HELENA — A bill in the Montana House of Representatives aims to protect the autonomy and free speech of pregnancy centers amid controversy across the country about how these centers handle abortion conversations with patients.
Crisis pregnancy centers or clinics, also known as anti-abortion centers, offer prenatal support, pregnancy testing and counseling, often as an effort to encourage mothers to carry pregnancies to term.
Derek Oestreicher, chief legal counsel for the Montana Family Foundation, supported House Bill 388 at a committee hearing Friday. He said the bill allows these centers to operate “according to deeply held convictions.”
“ Pregnancy centers have increasingly faced legal and regulatory pressure to violate their consciences by referring for abortions or including pro-abortion messaging in their services,” Oestreicher said.
Other proponents said oversight of these centers would hinder their right to speak without coercion about pro-life beliefs and said they offer necessary, safe support for women facing unplanned pregnancies.
Quinn Leighton with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Montana opposed the bill, saying some sort of government oversight is necessary for these types of centers.
“Unregulated pregnancy centers could tell a patient anything, whether it's true or not,” Leighton said. “And they could also treat a patient based on their own opinions rather than the medical options that are available to them.”
Other opponents said they worried that banning oversight could pose serious risks to patients, both in health and consumer protection, especially since most pregnancy centers are not subject to HIPAA laws and are exempt from medical licensure requirements.
The House Judiciary Committee has not yet voted on the bill.
Clayton Murphy is a reporter with the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Broadcasters Association, the Montana Newspaper Association and the Greater Montana Foundation. Murphy can be reached at clayton.murphy@umconnect.umt.edu.
