Disturbing Anti-PRC bill pending in OR Senate
Oregon Senate Bill 776, which may be voted upon by the end of the month, is terribly disturbing. In a nutshell, it allocates state funds for the express purpose of harassing "alternative to abortion" and "Crisis Pregnancy" centers. It does this under the guise of funding a study to collect data on whether CPCs do things like,
*suggest they are full service ("all options" ) pregnancy counseling centers when in fact they sinisterly fail to provide abortion referrals
*fail to disclose any religious affiliation
*provide "intentionally misleading or medically or factually inaccurate is given to clients at alternative-to-abortion organizations, including misinformation about the alleged links between abortions and breast cancer, the effects of abortion on future fertility and the effects of abortion on mental health."
Also, the study will collect data on how many women are being served by each CPC and where they live, whether ultrasounds are given and how the results are disclosed, whether medical records are handled in accordance with all privacy laws, etc, etc. In other words, Planned (un)Parenthood is getting the state to collect their demographic data for them, and deliver it, gift-wrapped, at the end of next year.
It's quite clear that the sole purpose of this bill is to harass, legally entangle, and hobble CPCs such as the Pregnancy Resource Center my mother volunteers so that they are effectively crippled in their mission to minister to women in crisis situations and help them avoid a decision most will regret for the rest of their lives.
To those of you unfamiliar with the Portland PRCs, I encourage you to visit their website, talk to my Mom, and sponsor David and I (or yourself - it would be fun if a bunch of us went!) at the May 12 Steps for Life walk-a-thon downtown PDX.
You should also write your legislator - try the search form at the OR State Legislature site
Link: Bill Overview
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