An in-depth look at the Limited Service Pregnancy Center Accountability Act

Limited Service Pregnancy Center Accountability Act (SB 5274 / HB 1366)
House Health Care and Wellness Committee Hearing - January 24, 2010

Posted by: Antoinette Bonsignore

The legislation that was debated before the House Health Care and Wellness Committee on January 24th is designed to protect women from the deceptive practices at Limited Service Pregnancy Centers (LSPC) or so called Crisis Pregnancy Centers. Advocates in favor of the bill explained to the Committee that the bill would require LSPCs provide women with accurate information about the services they provide and do not provide; namely that they do not provide abortion services or abortion referral services, do not provide comprehensive birth control information or information regarding contraception, and do not provide medical care for pregnant women. The bill also requires LSPCs to provide women with their pregnancy tests results immediately and creates measures to protect women's privacy rights.

Specifically, the bill provides for the following: LSPCs will be required to (1) protect the privacy of health care information they collect from women; (2) provide pregnancy test results immediately; (3) disclose that they do not provide services or referrals for abortion or comprehensive birth control, and (4) do not provide medical care for pregnant women.

LSPCs prey upon uninsured, poor women - oftentimes teenage girls - providing them with inaccurate medical information designed solely to advance their anti-choice agenda. They lure women specifically with the offer of free pregnancy tests. HB 1366 does not seek to silence LSPCs but simply put in place safeguards that will protect vulnerable women from practices that can endanger their health and safety.

Blog for Choice Day 2011

Blog for Choice Day 2011

Posted by: Antoinette Bonsignore

Let's start a conversation today about being pro-choice and the impending attack on women's rights from anti-choice House Speaker John Boehner, Congressional Pro-Life Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Christopher Smith, and Rep. Joe Pitts.

How efforts to defund the Affordable Care Act will impact women's health choices and how it will affect our families as well.

At our Annual Meeting Representative Dawn Morrell and Senator Claudia Kauffman talked about how important it is to have women running for office and representing women's needs in Olympia.

Representative Morrell emphasized how many attempts there are each year in Olympia to undo the progress women have made in Washington State - how women serve as the gatekeepers in Olympia.

Share your thoughts with us today! 

The Legal Discrimination Against Low-Income Women That Refuses to Go Away

Posted by Antoinette Bonsignore

One of the very first legislative priorities for the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is to reinforce and further expand the dangerous and damaging effects of the ban on federal funding of abortions - by codifying the Hyde Amendment. House Republicans are choosing not to focus on the nation's economic recovery, or on unemployment - but rather their primary focus is expanding the discriminatory impact of the Hyde Amendment. This is what House Speaker Boehner thinks America really wants. Boehner stated yesterday that the No Tax-Payer Funding for Abortion Act is "common sense legislation" reflecting "the will of the people." He went on to say that "It's one of highest legislative priorities and as such I've directed it receive the designation of H.R. 3."

The horrific circumstances surrounding the Philadelphia abortion doctor indicted on eight counts of murder this week continues to demonstrate the dire need for equal access to abortion. Until abortion access is available to the most vulnerable women in our country, and around the world, these most vulnerable women will continue to be easy prey for modern day back alley abortion providers. Abortion is the only fundamental constitutional right that is constrained by how much money a women has and how far away she lives from an abortion provider. Abortion rights should not be available only to women who can afford to pay for access to their constitutional rights. What other constitutional right is constrained in such a dangerous manner so as to so clearly discriminate against low-income women?

Yet, the impact of the Hyde Amendment continues to grow; and there seems to be next to no political will to do anything about it. The result -- poor women bear the greatest burden of this legal discrimination. The discriminatory effect is felt most acutely by women of color and in immigrant communities. Until we can remove these legal restrictions that shame women seeking abortions and marginalize abortion care from access to actual health care then doctors and clinics will continue to find vulnerable women to prey upon. 

How Will This Year’s Legislative Session Impact the Women of Washington State?

The 2011 Washington State Legislative Session Has Begun

How Will This Year’s Legislative Session Impact the Women of Washington State?

Posted By: Antoinette Bonsignore

This past Sunday, January 9^th, the Caucus held its annual meeting.  We were honored to have Janet Chung, Legal & Legislative Counsel for Legal Voice, as our distinguished guest speaker.  She delivered an eye-opening presentation outlining the 2011 legislative agenda and its potential impact on women.  The most pressing issue affecting our state is the impact of the severe budget deficit on vulnerable constituencies and programs, such as domestic violence victims and at-risk youth.  The $4.6 billion deficit facing the Legislature for the next two years will have inevitable consequences for the most vulnerable in Washington State. 

Legal Voice is pushing full steam ahead with an ambitious legislative and legal advocacy agenda.  Some of the issues Legal Voice will be addressing include:

·         Reproductive Rights: Legal Voice will be joining forces with NARAL, Planned Parenthood, NOW, NAPAWF, and others to enact legislation to warn women about the deceptive practice of so called Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) or Limited Service Pregnancy Centers.  The NWPC-WA has endorsed the CPC legislation as well.  Legal Voice hopes the legislation will protect women by requiring CPCs to provide accurate information about who they are and what services they provide and more importantly, what services they will not provide to pregnant women.  This legislative initiative would require CPCs to: (1) disclose that they do not provide service or referrals for abortion or birth control, and do not provide medical care for pregnant women; (2) protect the privacy of health care information they collect; and (3) require that they provide pregnancy test results immediately. 

·         Violence against Women: Legal Voice wants to enact specific guidelines for when permanent protection orders for domestic violence victims can be modified or terminated.  Another issue likely to crop up is legislation that would protect rape victims from being questioned by their rapists in court proceedings when these defendants choose to act as their own attorneys in criminal proceedings.

·         LGBT Rights: Extending the same protections provided to married couples and procedures for determining parentage through the Uniform Parentage Act to domestic partners.

·         Surrogacy Protections: Ensuring that proposed legislation that would legalize paid surrogacy would provide surrogates with legal protections from civil actions infringing on a surrogate’s personal freedoms and lifestyle choices during pregnancy.

·         Economic Justice: Cut backs on benefits for needy families and unemployment insurance will be critical issues facing Washington families for the next two years.  Legal Voice will continue working to protect broader “good cause” reasons to leave a job that will give workers access to unemployment insurance benefits and in this session, to expand benefits for dependents.  These efforts will be challenging with the current budget deficit looming over the legislative agenda.  Reforming Washington foreclosure laws, to require mediation between lenders and borrowers is another urgent issue that will have a critical impact on Washington women.