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76 Nat'l Law. Guild Rev. 75 (2019)
NIFLA v. Becerra and Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Constitutionalizing the Distribution of False Medical Information to Pregnant People

handle is hein.journals/guild76 and id is 79 raw text is: Amelia Spencer NIFLA V. BECERRA AND CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTERS: CONSTITUTIONALIZING THE DISTRIBUTION OF FALSE MEDICAL INFORMATION TO PREGNANT PEOPLE I. Introduction An abortion clinic and a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) stand directly across from each other at the corner of 12th and Delaware in Fort Pierce, Florida.' A man hovers outside the abortion clinic holding a poster of a bloody, mangled fetus.2 A woman paces the sidewalk holding a rosary and singing hymns.' As patients enter the abortion clinic, protesters alternate between insulting them, calling them murderers, and attempting to lure them across the street to the CPC.4 When the doctor arrives, he is covered by a sheet to protect his identity.' Seeking an abortion in the U.S. can be traumatic. Performing abortions can be downright dangerous.6 With the passage of Roe v. Wade,7 pro-life activists mobilized on a national level, sowing the seeds for an intensely polarized battle over abortion rights that, in great part, defines the Democratic and Republican party platforms as they exist today.' A key component of anti-choice activism has been the establishment of CPCs. California became the first state to regulate CPCs through its Reproductive Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care, and Transparency (FACT) Act, which required CPCs to disclose that state funded clinics offer other pregnancy options (including abortion) and inform patients if they are not licensed to provide medical services. I In NationalInstitute ofFamily andLife Advocates v. Becerra, the Supreme Court held that California's FACT Act violated the First Amendment.10 In light of NIFLA v. Becerra, there are three necessary policy changes. First, state and federal governments should refuse to fund CPCs directly or indirectly. CPCs violate the First Amendment's Establishment Clause on separation of church and state when they use government funds to mas- querade as healthcare clinics and provide inaccurate medical information to pregnant people. Second, the federal government should enact a National Deceptive Trade Practices Act to target CPCs' false advertising and decep- tive practices. Finally, Congress should promulgate a statute that conforms with NIFLA v. Becerra. CPCs impose an unconstitutional undue burden on individuals seeking abortions when they provide them with inaccurate Amelia Spencer is a recent graduate of the George Washington University Law School and has accepted a position as a staff attorney with Bronx Legal Services in New York.

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