The abortion issue is sure to cause controversy anywhere it turns up -- and last night it took center stage at the Baltimore City Council.
The council voted to approve a proposal that would force pregnancy centers that don't provide abortions to display that fact on signs outside their clinics. It's the first time any city or state legislature in the country has passed a law like it.
There are four pregnancy support centers in the City of Baltimore that are supported by pro-life charities, and they do not provide abortions. They say they're being unfairly singled-out. Pro-choice advocates say it's a simple matter of truth in advertising.
Council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake proposed the legislation. She says all it does, is ensure women have information when they need it. ‘It's a simple sign that you can make on your computer and printer in five minutes,’ she said. ‘And it doesn't say anything other than what is true about the centers that we're requiring to have.’
Pro-life advocates say it does a lot more than that. ‘It's not so much the sign that harms the pregnancy centers, it's the message that an elected body that is supposed to represent the constituents of Baltimore City in this case has said that pregnancy centers lie to you, they deceive woman and they can't be trusted,’ said Jeff Meister of the group, Maryland Right to Life.
It’s a statement Keiren Havens of Planned Parenthood of Maryland would agree with. ‘A woman off the street or a woman in crisis might go, thinking this is where I'm going to learn about my options, these are the people who are going to help me. But in truth what happens is they get limited information, they get censored information that is often inaccurate,’ she said.
The bill passed by a vote of 12-to-3. Only council members Jim Kraft, Agnes Welch and Jack Young voted against it.
The bill now goes to Mayor Sheila Dixon. A spokesman for the mayor told ABC-2 News she is reviewing the legislation -- and she has not made a final decision on it.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Baltimore told ABC-2 News that the archdiocese would consider legal action against the bill, if the mayor signs it.
