Atlanta, GA, Wednesday, June 27, 2018: In its ruling on National Institute of family Life Advocates (NIFLA) v. Becerra, the Supreme Court neglected its duty to uphold laws that protect the reproductive rights of all Americans. The Court ruled 5-4 against California’s FACT Act which required fake women’s clinics, also known as Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) to disclose to patients that they are not licensed medical providers (where applicable) and to provide accessible information as to the availability of state sponsored comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion. The law was a common-sense response to the dishonest tactics used by CPCs to hinder persons seeking abortions.
CPCs are religiously backed organizations that pose as legitimate medical providers to lure persons seeking an abortion. Currently, CPCs legally lead patients to believe they offer abortion services, provide false statistics as to the risks associated with abortion, and emotionally strong arm those seeking help at a vulnerable time into making a decision that is at odds with their best interests. These fake clinics are a clear and direct threat to the reproductive health of the young, low income, and POC communities they target. Black women in Georgia are now three to four times as likely as white women to die in childbirth. We must focus on improving maternal health outcomes and that includes taking power from entities like CPCs that contribute to the maternal mortality rate for women of color by blocking access to reproductive healthcare.
Fake clinics argue that being required to give complete accurate information infringes on their freedom of speech. However, SPARK believes that the right to accurate information about healthcare options supersedes any ‘right’ an entity may claim to be maliciously dishonest.
SPARK commends California for standing up to fake clinics and pledges to continue combatting the harm these centers do to the communities we serve. In the face of this setback we will amplify our efforts to raise awareness of all threats to reproductive justice and freedom. We will work tirelessly with our allies in activism and grass-roots organizing to make ourselves a force against the growing reach of Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
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SPARK Reproductive Justice Now!
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