Bill calls for abortion info at pro-life centers

California Assembly Bill 775, which is nearing a Senate vote and a likely party-line approval (Democrats for, Republicans against), would order all medically licensed pro-life pregnancy centers in the state to post a prominent sign telling clients how to get information on securing abortions.

The law also would order non-medical pregnancy centers to post a sign in 48-point type (see sidebar) stating clearly that the facility does not provide medical care.

The bill, backed by Planned Parenthood and NARAL (originally National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws), is a reaction to the presence of pro-life CPCs, or crisis pregnancy centers. Abortion advocates accuse the CPCs of lying to women and masquerading as medical clinics.

As of July 1, AB 775 was under discussion in California Senate committee hearings. The act would add a new section to the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

“If it becomes law, we will comply,” Kim Nixon, executive director of Family Life Pregnancy Center of Tehachapi, said. The center will not be handing out a list of abortion providers, however.

“You have to get that on your own.”

The Family Life Pregnancy Center is a non-medical facility with no medical staff on site. The center, located in an historic two-story building on Curry Street, provides free counseling and material assistance, including diapers, baby furniture, formula and baby clothing, for parents and babies up to two and three years of age. Clients from Mojave, Rosamond, California City, Boron and Edwards as well as the Greater Tehachapi area utilize the services of the Family Life center, which has been in operation for more than 26 years. The center has served an estimated 15,000 people and had more than 1,800 babies born, Nixon said.

Some CPCs are medical centers, providing diagnostics, prenatal care and nurses on staff; others are fully licensed medical clinics.

Laws similar to AB 775 were passed in Maryland, New York and Virginia, Nixon said, and subsequently overturned after challenges by national pro-life organizations on the basis of violation of First Amendment rights of non-profits. The same organizations, which are monitoring the committee hearings in Sacramento (accessible online), will challenge AB 775 if it passes the Senate and becomes law.

Jean Fuller, 16th Senate District, and Shannon Grove, 34th Assembly District, who represent Tehachapi, oppose the bill.

“Democrat legislators claimed this is necessary because the information provided by prolife pregnancy care centers is not ‘fully-informed,’” Grove stated in a May 27, 2015 press release. “So according to this logic, if the government finds that your message isn’t ‘fully informed,’ it now has a right to compel you to do or say things you do not believe in.”

CPCs now outnumber abortion providers in the nation, with 315 CPCs in California alone. The number of abortions has dropped dramatically in the United States -- about 12 percent since 2010, according to an Associated Press survey -- with a commensurate financial impact on providers. Abortion providers credit sex education and greater access to birth control with the decrease in abortions.

“NARAL and Planned Parenthood are being adversely impacted by the presence of pregnancy centers,” Nixon said. “Fewer women are choosing abortion. Their [NARAL and Planned Parenthood] funding is based on number of clients. Nineteen years ago there were three times as many abortion clinics as pregnancy centers in the country. Now there are more pregnancy centers than abortion clinics.”

The CPCs have a powerful tool in ultrasounds, which are pictures of fetal development. Family Life recently purchased a state-of-the-art non-medical ultrasound machine. Trained teams began doing scans in April. The scans are limited to fetal development from six to 16 weeks.

The center does not diagnose health issues.

“We give no medical diagnosis,” Nixon said. “We are confirming a viable uterine pregnancy. A trained team checks the heartbeat, measurements, how far along the pregnancy is and estimates a due date. Then we discharge her to see her OBGYN, or we have referrals if she doesn’t have a doctor.”

An outside physician reads the scan to verify it is a viable pregnancy or if it is an ectopic pregnancy or something outside the uterus.

“If there are complications, we notify the client to see her physician immediately or to go to the emergency room,” Nixon said.

The scans, although sometimes grainy and hard to read, have a strong impact on women and men who first confront a visual of what is hidden inside the womb.

“Between 82 and 93 percent of women who see the ultrasound image of their baby will choose to carry the baby to term. They may choose adoption or to parent,” Nixon said.

“It is pretty incredible to be in the ultrasound room, looking over at the parents seeing their baby for the first time. Often tears will be streaming down both of their faces.”

The biggest demographic at Family Life center is 15- to 25-year-olds, with some in their late 20s, 30s and 40s. Nixon said they once confirmed a pregnancy in a 46-year-old woman, who was astonished but thrilled. Sixty to 70 percent of the center’s clients are Caucasian. The number of Hispanic clients, about 30 percent of those from the East Kern area, is increasing with the addition of Spanish-speaking staff. In a smaller proportion, African-Americans also are represented in the demographics of those who utilize the services of the center.

Supporters of AB 775 do not hesitate to characterize CPCs as huckstering scare-mongers who peddle bad information, and they take exception to the uniformity of message at the CPCs.

“We don’t coerce, badger or show horrible images. We want to be compassionate and caring and be a place of safety and hope,” Nixon said.

“Women’s health is absolutely primary ,. When we see a client, we refer her to a physician, an OBGYN. She receives education on parenting, adoption, abortion procedures – we want them to know everything. This is a place where they can feel safe, cared for, loved and supported. They will always be welcome here if they need help.”