California Targets Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers With Subpoenas in Latest Effort To Intimidate

Just recently, we informed you of the coordinated efforts across the country by the abortion industry and its political allies to target pro-life Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs) – an effort that we detailed in an amicus brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, California Attorney General Rob Bonta has become the latest pro-abortionist to target PRCs by issuing individual subpoenas to at least ten PRCs in California – one of whom we are representing – requesting information regarding their compliance with a law that was newly enacted in January of this year, Cal. Health & Saf. Code Section 123621.

The law is an attempt to limit how ultrasounds can be performed, especially by pro-life centers. The pro-abortion bureaucrats who wrote the rule know full well that an ultrasound – actually getting to see the baby on the monitor – is the most effective way anyone can be convinced to allow an unborn child to live.

Specifically, the regulation, in effect, requires that ultrasounds only be performed in licensed clinics, outpatient settings, and licensed health facilities by a physician, a surgeon, a medical group practice, a chiropractic practice, a physical therapist practice, or a facility affiliated with those settings. The law specifically exempts licensed midwives and other entities listed elsewhere in California law.

Any person or entity found in violation of Section 123621 is liable for a fine of $2,500 for a first offense and $5,000 for subsequent offenses, and the California Attorney General, a district attorney, a city attorney, or a county attorney may bring an action to impose the fines. In addition to the fines, the same state actors may seek costs, fees, and additional civil penalties.

PRCs and the pro-life community know just how powerful and life-saving ultrasounds can be and will tenaciously guard their ability to provide ultrasounds to women seeking them. Our client has meticulously followed the law.

However, it is clear that Attorney General Bonta is on a fishing and intimidation expedition by issuing these subpoenas to the California PRCs. We already know what he thinks about pro-life PRCs since he was the lead attorney general on an open letter condemning them and accusing them of “us[ing] deceptive and unethical methods to lure pregnant [women] who are seeking comprehensive reproductive healthcare—including abortion—into their centers. And when those people visit, [PRCs] often provide inaccurate and deceptive information about reproductive health.”

If that weren’t egregious enough, the letter also calls the abortion pill reversal—a high dose of progesterone such as has been prescribed by doctors for years to stop miscarriages—“an unproven and potentially risky medical protocol.”

Bonta and the other attorneys general who signed the letter are leading a dangerous smear campaign across the country against PRCs, which are needed now more than ever in pro-abortion states.

We know how important the work is that PRCs do every day, and we will continue to fight for and support them however we can. We are representing one of the PRCs and are coordinating with the others to ensure that  Attorney General Bonta receives a strong and unified response and that he is aware that these centers are represented by legal counsel who stand ready to defend the centers the moment he steps beyond the bounds of the law.

If you are the director of a PRC and need our assistance, contact us at ACLJ.org/HELP. If you want to help these PRCs take a stand to protect their rights as they fight for innocent human life, then stand with us as we engage in this battle.