Judge refuses to block law requiring crisis pregnancy centers to provide abortion information
Crisis pregnancy centers in California have so far failed to block a California law that requires them to provide information about state-funded abortion services.
The anti-abortion pregnancy centers have filed several First Amendment challenges to the law, the New York Times reports. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John Houston became the third federal judge to decline a request for a preliminary injunction to block the law.
In the other two cases, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also refused to block the law while the constitutional challenge is pending. The law requires state-licensed reproductive health centers, including crisis pregnancy centers under the supervision of a physician, to post a notice stating that state programs provide abortion, contraception and prenatal care for low-income women. A phone number must also be provided.
The pregnancy centers argue the law is a free speech violation because it requires the centers to provide information on abortion, even though the clinics exist to provide abortion alternatives. The state argues there is no First Amendment violation because it has a compelling interest in making sure women have access to a complete range of health services.
