Two crisis pregnancy centres in Sacramento, California are defying a new state law that requires them to post signs to inform clients of abortion services.
The National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) Pro-Choice California is accusing Sacramento Life Center and Alternatives Pregnancy Center of not following the mandate of the California FACT Act or AB 775.
Under the law, crisis pregnancy centres are required to post a letter-size sign that says, "California has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services (including all FDA-approved methods of contraception), prenatal care, and abortion for eligible women."
NARAL is pushing to penalise the centres. It has already filed a report with the Sacramento City Attorney's Office about the non-compliance of the two companies, which could result in fines of $500 up to $1,000 for each subsequent offense, according to The Sacramento Bee.
AB 775 was passed last year by the California legislature to force faith-based organisations that provide counselling and other help to pregnant women to put up the sign.
Sacramento Life Center and 110 other organisations sued the state in their effort to have the law struck down, The Bee reported. The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of the members of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, an anti-abortion organisation.
"NARAL tried the same thing here in Austin, where we filed a lawsuit, and they were soundly defeated when the ordinance was found to be unconstitutional," Texas Center for Defense of Life's President Greg Terra told LifeSite News.
"These ordinances [and] laws are unconstitutional forced speech that are unnecessary and are absolutely intended by NARAL to harass pregnancy resource centres," he said.
"The icing on the cake was that the liberal judge awarded $460,000 in attorneys' fees to a bunch of pro-life lawyers," he added.
"I applaud the centres in California for not posting these signs, the messages which violate their principles and mission," Terra said.
According to Matt Bowman, senior counsel of the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the law "forces pro-life centres to recite the government's message."
"These centres are faced with an impossible choice – either refer women to have a child killed or face punishment by the state of California," he said.
Lawyer Megan Fera, who represents Alternatives Pregnancy Center, said, "This law forces private, religious pregnancy centres to post the telephone number clients can use to obtain an abortion. This requirement violates clinics' freedoms of speech and religion by forcing them to advertise the government's pro-abortion message against their consciences."
"This type of law has been struck down in at least three other states, and I'm confident it will be struck down in California, too," Fera said. "Until then, Alternatives Pregnancy Center has been forced to post the required notice in order to avoid the heavy fines that can be attached for noncompliance."
