The Salem News | Advocates look to Healey on pregnancy crisis centers

By Christian Wade
Story Originally Appeared in The Salem News

BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker will have the final word on blocking state funding for a public education campaign targeting pregnancy crisis centers — for now.

Two weeks ago, Baker vetoed an earmark from a $3.76 billion economic development bill that called for spending $1 million for an education campaign about crisis centers, which critics say are misleading pregnant women.

Baker said the spending was unnecessary because the state already posts public information about legitimate family planning services operating in the state.

His rejection of the proposal prompted terse statements from women’s reproductive advocacy groups, which accused the pro-choice Republican of being “wildly out of touch” with his constituents, while it was praised by anti-abortion groups which say the pregnancy centers are being unfairly targeted.

But it appears the issue will be kicked to the next governor and state Legislature to chew on.

Baker vetoed the provision after the Legislature had wrapped up formal sessions, which means it can’t be overridden unless lawmakers reconvene, and groups that pushed for the funding say they don’t plan to prod lawmakers to override the veto before the Dec. 31 end of the two-year session.

Advocates say they believe the proposal would fare much better under Gov.-elect Maura Healey, a Democrat who won the Nov. 8 gubernatorial election.

“We’re looking to the new administration,” said Taylor St. Germain, a spokeswoman for the group Reproductive Equity Now. “Gov.-elect Healey, as attorney general, has led on the issue of pregnancy crisis centers and their deceptive practices and we look forward to working with her on this issue.”

Healey has accused the centers of using “deceptive and coercive tactics” whose ultimate goal is to prevent people from accessing abortion and contraception.

In July, Healey issued a consumer advisory warning patients seeking reproductive health services about “the limited and potentially misleading nature of the services provided by crisis pregnancy centers.” The advisory noted that most crisis pregnancy centers are not licensed medical facilities.

But anti-abortion groups say the centers are providing options to women other than abortions and being unfairly targeted by a “smear campaign” by proponents of the procedure.

The conservative Massachusetts Family institute says it has documented acts of vandalism and intimidation at pregnancy centers across the state in recent months.

“Planned Parenthood and pro-abortion radicals have come unhinged since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and they are lashing out at the most visible parts of the pro-life movement, increasingly with physical violence,” Andrew Beckwith, the group’s executive director, said in a recent statement.

The centers, which advertise free services and counseling for women struggling with unplanned pregnancies, have proliferated in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

But women’s reproductive rights groups argue the facilities are funded by anti-abortion groups with a sole intention of blocking women from getting abortions.

Some communities have moved to limit or ban the centers amid complaints that they are offering using deceptive advertising and providing misinformation.

Abortion is legal in Massachusetts under a 2020 law, but advocates say the state will become a destination for women coming from other states that have banned the procedure or tightened their laws following the Supreme Court’s ruling.

State leaders have taken steps to shield providers and patients from potential lawsuits filed by groups of other states where abortion is now restricted.

But advocates want to state to intervene to prevent crisis pregnancy centers from proliferating as more women come to Massachusetts seeking abortions.