‘Disappointed, but Determined': Reproductive Equity Now to Continue Public Education on Dangers of Anti-Abortion Centers in Wake of Failed Easthampton City Council Override Vote
BOSTON (August 2, 2023)—Reproductive Equity Now President Rebecca Hart Holder released the following statement this evening after the Easthampton City Council failed to override Mayor Nicole LaChapelle’s veto of a reproductive health care ordinance that would have increased public education about the dangers of anti-abortion centers and codified an expansion of the state’s shield protections at the municipal level.
To override the veto, the Council needed a two-thirds majority vote; the final vote was 5-3 in favor of override.
“We’re extremely disappointed that the Easthampton City Council failed to meet the override threshold for Ordinance 6-23 this evening. This ordinance would have provided its residents with the tools and resources they need to make informed and personal decisions about their reproductive health care. The vote’s failure is indicative of how rampant anti-abortion misinformation and disinformation can be in our communities,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, President of Reproductive Equity Now. “But as much as we are disappointed in tonight’s outcome, we are determined to keep fighting to ensure every person across our Commonwealth has access to accurate, unbiased information on how they can obtain reproductive health care services. This type of information and education cannot wait. Every day, anti-abortion centers are manipulating and harming people who are simply seeking legitimate health care and full options counseling. These facilities are continuing to ramp up their presence in protected states like Massachusetts, and our work continues to blunt their dangerous impact.”
To find a legitimate abortion provider near you, visit Reproductive Equity Now’s New England Abortion Care Guide. The resource also flags anti-abortion centers throughout the region for residents to avoid. Learn more about how to identify anti-abortion centers HERE.
The City Council originally passed Ordinance 6-23 with a 6-1 vote on July 5. The measure was vetoed by Mayor LaChapelle on July 6. Reproductive Equity Now testified in support of Ordinance 6-23 at the City Council meeting on July 5.
The safe access provisions of Ordinance 6-23 would have codified an expansion of the shield protections secured in Chapter 127 of the Acts of 2022 at the municipal level, prohibiting Easthampton city officials, employees, and any recipient of city funds from cooperating with attempts to gather information about, investigate, prosecute, or otherwise interfere with providers or patients seeking lawful reproductive or gender-affirming care in Massachusetts.
The fair access provisions of Ordinance 6-23 sought to increase public education about anti-abortion centers, or “crisis pregnancy centers,” by instructing Easthampton’s Health Department to make information available to residents from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office regarding: 1) available sexual and reproductive health care services, 2) how to navigate legitimate reproductive health care in the Commonwealth, and 3) how to file a consumer complaint in the event of a negative experience seeking reproductive health care.
Anti-abortion centers present themselves as resources for people facing unintended pregnancy, but actually aim to manipulate and dissuade people from accessing abortion care through medical disinformation, deceptive advertising practices, and perpetuating abortion stigma. A lawsuit recently filed against a Worcester anti-abortion center, Clearway Clinic, alleges the facility failed to adhere to standards of medical care and misdiagnosed an ectopic pregnancy, resulting in emergency surgery for the patient. As this lawsuit makes clear, anti-abortion centers not only harm the health and safety of people seeking abortion, but also patients in need of basic pregnancy care.
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