One
of the things parents teach their children from a very young age is not
to lie and always be truthful. The prohibition on lying is included in
all mainstream religions, but interestingly the only law against lying
is if it is in a judicial proceeding or giving false information to law
enforcement. Maybe it is because there is no law against lying that
Republicans and Fox News lie pathologically and why evangelical 'christians' running phony women’s “
crisis pregnancy centers”
base their entire enterprise on mendacity. Now, however, crisis
pregnancy centers in California will be required to follow their bible’s
ninth commandment and stop lying because in the Golden State Democrats
believe women deserve to hear the truth about their reproductive health
choices.
Last week, in a signal that California Democrats believe that women warrant “
reproductive freedom and dignity,” California Governor Jerry Brown
signed a statewide bill, the
Reproductive Fact ACT
that forces faith-based crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to stop lying
and stop posing as medical providers. Crisis pregnancy centers are
religious anti-choice cabals that
use
the appeal of free pregnancy testing to trap women into suffering
through a sermon where they are told blatant lies about abortion and
birth control to discourage the use of both. The new law is not any kind
of a
burden
for a legitimate business providing medical services, and primarily
requires the churches to post signs alerting women that they are going
to be given false information founded on religion, and that cult
agitators are not really medical professionals or providers.
The overwhelming majority of CPCs, many funded by taxpayers, are no more “
medical facilities”
than a snake-handler’s revival tent, nor do they employ any medical
staff. For the record, wearing a white lab coat or medical scrubs does
not make one a medical professional; just a very bland, lazy, and
unimaginative dresser. With the new consumer protection law, the
churches posing as licensed medical providers are required to post a
sign at the entrance, in plain view, that says:
“
This facility is not licensed as a medical facility by the State
of California and has no licensed medical provider who provides, or
directly supervises the provision of, medical services.”
The CPCs are also now required, by law, to inform every woman
entering the ‘cult’ of all their reproductive health options with
either an easily visible sign or clearly-stated handout that says:
“The State of California has public programs that provide
immediate free or low-cost access to comprehensive family planning
services including all FDA-approved methods of contraception, prenatal
care, and abortion for eligible women.”
The
CPCs are also now required to list phone numbers and locations of
county social services offices that are actual medical facilities with
actual medical providers licensed by the state to provide the full range
of reproductive medical care. The CPCs almost immediately filed suit
against California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris, for some bizarre
notion that a law requiring truth in advertising, or prohibiting false
advertising, is a gross violation of their freedom of speech and
religious liberty to lie.
If the CPCs were not founded on pathological religious lies, nothing whatsoever about these “
required disclosures”
should bother them, particularly if they were real christians and not
on a crusade to frighten women into giving birth when they do not want
to. What should be welcomed by the CPCs is that there is nothing in the
new law that prohibits them from preaching at
women that “consequence free,” non-procreative sexual relations are an
abomination and a mortal sin. But that was not enough of a concession
for the religious right and they hope their appeal for judicial redress
will allow them to continue using religious lies as sound medical
advice.
What the CPC system is so terrified of with California’s new “
truth in advertising,” or prohibition against “
false advertising,” law is that the entire crisis pregnancy center system is founded on the
principle
that it is necessary and acceptable to lie to women to trick and
frighten them into giving birth and in many cases getting pregnant. It
is just a typical and standard anti-choice procedure closely related to
the mormon
delusion of “
lying for the lord” which is all well and good to garner more tithing adherents, but it is unacceptable for deceiving women with “
medical advice” borne of religious mendacity to make them birthing machines.
Many CPCs tell women the chance of miscarriage is much higher than it
actually is hoping that a woman will take a chance rather than abort
the unwanted pregnancy. Some lie and tell women how woefully ineffective
and dangerous contraception is, or just drastically minimize the chance
of getting pregnant if a woman does not use birth control to convince
women to stop. The faith-based medical experts also greatly exaggerate
the risks of having an abortion, or just do what comes naturally to
liars and make up bizarre risks that have never existed or been
documented. There is no end to the CPC lies to frighten women into
believing that real medical experts intend to maim or kill any woman who
believe it is their decision as to when they give birth.
However, the evangelicals at CPCs actually know for a fact, and believe, that not only is “
abortion incredibly safe,” it is actually
14 times safer than giving birth. CPCs claim that “
abortion
is bad and has many adverse side effects. Abortion is associated with
preterm birth, emotion (sic) and psychological impact, and spiritual
consequences.” As the pro-choice organization NARAL reported in a
study
of California CPCs, lying is the norm and most important tool that CPCs
use to pressure and frighten women into giving birth no matter the
consequences to the woman. Lying for religion is what CPCs regard as
sound, fact-based medical advice, and now the organization is very, very
angry that California passed a law forcing them to be truthful.
In their lawsuits, the CPCs
claim that the new truth in advertising law is unconstitutional and argue that “
at
minimum the consumer protection law unconstitutionally compels the
clinics (churches) to speak messages that they have not chosen, with
which they do not agree, and that distract, and detract from, the
messages they have chosen to speak.” The also threw down the “
religious freedom” to lie card and complained that the new “
mandated state message is inconsistent with plaintiffs’ religious convictions.” And so there it is in their own words: lying is part and parcel of the CPC system’s “
deeply-held religious convictions.”
One of the new law’s sponsors, Attorney General Kamala Harris said that,
“California has been a national leader in promoting and
protecting equal access to the full range of women’s reproductive health
care options. The Reproductive FACT Act will ensure that women are
empowered to make informed and timely decisions about their health and
their bodies.”
Harris’ statement was echoed by NARAL state director Amy Everitt:
“
California sent a clear message that women deserve information
to help them make the best health care decisions for themselves and
their families. With this law, California leaders are demonstrating to
the rest of the country what it means to truly respect reproductive
freedom and the dignity of women.”
One might hope the concept of “
truly respecting reproductive freedom and the dignity of women”
would be the law of the land, but this is America where evangelical
liars and churches posing as medical facilities are just part of what
Republicans love to claim make this country exceptional. In California,
respecting and protecting women, their reproductive freedom and dignity
is not exceptional, it is just what decent human beings do as a matter
of course.
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