The Democrat-controlled state of Massachusetts has announced a new public ad campaign that will spend $1 million warning residents about the “dangers and potential harm” of pro-life pregnancy centers, in an unprecedentedly partisan use of taxpayer funds.
As reported by Fox News, the ads began appearing on social media, radio, billboards, and public transit on June 10th. The posts, signs, and commercials warn women to “avoid anti-abortion centers,” and to instead “search for a trusted abortion provider.” The advertisements are sponsored by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
“The troubling practices of anti-abortion centers serve to undermine the trust that people should have in our health care system,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll (D-Mass.) in a statement on June 10th. “Education and accurate information can help counter the misinformation and unethical tactics these centers use to prey on people at a particularly vulnerable time.”
The campaign was coordinated between the Department of Public Health and the left-wing pro-abortion group Reproductive Equity Now Foundation (RENF). The funding was provided by a “$1 million investment that the Massachusetts legislature passed as part of its FY2023 supplemental budget.”
Pro-life pregnancy clinics are centers where pregnant women can seek counsel and support regarding their unwanted pregnancies; such centers encourage the women to keep their babies, providing them with free testing, baby items, and information regarding alternatives to abortion. The state’s announcement claims that such pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) outnumber pro-abortion clinics by a margin of 2-to-1.
Robbie Goldstein, the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Health, claimed that such clinics are “masquerading” as authentic health care providers.
“Every day, individuals in the Commonwealth walk into anti-abortion centers unaware that these facilities are masquerading as comprehensive medical providers and pose a significant risk to the health and well-being of those seeking help, support, and options,” said Goldstein in a statement. “As a physician, I find this kind of deception and misrepresentation unconscionable, and as Commissioner, I feel compelled to push back as hard as possible against these shameful practices and blatant misinformation.”
Amidst the ongoing ad campaign, another piece of legislation is working its way through the Massachusetts legislature that would heavily regulate such clinics’ ability to advertise. If signed into law, the bill would issue fines of up to $1,000 to clinics that issue “deceptive” statements regarding pregnancy treatment; the determination of whether or not a statement is “deceptive” would be made solely by the state attorney general.
“This bill engages in blatant viewpoint discrimination,” read a memo from the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), a conservative nonprofit. “It targets the speech of pro-life PRCs while allowing free rein to abortion clinics.”