Supreme Court takes case of pro-life pregnancy centers

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review a California law that would force pro-life pregnancy care centers to promote abortion. Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed suit in October 2015 on behalf of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates who said California’s Reproductive Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency (FACT) Act violates freedom of speech protections found in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The law requires pregnancy care centers to post signs or distribute literature telling women the state offers free or low-cost contraception and abortions. The law also says pro-life centers must give women a local abortion provider’s phone number. “Forcing anyone to provide free advertising for the abortion industry is unthinkable—especially when it’s the government doing the forcing,” said ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot. “This is even more true when it comes to pregnancy care centers, which exist specifically to care for women who want to have their babies.” The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling in favor of the law last year. In a separate suit at the local level, a judge in Riverside County, Calif., recently issued a permanent injunction against the FACT Act, saying it violates state protections of free speech. Judge Gloria Trask noted that while the California government may support access to abortion, “its ability to impress free citizens into state services in this political dispute cannot be absolute; it must be limited.”