Journal pudge's Journal: Crazy Pro-Abortion Legislation in WA Legislature 1
HB 2837 puts additional regulations on some pregnancy centers if they do not offer referrals for abortions. So two clinics that are exactly the same, except that one offers abortion referrals and one doesn't, and the latter is defined as a "limited service pregnancy center," and must disclose to each client -- both verbally upon first contact, and in writing on the wall, on any advertisement, and on the home page, in English and Spanish -- that it "does not provide medical care for pregnant women."
As if offerring abortion referrals means it does provide medical care for pregnant women? Newsflash: providing a referral for "medical care" is not, itself, providing medical care. I shouldn't have to point out the obvious, but it seems it's necessary.
The center that does not provide abortion referrals also must not administer over-the-counter pregnancy tests, but instead inform the client that it is over-the-counter and give it to the client to self-administer. As if offerring abortion referrals means it should have to do differently?
It also introduces new requirements for disclosure of health care records
This bill is not about protecting potential clients, it is about trying to harm anti-abortion pregnancy centers, plain and simple. If the state wants to make these restrictions apply to everyone, fine, but to single out centers for restrictions where the only differentiating factor is that they do not offer abortion restrictions is so completely off-the-wall that there's few places it could possibly happen. We in Washington just happen to live in one of those places.
Cross-posted on <pudge/*>.
This is pretty crazy (Score:2)
Then again, that's what you get when you allow the government to write dictionaries. You start with judges who redefine "create" (for a good cause, of course. IIRC the case was posted here, some judge allowing a guy to be charged with "creating" child porn for downloading it, but hey root password), you get presidents who redefine "sexual relations", and now you're getting legislation that redefines "pregnancy care".
As for the medical records, nearly everything in the bill there is mandated by the federa