The Baltimore City Council has signed off on a local ordinance that attacks pregnancy centers by making them post signs saying they do not do abortions or provide contraception. It would fine pregnancy centers $150 per day if they do not comply. An amendment that would have required abortion centers to post disclaimers was not approved. Members of the city council approved the measure 12-3 on a second reading vote Monday night and there is one final vote before it goes to the mayor.
Gail Tierney, executive director of the Rockville Pregnancy Center, previously told the Washington Examiner the measure is discriminatory." Why don't they have to post that they do not provide free prenatal vitamins, do not provide free sonograms ... STD [sexually transmitted disease] testing ... Pap smears ... clothing. ...?" Maryland Right to Life has also urged the council to reject the bill. "At the hearing held on October 27, no one could testify to any disinformation or deception from any Baltimore City pregnancy center regarding the services they provide," the group's director Angela Martin told LifeNews.com.
Currently, the Montgomery County, Maryland, City Council is considering similar legislation.
Montgomery County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg is behind the new legislation there.
They would be required to tell potential clients that they should go elsewhere for medical advice because Trachtenberg claims they are misleading women. Her measure makes them tell clients the pregnancy center isn't intended as "medical advice or to establish a doctor patient relationship" and that they should consult with a health care provider before making a decision about an abortion. "It's pretty much just a consumer protection measure more than anything else," Trachtenberg said, according to the Examiner. "We're not saying they can't seek clients and they can't counsel them." Her measure has the backing of five other county council members. LifeNews
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