Baltimore Bill Requiring CPCs To Post Disclaimers Provides Women With 'Key Information,' Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology;  Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 20 Nov 2009 - 5:00 PST

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There is "crystal clear" evidence that family planning "is one of the best -- and perhaps the very best -- strategy for women in the United States and across the world to improve their health and well-being, as well as that of their offspring," write Eva Moore, a fellow in adolescent medicine at Johns Hopkins Medical School's Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and Robert Bloom, chair of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health's Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece. Moore and Bloom write that they "were surprised by the debate" surrounding a Baltimore City Council bill (FID 09-0406) that would require crisis pregnancy centers to post signs stating that they do not provide abortion services. The authors add that they were "troubled that there are those who would advocate for less than full transparency."

"True common ground would be working together to prevent unintended pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases," they write, adding, "A good first step is to make sure that women have scientifically accurate information upon which to base their family planning decisions." There is strong evidence that CPCs "do not ascribe to anything that remotely resembles a full range of service options for women, nor do they believe in the right of women to control their own fertility," Moore and Bloom write. CPCs "withhold information women have the legal right to access," and the centers "espouse beliefs that are not supported by science or public health practice" by discouraging contraception use, they continue.

The bill before the City Council "provides women with key information they need to make decisions about where to go for care," Moore and Bloom write, adding, "Women with crisis pregnancies need compassionate care, accurate information and, above all else, timely access to medical professionals whose practice is based on science and public health research." As the council prepares to take a final vote on the bill next week, Moore and Bloom write that they hope the council "will consider the issue that is most paramount: the well-being of Baltimore women and their ability to access comprehensive, unbiased reproductive health care" (Moore/Bloom, Baltimore Sun, 11/17).

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