By Patrick Downes Hawaii Catholic Herald
An Oahu pro-life pregnancy resource center and a national network of pregnancy resource centers filed a federal lawsuit July 12 to halt the enforcement of a new Hawaii law that requires such centers to advertise contraception and abortion “services.”
Attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom, a non-profit legal group supporting faith-based freedom of speech causes, filed the suit on behalf of Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor’s “A Place for Women” and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, which represents most of Hawaii’s five other pregnancy counseling centers.
The Hawaii State Legislature on May 4 passed Senate Bill 501 which compels Hawaii’s six pregnancy care centers to post or distribute information referring clients to state-provided prenatal services that would include contraception and abortion. Failure to provide this information would incur a fine of $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.
Gov. David Ige signed SB 501 into law on July 11 upon which the bill became Act 200.
The lawsuit, Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor v. Chin, asks the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii to declare SB 501 unconstitutional. It lists state attorney general Douglas S. Chin and Gov. Ige as defendants.
Alliance Defending Freedom on July 12 also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law while the case is being considered.
“This is a government-compelled speech issue,” said Hawaii Catholic Conference communications director Eva Andrade. “You cannot force someone to post something against their beliefs.”
SB 501 requires “limited service pregnancy centers” to display “in a clear and conspicuous place” the following message on letter-size paper in no less than 22-point type:
“Hawaii has public programs that provide immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning services, including, but not limited to, all FDA-approved methods of contraception and pregnancy-related services for eligible women. To apply online for medical insurance coverage, that will cover the full range of family planning and prenatal care services, go to mybenefits.hawaii.gov. Only ultrasounds performed by qualified healthcare professionals and read by advanced clinicians should be considered medically accurate.”
An alternative would be to give each client a “printed or digital notice” of the message in no less than 14-point type.
“Freedom of speech also means the freedom to not express views that would violate one’s conscience,” said Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Elissa Graves in a news release. “Yet, under this law, Hawaii is forcing pro-life centers and physicians to provide free advertising for the abortion industry against their conscience. Because of the First Amendment’s protections, courts have repeatedly rejected these types of laws as unconstitutional.”
According to Alliance Defending Freedom, courts on the Mainland have “invalidated or mostly invalidated” similar laws in Texas, Maryland and New York City.
Hawaii has six pro-life pregnancy counseling centers. They are Malama Pregnancy Center, Wailuku, Maui; The Pregnancy Center, Kona, Big Island; A Place for Women, Waipio, Oahu; Pregnancy Problem Center of Hawaii, Waiakamilo Shopping Center, Oahu, and Pearl City, Oahu; and Aloha Pregnancy Care and Counseling Center, Kaneohe, Oahu.
All have some kind of religious affiliation. The Pregnancy Problem Center of Hawaii was founded by Robert Pearson, a Catholic.
According to their websites, all offer pregnancy tests and counseling. Most advertise adoption information, childbirth classes, abstinence education, and post-abortion recovery counseling. Some offer ultrasound exams.
Some centers explicitly say they do not offer abortions or abortion referrals, while offering information about “abortion methods and risks.”
