Illinois Law Holds Anti-Abortion 'Crisis Pregnancy Centers' Accountable for Misinformation and Frau

(a lengthy, important and informative read at link below)


Illinois Law Holds Anti-Abortion ‘Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Accountable for Misinformation and Fraud
7/28/2023 by Carrie N. Baker and Jenifer McKenna
Four states—Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois and Vermont—expressly prohibit anti-abortion clinics from deception or fraud. “If the medical provider does not lie,” Rep. Margaret Croak said, “they have nothing to worry about.”



A press conference called by a crisis pregnancy center—the SCV Pregnancy Center in Santa Clarita, Calif.—on May 24, 2023. Across the U.S., more than 2,500 crisis pregnancy centers operate, outnumbering abortion clinics 3 to 1. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

On Thursday, July 27, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) signed “The Deceptive Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers Act” (SB 1909) into law, prohibiting anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) from using deception or fraud to interfere with a person seeking access to abortion or other reproductive health services. The law became effective as of signing. “Women need access to comprehensive, fact-based healthcare when making critical decision about their own health—not manipulation or misinformation from politically motivated, non-medical actors,” said Pritzker. “By empowering the attorney general’s office to battle deceptive practices, we’re ensuring Illinoisans can make their own decisions about their bodies using accurate and safe information.”
“Misinformation is a form of injustice, particularly when it is used in an attempt to control women’s healthcare decisions,” added Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “In Illinois, we refuse to accept anything less than bodily autonomy for all, and that includes the right to accessible and accurate medical information. We are committed to protecting Illinoisans from these manipulative tactics and ensuring all have the power to choose what is best for their futures.”

Illinois is the fourth state, following Connecticut, Colorado and Vermont, to enact a law reigning in the deceptive practices of CPCs, also known as limited service pregnancy centers (LSPCs), which often masquerade as reproductive health clinics to lure vulnerable women, and use lies and disinformation about abortion to pressure them to carry pregnancies to term. SB 1909 amends the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act to prohibit LSPCs from engaging in “deceptive, fraudulent, and misleading advertising and practices that interfere with an individual’s ability to make autonomous, informed, and evidence-based decisions” about their reproductive healthcare and access “quality reproductive health care that adheres to accepted standards of medical practice or care.”

Under the law, LSPCs may not engage in “deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, or misrepresentation, or the concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact…in conducting, providing, or performing pregnancy-related services.” The law empowers the Illinois attorney general to investigate any LSPC accused of deceptive practices, and empowers individuals to make a formal complaint about any LSPC using deceptive, misleading or fraudulent practices. Any center found in violation will be assessed a civil penalty up to $50,000. In applying to both deceptive advertising and fraudulent practices, the Illinois law goes far beyond the Connecticut, Colorado and Vermont laws, which address advertising and, in Colorado and Vermont, specific standards of practice. (Colorado’s law bans “abortion pill reversal” and Vermont’s law establishes basic medical standards for LSPCs.)

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Abortion-rights activists gather on June 24, 2023, in Chicago, to mark the first anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

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“Anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and the massive organizations that support them have managed to largely fly under the radar for decades,” said Battisfore. “The Supreme Court ruling in NIFLA v. Becerra brought CPCs to the forefront of the conversation, but created a landscape where politicians and elected officials were apprehensive about taking a stand against them for fear of time- and resource-consuming lawsuits.The deceptive advertising law in Connecticut set a new standard for abortion ‘safe states’ and paved the way for SB 1909, a crucial first step in holding CPCs accountable for intentionally deceiving abortion seekers in Illinois.” But Battisfore cautions that accountability will depend on members of the public knowing how to identify when they have been deceived by a CPC and how to report violations of the new law. “Every person who supports bodily autonomy and abortion access has the power to make a difference,” said Battisfore. “Identify the CPCs in your community, educate your neighbors about CPCs’ anti-abortion agenda and tactics, and support organizations that provide material support and resources to pregnant people and needy families with no strings attached.”

https://msmagazine.com/2023/07/28/illinois-law-crisis-pregnancy-center-abortion-clinic/