Court Upholds Transparency Law Geared Toward Pregnancy Centers
The law requires pregnancy centers to inform patients about all their options, including abortion.
Los Angeles Times:
U.S. Appeals Court Upholds Law That Requires Religious Clinics To Inform Women Of Abortion Options
A federal appeals court Friday unanimously upheld the constitutionality of a new California law that requires religiously affiliated pregnancy clinics to inform women about abortion options. The law, which took effect in January, says licensed clinics must disseminate information to women about government programs that provide free or low-cost services for family planning, abortions and prenatal care. (Dolan, 10/14)
Sacramento Bee:
California Reproductive Clinics Must Inform Clients About Abortion Services
A federal appellate court on Friday rejected an attempt by reproductive health clinics to block enforcement of a California law requiring the clinics to inform patients that abortions are available elsewhere. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a December ruling by U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller of Sacramento, who denied a motion by three nonprofit clinic operators for a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of the law pending a final resolution of the question on the merits. The clinics are run by abortion opponents. (Walsh, 10/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Abortion-Information Law Upheld By Court
California can require hundreds of antiabortion clinics known as “crisis pregnancy centers” to notify their patients that the state makes abortion and other reproductive health care available at little or no cost, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The law, which took effect in January, does not violate freedom of speech or religion because it merely requires the clinics to provide accurate information about health care that the patients have a right to receive, said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. While the ruling only denied an injunction that would have halted further enforcement, the court made it clear that it saw no constitutional grounds for overturning the law. (Egelko, 10/14)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Court: Pregnancy Counseling Centers Must Provide Abortion Info
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a California law that requires pregnancy counseling centers to provide information about the availability of abortion and birth control to patients. The lawsuit was filed in San Diego federal court by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, the Pregnancy Care Clinic in El Cajon and the Fallbrook Pregnancy Resource Center. Alternatives Women’s Center in Escondido also filed a lawsuit. (Davis, 10/14)