An Open Letter from the 44th Legislative District
Dear Representatives Dunshee and Hope, and Senator Hobbs,
I write to you today to express my disapproval of HB 2837 and SB 6452 in their current forms.
Specifically, I object to 2 things.
1) Limited service pregnancy centers are unjustly singled out. Comprehensive centers should be held to the same standard of medical information and service disclosure as limited centers. If centers that do not offer abortions or abortion referrals will be required to disclose that upon the first contact with a person seeking services, then centers that do not offer adoption assistance or referrals should be required to disclose that information immediately as well.
2) Section 2 constitutes an incredible cost burden to agencies that are for the most part non-profit, and are supported solely by charitable donations. Requiring a 30 point font on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper, on the door of the office, inside the office, on the agency’s website, and in any promotional materials represents a significant cost for organizations that often times already hang by a thread.
A more balanced law would prohibit the dissemination of false or misleading information, rather than requiring obtrusive disclosure of information that is in all likelihood obvious to women seeking services. Let’s face reality, when a woman goes to a crisis pregnancy center, she is almost certainly aware that they do not provide abortions. Furthermore, if the woman seeks an abortion, it’s a simple question that such an agency would answer “no” to. This law would place an additional, unnecessary and unjust burden on those agencies (which again, are largely non-profit, charitable organizations) providing limited services. The bottom line is that this law is less about protecting women and more about directing women toward clinics that offer abortion, at the expense of clinics that do not, when both have an entirely valid place in our communities.
If HB 2837 or SB 6452 reach the floor of your respective chambers, I urge you to move to amend it such that it will not single out limited service facilities, by including all clinics that are not primary care facilities, such as hospitals and doctors’ offices (shouldn’t comprehensive facilities be held to the same standard of medical accuracy and information privacy?), and to be prohibitive of false or misleading information as opposed to actively requiring disclosure in an obtrusive way. If such amendments are not made, I urge you to vote “no” on the bill should it reach the floor.
Thank you for your time, and your representation.
