Focused Read in 3-4 minutes
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" Do Crisis Pregnancy Centers Have a Right to Mislead Women?
The Supreme Court Will decide
(By Amelia Harnish)
The U.S. Supreme Court
heard arguments Tuesday morning (March 20th) in yet another tricky
abortion-related legal challenge,
but this time, the central issue in
the case is not the right to make private healthcare decisions but
the First Amendment.
The case, National
Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) V. Becerra, is a
challenge to a 2015 California law brought by a network of crisis
pregnancy centers (CPCs).
These are centers founded
by anti-choice organizations to provide ultrasounds, pregnancy tests
and counsel women against abortion;
they often open up across the
street or right next door to abortion clinics,
and some have been
found to engage in deceptive marketing tactics,
provide medically inaccurate information to pregnant women,
and perform medically unnecessary and invasive ultrasounds.
(Emphasis is mine.)
The California law at the
center of the challenge is an effort to police these “clinics.”
Known as the FACT act,
(Emphasis is mine.)
the law requires CPCs that are licensed as medical providers to post
signs about free or low-cost abortion and family planning services
provided by the state.
If the organization is
unlicensed (many are primarily “counseling” operations without
health professionals on staff), they have to post a sign saying that
they are not a licensed medical provider.
(Emphasis, i.e. the underlined words, is mine.)
NIFLA sued in response to
the law shortly after it’s passage, arguing it violates their
rights to free speech. “They’re forcing us to use our walls as a
billboard to promote abortion,” Josh McClure, executive director of
Pregnancy Care Clinic said in an interview with Reuters.
The state of California is
arguing that people have a right to know about the full range of
services available to them, as well as the truth about the facility
they are in.
At the heart of the debate
is the balance between a state government’s right to protect
consumers by regulating what’s known as “professional speech,”
versus the right of individuals to say (or not say) whatever they
want.
(Emphasis, i.e. the underlined word, is mine.)
If you were paying
attention in history class, you know that there are some limits to
your First Amendment rights.
While the government cannot restrict or
compel people’s political or religious speech,
it can regulate
other types of speech, such as making sure lawyers disclose certain
information about their services in advertising or that doctors
disclose information about a procedure’s risks, explains Clay
Calvert, PhD, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment
Project at the University of Florida.
“This is a very
interesting case because the Court can clarify several things here,”
Calvert says. “It can clarify the scope of the First Amendment
right not to be compelled to speak.
It can also clarify the
scope of this emerging professional speech doctrine where
professional speech can be regulated more, under less scrutiny.
(Emphasis is mine.)
And it can also clarify
the First Amendment right to receive information, the right of
the women entering these clinics to clearly receive certain
information.”
(Emphasis is mine.)
Two lower courts have
already reviewed the case, and both sided with the state.
However, the professional
speech doctrine is a relatively new legal concept, and something the
Supreme Court has not weighed in on yet, Calvert adds.
In other
states, similar laws have been struck down, with judges ruling
women can clearly find out about abortion services in other ways.
Amy Myrick, a staff
attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed an amicus
brief on behalf of 50-plus reproductive rights and justice
organizations in support of the law, says it would be a loss for
women’s rights if the law is struck down because that would
effectively “create a precedent that free speech trumps women’s
health.”
“But there’s a flip
side,” Myrick adds. “If they support this anti-choice argument,
it would create a huge double standard for abortion providers, who
are forced to say all sorts of things.”
Abortion rights’
advocates could then possibly challenge laws requiring providers to
provide state-mandated counseling they disagree with.
... Research suggests that few
people fall for CPCs’ misleading tactics, and most women are
not likely to be swayed by anti-abortion counseling because they are
highly likely to be sure about their decision by the time
they seek care, says Lauren Ralph, PhD, an epidemiologist
at Advancing New Standards In Reproductive Health.
... The Court seemed skeptical
of the California law as the justices heard arguments this morning,
with even liberal justices seeming to be receptive to NIFLA’s free
speech claim, according to the New York Times.
Justice Anthony M.
Kennedy, who has cast the decisive swing vote in favor of abortion
rights in recent cases, seemed “hostile” to the law.
The decision is expected
in June."
Focused Thought in 1 minute
Personally, I am a Baby Boomer who gave birth to 2 Generation X daughters and an Xennial son. I'm also a grandmother to 1 Millennial granddaughter and 2 iGen/Gen Z grandsons...
For fun...
📎 Note 1: "These are Western Cultural Generations. Japan and Asia and portions of Europe will have their own generational definitions based on major cultural, political, and economic influences."
📎 Note 2: "Dates are approximate and there is some overlap because there are no standard definitions for when a generation begins and ends. See the section below about why this overlap."
( You can read more here )
Focused Action,
3 of my favorite "day after," still shareable #MarchForOurLives Tweets in 90 seconds
1.
You can share The New York Times Tweet here
2.
You can share Rose's Tweet here
3.
You can share PerSisters Tweet here
.
.
.
→ Direct sources for Democrats:
* ( Personal favored and most informative follows are shared here with the understanding that readers will always apply their own critical thinking to any information provided anywhere by anyone. #StrongerTogether does not share sources of information lightly but -- no one is perfect! -- so always #DistrustAndVerify I am using a star rating that is strictly based on my situational experience with the work of the media personality specifically in relation to issues of interest to me. )
The Democratic Party Website
Also
C-SPAN (a good place for speeches & hearings direct source (s))
→ Fact checking organizations courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists
in alphabetical order...
→ Some of my favorite, most informative
follows on Twitter include:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ US Intelligence | Author | Navy Senior Chief | NBC/MSNBC
⭐⭐⭐ Federal Government Operations | Vanity Fair | Newsweek | MSNBC Contributor | Author
⭐⭐⭐⭐ Voting Rights/Voter Suppression | Author | Mother Jones
→ Some of the most credible media -- at the moment:
📰📰📰 Mother Jones
→ Some of the most credible Talking Heads -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
( 📎 Interesting to note: Wallace, a former Republican (or an inactive Republican I believe she calls herself) is new to the job but for right now she has clearly put country over party and her work on Trump GOP has been credible, IMO... )
...for Networking for Democrats today!
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
📎 Note: I rarely get involved in primary races -- outside of those in my own area. And, unless there is a glaring reason that can not be ignored, I support Democratic Party nominees winning in general elections.
.
.
.
(Linked) "...is our 2016 platform...a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: We are stronger together."
*
Curated by Gail Mountain, with occasional personal commentary, Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( You can also find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GKMTNtwits )
*
See the League of Women Voters website:
Vote411 here
Thank you for focusing!
g., aka Focused Democrat
✊ Resisting "Fake News"
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