CV NEWS FEED // Massachusetts has launched what it calls a “public education campaign” against pro-life organizations that use “deceptive and dangerous” tactics to promote alternatives to abortion.
The campaign, which targets pregnancy resource centers and is funded by a $1-million grant from the state legislature, was officially launched by the administration of Democrats Gov. Maura Healy and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll on June 10. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh, both Democrats, also support the campaign.
“Anti-abortion centers exist to block access to full service, evidence-based, high-quality care offered by licensed providers. That is unacceptable,” Walsh stated in a news release. “The marketing campaign is designed to protect people, by urging them to seek safe and unbiased reproductive health care from caregivers who can provide the right care — the best care — free from coercion or misinformation.”
The news release added that there are currently more than twice as many pregnancy resource centers as abortion facilities in the state. According to Massachusetts’ leaders, the pregnancy resource centers pose as “comprehensive medical providers” that might coerce or misinform women seeking abortions.
The campaign has appeared on social media, billboards, radio, and transit, and it was created by the Department of Public Health and the Reproductive Equity Now Foundation. The anti-pregnancy resource center campaign is the first of its kind in the country.
The Pregnancy Care Alliance of Massachusetts said in an emailed statement to CatholicVote that the state’s network of pregnancy care centers “provides millions of dollars in no-cost support and care for thousands of women annually who face planned and unplanned pregnancies, with services ranging from pregnancy confirmation services, parenting education, and community referrals to material goods like diapers and formula.”
The Alliance added:
The women served by pregnancy resource centers overwhelmingly report a positive experience, yet the Healey Administration and other politicians in the state are furthering their extreme abortion agenda by using a taxpayer-funded campaign to discredit our centers. This politically motivated campaign will negatively impact women the most, specifically the many women who want to parent and rely on the free assistance we provide.
According to The Boston Globe, Massachusetts has been targeting pregnancy resource centers for years. In 2022, then-Attorney General Healy issued a consumer advisory claiming that the centers spread misinformation.
First Liberty Institute, a Christian nonprofit law firm, and Massachusetts Family Institute, a pro-family advocacy organization, wrote to Healy at the time, calling for her to lift the advisory and saying it constituted discrimination.
“The PRCs’ [pregnancy resource centers’] religious beliefs motivate them to care for women facing unintended pregnancies,” the letter stated. “They distribute free diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, blankets, and clothing. Many offer parenting programs that help equip new parents facing the important job of raising their children.”
The letter also pointed out:
Others offer free screenings for STD’s along with free pregnancy tests, medical consultations, and professional counseling. For those who respond negatively to their abortion experience, the PRCs provide supportive counseling and mentors.
These are the groups you targeted with your letter … Rather than protect these faith-based organizations providing professional reproductive health services, as is the duty of your office, your letter has placed them in further jeopardy.
The letter added that at least two pregnancy resource centers are licensed under the state Department of Public Health as medical clinics, while others have licensed professional counselors.
The centers additionally called out Healy for exposing them to increased violent attacks and vandalism committed by pro-abortion individuals and groups.
