Law Forcing Pregnancy Centers to Promote Abortions Striken Down–LifeNews
Court Strikes Down Baltimore Law Forcing Pregnancy Centers to Promote Abortions
In a decision with major national implications for pregnancy centers across the country, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously affirmed that a Baltimore City ordinance requiring pro-life pregnancy care centers to post signs promoting abortions violated their First Amendment free speech rights.
In contrast to decisions by the Ninth Circuit which validated a similar law in California, the Fourth Circuit found that the Baltimore ordinance was not commercial or professional speech.
The court said, “The compelled speech at issue here raises particularly troubling First Amendment concerns. At bottom, the disclaimer portrays abortion as one among a menu of morally equivalent choices. While that may be the city’s view, it is not the center’s.”
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