Similar 2023 bill now in Federal court
Photo from Alliance Defending Freedom
By Michael Bielawski
A new Senate bill that would protect “access to certain legally protected health care services” is in the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare. It would put restrictions on what “limited-service pregnancy centers” – which are generally known as pregnancy resources centers that don’t offer abortions – can say to the public.
Vermont’s pregnancy resource centers are typically privately-funded an staffed by pro-life Vermonters who provide counseling, ultrasounds, pregnancy care, and necessities such as maternity clothing and diapers.
“This bill proposes to expand the prohibition on untrue or misleading advertising by a limited-services pregnancy center under the Consumer Protection Act to apply to any untrue or misleading advertising about health care services,” it states. It apparently seeks to expand on and clarify restrictions of a similar 2023 law now being challenged in federal court by the Alliance Defending Freedom.
S. 28‘s lead sponsors are Sen. Ruth Hardy, D-Addiso and Sen. Virginia “Ginny” Lyons, D-Chittenden, and four more senators signed onto it. All are women and Democrats.
The bill continues, “It would eliminate specific responsibility for licensed health care providers who provide services at a limited-services pregnancy center for the services provided at the center and would remove language indicating that failure to ensure those services are conducted in accordance with the law could constitute unprofessional conduct.”
Advertising by these limited pregnancy centers could be restricted in the statements they could make.
“Advertising strategies and educational information about health care options that lack transparency, use misleading or ambiguous terminology, misrepresent or obfuscate services provided, or provide factually inaccurate information are a form of manipulation that disrespects individuals, undermines trust, broadens health disparity, and can result in patient harm,” it states.State lawsuit concerning prior legislation
The organization Alliance Defending Freedom filed a federal lawsuit in 2023 on behalf of the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates and two pregnancy care centers, the suit was targeting the states for allegedly unconstitutionally restricting the centers’ speech and services.
ADF Legal Counsel Julia Payne said in a statement, “Vermont’s law [S. 37 or Act 15], however, does the opposite—it impedes women’s ability to receive critical services during a difficult time in their lives and suppresses the free-speech rights of faith-based pregnancy centers. Pregnancy centers should be free to serve women and offer the support they need without fear of unjust government punishment.”
He further wrote, “There are no stated examples of pregnancy service centers actually lying to women. The chief complaint is that the centers are not more open about their ideological views.”Health care providers disciplined?
It is widely believed that the new legislation, S. 28, would expand on the powers of Act 15 to restrict statements by the non-abortion pregnancy centers. Political commentator and former gubernatorial candidate Jon Klar wrote for True North Reports in 2023 that “S.37 includes a new provision to restrict so-called pregnancy services center fraud. The bill seeks to ban “unfair and deceptive acts” by such centers — presumably, this is to compel pregnancy centers to clearly state that they do not support or offer abortion services.”
The new bill states that in some scenarios, a nurse or doctor associated with the center could be disciplined or lose his/her license.
“The Board may deny an application for licensure, renewal, or reinstatement or may revoke, suspend, or otherwise discipline an advanced practice registered nurse upon due notice and opportunity for hearing if the person engages in the following conduct,” it states.
It further notes that if a doctor takes any unapproved steps to confirm that the patient indeed wants the medical service, that would be grounds to get a provider closed down.
Actions that specifically would not be punishable under this new law – and would never happen anyway at a RPC – include “prescribing medication for an individual to terminate the individual’s pregnancy based on an adaptive questionnaire that allows the licensee to obtain additional medical history and ask follow-up questions as needed.”