The Center for Inquiry (CFI) supports legislation in Massachusetts that would rein in the deceptive practices of “crisis pregnancy centers.” CFI has lobbied in favor of this bill and submitted written testimony to the state legislature. Now, we need residents of Massachusetts to call on their representatives to pass the bill.
H. 377 would protect the privacy of pregnant women in Massachusetts and prevent unfair and deceptive practices by pregnancy-related service providers. This legislation is critical to giving pregnant patients the full range of their health care options—and to protect them from misinformation about abortion and reproductive choice.
Many pregnancy-related service providers, both nationally and in Massachusetts, are actually “crisis pregnancy centers.” These are anti-abortion organizations that use misleading tactics to try to dissuade women from pursuing an abortion. For instance, they tell women that abortion causes depression, infertility, and other health problems, including cancer—even though these claims have not been medically proven.
Crucially, crisis pregnancy centers are also not subject to medical regulations or bound by federal patient privacy protections. This leaves patients vulnerable to the distribution and misuse of their personal health data.
It is for these reasons that CFI’s Office of Public Policy (OPP) lobbied in favor of H. 377 before the General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the state legislature). OPP also submitted written testimony supporting H. 377 to the legislature’s Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. OPP’s advocacy on this issue is a natural fit with CFI’s focus on consumer protection from pseudoscience.
As our testimony pointed out, H. 377 wisely prohibits crisis pregnancy centers from making deceptive statements about the health-related consequences of having an abortion. Likewise, the bill is needed to regulate their advertisements and online public statements, which are designed to lure in those considering an abortion.
Now it is time for CFI supporters in Massachusetts to make their mark. Please contact your lawmaker and ask them to stand up for reproductive choice and women’s rights by passing H. 377.
