WASHINGTON, D.C. (02-06-12) – Americans United for Life President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest today said that AUL’s expert, pro-life legal team filed an amicus brief in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals defending the free speech rights of pro-life Americans “from a draconian ordinance that would force pregnancy care centers to engage in pro-abortion speech against their will.”
She made the following observations, “Pregnancy care centers—and the compassionate and nonjudgmental services they offer—undercut the abortion industry’s bottom line. Therefore they have come under attack. We know that women, when given a true choice, often choose life. At the heart of this case is an attempt by the abortion industry to keep women ignorant of their full range of choices and of the services available to help them avoid the trauma of abortion.”
The case, Evergreen Association v. New York City, was initiated after the City enacted a draconian ordinance forcing pregnancy care centers to engage in government dictated pro-abortion speech by requiring them to make state-scripted statements about abortion and emergency contraception and to tell pregnant women that the City encourages them to go elsewhere.
AUL’s brief was filed on behalf of the national pregnancy care organizations Care Net, Heartbeat International, and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, who have thousands of affiliate PCCs across the nation. The brief is available here.
