passed without debate.
Second was a set of amendments was introduced by Councilman James B. Kraft, which sought to define “pregnancy center” as a center which did or referred for any of the following services: abortion, adoption, comprehensive birth control, comprehensive counseling, financial assistance, postnatal assistance, and prenatal assistance. Any “pregnancy center” must then disclose whether they did not refer or provide any of the above services. The council voted the Kraft amendments down by a vote of 5-10. Further amendments by Councilman Kraft were then withdrawn.
| Council Member Name | Vote (Y or N) |
| President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake | N |
| James B. Kraft | Y |
| Nicholas D’Adamo Jr. | Y |
| Robert Curran | N |
| Bill Henry | Y |
| Rikki Spector | N |
| Sharon Green Middleton | N |
| Belinda Conaway | N |
| Helen Holton | Y |
| Agnes Welch | N |
| Vice President Edward Reisinger | N |
| William H. Cole IV | N |
| Jack Young | N |
| Warren Branch | N |
| Mary Pat Clarke | Y |
Note: A vote for the Kraft amendments (Y) indicates the council member supports treating pregnancy resource centers and abortion facilities equally with regard to disclosure regulations.
Thirdly, Councilman Henry introduced two amendments that had the effect of making physicians immune from this legislation. President Rawlings-Blake argued they already were immune (which is not the case). The amendment failed 5-10 and the vote was as follows:
| Council Member Name | Vote (Y or N) |
| President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake | N |
| James B. Kraft | Y |
| Nicholas D’Adamo Jr. | Y |
| Robert Curran | Y |
| Bill Henry | Y |
| Rikki Spector | N |
| Sharon Green Middleton | N |
| Belinda Conaway | N |
| Helen Holton | N |
| Agnes Welch | N |
| Vice President Edward Reisinger | N |
| William H. Cole IV | N |
| Jack Young | N |
| Warren Branch | N |
| Mary Pat Clarke | Y |
Further amendments by Councilman Henry were then withdrawn.
Finally, a vote to send the bill to 3rd reader was taken. The vote was in the affirmative, 12–3. On Nov. 23, the final vote was taken and the bill passed by a vote of 12–3, with each of the council members voting the same way:
| Council Member Name | Vote (Y or N) |
| President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake | Y |
| James B. Kraft | N |
| Nicholas D’Adamo Jr. | Y |
| Robert Curran | Y |
| Bill Henry | Y |
| Rikki Spector | Y |
| Sharon Green Middleton | Y |
| Belinda Conaway | Y |
| Helen Holton | Y |
| Agnes Welch | N |
| Vice President Edward Reisinger | Y |
| William H. Cole IV | Y |
| Jack Young | N |
| Warren Branch | Y |
| Mary Pat Clarke | Y |
| 11/10 | Montgomery County Council member Duchy Trachtenberg introduces a Board of Health regulation requiring a disclaimer for certain pregnancy centers. The regulation would require pregnancy centers that do not provide or refer for abortion to issue a disclaimer at the beginning of any contact with a client, recommending the client see a “health care provider” before deciding on a outcome for the pregnancy. |
| 12/2 | The Montgomery County Council holds a public hearing on the proposed regulation. More than three hours of testimony is heard, much of it in opposition to the bill. No testimony shows that any woman has been harmed by a Montgomery County pregnancy center. Testimony in favor of the bill is subjective and speculative. Citizens opposed to the bill fill and overflow a room set aside for overflow attendees. |
| 1/25 | The Montgomery County Council Health and Human Services Committee adopts a large-scale amendment and passes the amended bill. The amendment removes verbal disclaimers and requires a sign to be posted similar to that in Baltimore City. The disclaimer also “encourages women who may be pregnant to consult with a licensed medical provider.” The amendment reduces the penalty and potential ligitation pregnancy resource centers could face and now only applies to those centers without a medical professional on staff for 20 or more hours a week or one that directly oversees medical services. |
Montgomery County: Recommended Action
Montgomery County residents should contact their elected officials and urge them to reject this measure. Refer to the Key Points below to frame your message. Always be polite and respectful, and remind your legislator that this regulation is unnecessary and bad public policy.
| Roger Berliner — District 1 | 240-777-7828 councilmember.berliner@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Mike Knapp — District 2 | 240-777-7955 councilmember.knapp@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Phil Andrews — District 3 | 240-777-7906 councilmember.andrews@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Nancy Navarro — District 4 | 240-777-7968 councilmember.navarro@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Valerie Ervin — District 5, Vice President | 240-777-7960 councilmember.ervin@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Marc Elrich — At Large | 240-777-7966 councilmember.elrich@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| George Leventhal — At Large | 240-777-7811 councilmember.leventhal@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Nancy Floreen — At Large, President | 240-777-7959 councilmember.floreen@montgomerycountymd.gov |
| Duchy Trachtenberg — At Large | 240-777-7964 councilmember.trachtenberg@montgomerycountymd.gov |
- Pregnancy centers provide clients with pre-natal counseling, referrals for medical care, housing, parenting classes, baby and maternity clothing, diapers and baby supplies, and mentoring.
- They are charitable organizations that provide all their services for free. Most are staffed largely by volunteers.
- The centers receive referrals from the Maryland Department of Social Services and other agencies, and they are widely respected by these entities.
- They save cities, counties, and the State precious funds and provide services that are unavailable elsewhere.
- Pregnancy centers openly advertise their pro-life position. They are listed in the Yellow Pages under “Alternatives to Abortion.” They use informed consent and release forms that clearly state their purpose.
- There is no truth to NARAL's assertion that pregnancy centers “masquerade” as abortion facilities. Despite NARAL‘s claims to the contrary, there is no evidence that anyone has ever been harmed by entering a pro-life pregnancy center.
- By discouraging women from entering pro-life pregnancy centers where they might receive practical help to to carry their pregnancies to term, the bill ultimately may harm women.
| Maryland Right to Life • 420 Chinquapin Round Rd., Suite 2-I • Annapolis, MD 21401 • 410-269-6397 • 301-858-8304• www.mdrtl.org |