MD Crisis Pregnancy Center Laws Challenged

In Montgomery County, Maryland, laws requiring crisis pregnancy centers to post notifications that people should go elsewhere if they want an abortion are being challenged in court. The Alliance Defense Fund has filed an anti-discrimination case on behalf of certain crisis pregnancy centers in the County.One News Now has more on the topic and here’s an excerpt from the article:

Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) has filed suit against Montgomery County, Maryland, charging discrimination against pro-life pregnancy centers.

The county has enacted new speech rules that specifically target pro-life clinics, requiring them to post signs explaining that women should go elsewhere for care or advice. Under the new policy, failure to do so could result in fines exceeding $20,000 a month. However, the policy does not require pro-abortion facilities to provide similar notification.

“They basically tell [pro-life clinics they] have to post a sign saying that ‘we don’t have any medical professionals here, and the county recommends you go find a medical professional,'” explains Casey Mattox, legal counsel for ADF. “They don’t impose any rule like that, of course, on abortion clinics, and they intentionally crafted this rule to exclude them.”

In April, a suit was filed on behalf of one of the oldest crisis pregnancy centers in the nation to challenge similar laws passed in Baltimore City, Maryland. According to studies by Guttmacher, Maryland has some of the most leanient laws in regard to abortions.