| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 26, 2018 |
CONTACT: Mallory Quigley [email protected] | 202-223-8073 |
Court Sides with Pregnancy Centers in Free Speech Case
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Supreme Court today delivered a major victory for the constitutional rights of pro-life pregnancy centers, reversing a 9th Circuit ruling upholding a California law that would force them to advertise and refer for abortion.
“We are extremely pleased to see the nation’s pro-life pregnancy centers and their advocates vindicated by the Supreme Court,” said Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the research arm of Susan B. Anthony List. “The Court sent a clear message today that California’s cruel mandate unacceptably infringes on pregnancy centers’ First Amendment liberties – a ruling that will reverberate across the country wherever these remarkable nonprofits have been subjected to state bullying as they strive to carry out their mission of love. Pregnancy centers exist to serve and support mothers in the courageous decision to give their children life, even under difficult circumstances. Approximately 2,750 centers around the country provide a multitude of free services for millions of women, as well as tens of thousands of men, at nearly $161 million in annual cost savings to their communities. The biggest winners in today’s decision are women, children, and families.”
Prior research by the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) reveals that an overwhelming majority of Americans, regardless of whether they self-identify as “pro-life” or “pro-choice,” consider pregnancy centers a valuable community resource. Post-visit surveys indicate centers have extraordinarily high rates of client satisfaction.
CLI, in conjunction with the March for Life Education Fund and with the cooperation of a spectrum of pregnancy center networks, conducted the third national survey of pregnancy centers this spring to calculate their extraordinary social service contributions. The forthcoming 2018 report, A Half Century of Hope, a Legacy of Life and Love, is based on a comprehensive online survey conducted this spring. The report features an introduction by Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony List; Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life Education Fund; and Moira Gaul, M.P.H., a CLI associate scholar and co-author of a previous national report on pregnancy centers as well as this edition. Key findings in the new report include:
CLI and SBA List’s National Pro-Life Women’s Caucus, joined by the March for Life Education Fund, previously submitted an amicus curiae brief in support of petitioner National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) in the case decided today. NIFLA represents more than 1,400 pregnancy centers nationwide, including 135 in California.
Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women.
Susan B. Anthony List and its partner super PAC, Women Speak Out spent more than $18 million in the 2016 election cycle, visiting more than 1.1 million homes in battleground states to defeat Hillary Clinton and maintain a pro-life Senate. SBA List is dedicated to pursuing policies and electing candidates who will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, SBA List emphasizes the education, promotion, mobilization, and election of pro-life women. SBA List is a network of more than 630,000 pro-life Americans nationwide.
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The SBA Pro-Life America National Pro-life Scorecard is a tool that helps hold members of Congress accountable for their legislative records on life and that highlights leadership in the fight to serve women and save babies.
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