LANSDOWNE, Va., March 2, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Care Net, a national network of 1,130 pregnancy centers, responded to the New York City Council's action Wednesday to pass Int. No. 371, a bill seeking to restrict the work of life-affirming pregnancy centers in New York City.
Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde said the Council's move to shut down pregnancy centers "sends an alarming signal that abortion rates in New York City could skyrocket even further." According to recent CDC reports, 41 percent of pregnancies in New York City end in abortion, with the highest impact on African American and Hispanic communities. "Somewhere along the way members of the City Council lost sight of the beauty of human life and the importance of welcoming and supporting each new member of this city into life with open arms," Delahoyde said.
Care Net's Vice President of Underserved Outreach Rev. Dean Nelson lamented the impact that this bill would have on existing and future pregnancy centers in New York City. "Hundreds of thousands of African American boys, girls, men and women are missing in New York City because of the impact of abortion," said Rev. Nelson. "Even though it appears that many on the City Council are beholden to the interests of abortion advocates, it doesn't prevent the rest of the city from rising up and saying 'enough, we can and must do better than this.'" Rev. Nelson is leading a national effort to partner with African American pastors and other community leaders to develop pregnancy centers in minority communities targeted by abortion providers.
Int. No. 371 forces pregnancy centers to comply with onerous regulations, including posting and orally stating a disclaimer regarding the services they do not offer, namely abortion and contraception, and stating whether or not a medical provider is on site. The bill also opens up the centers to costly lawsuits by providing a private right of action by aggrieved persons. The bill is part of a nationwide campaign by abortion industry advocates to publicly attack and ultimately shut down entities like pregnancy centers that support abortion alternatives.
Even though the U.S. District Court of Maryland recently struck down a similar bill in Baltimore, the New York City Council proceeded in passing its bill. According to Care Net's General Counsel Jeanneane Maxon, the New York City bill is "another blatant example of unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination which should be subject to a court challenge."
