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NY1: Council Bill Takes Aim at Crisis Pregnancy Centers
By Grace Rauh March 1, 2011 Watch the video here Amid protests over Planned Parenthood funding and a recent uproar over an anti-abortion billboard in SoHo, it seems New York City is getting mired in a bitter fight over women who choose to terminate their pregnancy. The City Council is taking aim at what are known as crisis pregnancy centers, places which help women carry a baby to term. But critics charge that some centers are misleading women to convince them not to get an abortion. "If you are purposely setting up shop across the street from Planned Parenthood, hiring workers to lure women in, and tricking them into thinking they are somewhere that they're not. And then, on top of that, making them believe they have seen a doctor when they have not...that is so dangerous and that is not something we are going to allow in this city," said City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin. The Council's committee on women's issues approved legislation Tuesday that would require pregnancy centers to say whether there's a licensed medical professional on staff and whether the center provides abortions, emergency contraception, and prenatal care. Mayor Michael Bloomberg supports the legislation. Chris Slattery, the director of Expectant Mother Care, a network of crisis pregnancy centers in New York known as Expectant Mother, says the bill is an attack on free speech. He says crisis pregnancy centers are being singled out because they don't support abortions. "What they are trying to do is shut us down and cripple us and prevent women who are considering an abortion from coming and that will lead to more abortions," Slattery said. New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan also opposes the bill. In a joint statement with the Bishop of Brooklyn he said, "This legislation is designed to prevent pro-life advocates from speaking freely merely because their speech is considered unwelcome by some powerful interest groups that favor abortion." Dolan goes on to say it is disappointing to see a plan to place restrictions on these centers, given the city's abortion rate. Forty-one percent of pregnancies ended with an abortion in 2009. Time is running out for opponents of the legislation, as the Council is expected to approve the bill at its meeting on Wednesday. |
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