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City Hall Pregnancy Center Bill Generates Debate
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CBS
Important information or down right harassment? Controversy is building at City Hall as lawmakers move forward with legislation aimed at city pregnancy centers.
Andrea Fujii reports the Archbishop says this bill is harassment, but those on the pro-choice side of the debate see this bill as a win.
What to do with an unexpected pregnancy can be scary for young women.
"If you, like, feel weird going to your parents, definitely go to a clinic," said Kaitlin Ohmann.
"If you're young and you don't have an abortion, adoption is the best," said Katlyn Sterner, a teen who also says she'd want information about that option.
Leaders of Baltimore's City Council are pushing for pregnancy centers, often backed by churches, to advertise they do not offer abortion information to those women, while giving other pregnancy-related help.
Baltimore's archbishop is threatening further legal or legislative action if this passes.
"It's aimed at one particular group of people that is mostly volunteer, non-profit groups, most of them are not Catholic, who are seeking to help women bring their babies to term. That should not be a crime, that should not be suspect. It should not be assumed that anyone with a pregnancy must have an abortion," said Archbishop Edward O'Brien
Some pregnancy centers in Baltimore admit they do not give information on or refer people to locations for abortions. But posted signs say "Information On All Options," and that's what proponents of this bill are upset about.
"We want to make sure women are educated about what kind of information they are going to receive or they're not going to receive in those centers, so they can decide whether they want to go to them," says Wendy Royalty, NARAL Pro-Choice Maryland.
"When they had the hearings a couple of weeks ago, they could not get one person from the Baltimore area to come in and say they were misinformed," said Archbishop O'Brien.
This law would require a sign in the lobby, in English and Spanish, with the disclaimer about abortion and birth control services.
"I think it's a sign you can make on your computer, five minutes, with a printer. It's not an onerous burden. It's a sign that many of them already have," said City Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
With the softer penalties written into the bill now, proponents of this bill say it should be law during the next vote.
The penalty would be $150 per day after a 10-day warning period for any center in violation.
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