Bill Would Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation By

Capitol Comments

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) led a group of Senate colleagues in introducing the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act that would ban false advertising related to abortion services by Crisis Pregnancy Centers. The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit deceptive or misleading advertising related to the provision of abortion services and collect penalties from organizations in violation. Each year, thousands of pregnant people

Crisis Pregnancy Centers

seeking objective and medically sound reproductive health care end up walking into crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), who falsely and deliberately advertise themselves as comprehensive reproductive health care providers, yet, their intent is to discourage pregnant people from having abortions.

“Reproductive rights remain under a coordinated assault by Republicans across the nation including the latest attempts to ban medication abortion, which is why it is so critical that we preserve access to trusted information and comprehensive reproductive health care services,” said Sen. Menendez. “Our bicameral SAD Act, will direct the FTC to prohibit deceptive and misleading advertisements about abortion services by crisis pregnancy centers that jeopardize women’s health and well-being. It is time to crack down on these centers, stop their harmful and misleading tactics, and finally hold them accountable for their actions.”

CPCs routinely use a variety of deceptive tactics, including making false claims about reproductive health care and disseminating inaccurate, misleading, and stigmatizing information about abortion and contraception. Additionally, most CPCs in the United States do not employ licensed medical personnel or provide referrals for birth control or abortion care.

According to the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) Public Health and Surveillance, there are more than 2,500 CPCs in the United States, though some anti-abortion groups claim that the number is closer to 4,000. One study found that, on average, CPCs outnumber abortion clinics nationwide by an average of 3 to 1, but in some states, the ratio is as high as 11 to 1. According to published reports, New Jersey has 54 crisis pregnancy centers with at least one in every county.

The legislation is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, American Public Health Association, Guttmacher Institute, Power to Decide, National Women’s Law Center, National Birth Equity Collaborative, National Organization for Women, National Women’s Health Network, Medical Students for Choice, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, National Health Law Program (NHeLP), IPAS Partners for Reproductive Justice, Physicians for Reproductive Health, National Council of Jewish Women, Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Na- tional Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, Catholics for Choice, American Atheists, and National Council of Jewish Women New York.

“Everybody deserves to have access to accurate, comprehensive, and unbiased medical information to make personal decisions about their health and bodies,” said NARAL ProChoice America President Mini Timmaraju. “NARAL applauds Rep. Bonamici and Sen. Menendez’s leadership on the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, which would help put an end to false advertising from fake health centers that intentionally lie to, shame, and mislead pregnant people seeking an abortion in order to block them from accessing care.

As we continue to face an abortion rights and access crisis, now is the time to fight for our freedom to access care and ensure that health information is accurate and unbiased.”

“Anti-abortion facilities cause chaos and confusion by using disinformation to mislead and deter people from getting the basic health care services they need and deserve,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. “Everyone should have medically accurate and unbiased information about their health care options.”

Local Centers

There are several crisis pregnancy centers in the area. The Open Door in Toms River has an entire web page explaining that they will give information about abortion, but at the bottom, in very fine print, it says “The Open Door does not perform or refer for abortions.”

Compare this to the Birthright locations in Toms River and Barnegat which don’t mention abortion at all.

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“Five members of the Commission participated including Commission Secretary Amanda Kristy and her children, several Manchester School Soccer team members, and other volunteers. The township picked up the fruits of our labor,” Argenti added.

The clean up was sponsored by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Barnegat Bay Blitz, Save Barnegat Bay’s Clean Communities project, and Manchester Township Department of Public Works.

“Clean ups help with providing clean water for us to drink and clean air for us to breathe. This was the fi rst Earth Day Clean Up for Manchester Township. It was well attended, gathered lots of garbage, and was very successful,” Save Barnegat Bay Executive Director Britta Forsberg said.

Volunteers signed up on a Google form which saved paper along the way. Environmental Commission members Gabrielle Fox, Genevieve Stavalo, William Foor, and Argenti took part in the effort along with Kisty and her sons Derek and Vincent Kisty.

They were joined by the Save Barnegat Bay Clean Community staff Leigh Simpson, Manchester School Soccer team members, and other volunteers.

“If other Manchester neighborhoods want to do their own clean ups of township land, kindly let the commission know and we can help you organize them. We can also provide notes to students for credit in schools,” Fox added.

Among the litter collected that was picked up by the township, were a stop sign on a pole, a contractor’s sign, old construction tools and equipment, folding chairs, and just plain litter. “We could not remove the bed or other very large items,” Argenti said. She added, “this is a great activity for Earth Day since Cleanups collect litter along the trails that mix with rain to create polluted runoff, the town receives credit for scheduling volunteer cleanups on their Annual MS4 Stormwater Report.”

The Environmental Commission meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 6 p.m. in the Courthouse on 1 Colonial Drive and the public is invited to attend meetings.

Habitat Cleans Up

As much as Earth Day is a time to clean up our habitat, Habitat for Humanity was also cleaning up a home.

The High School Habitat for Humanity Club members, under the direction of Advisor Kyle Pecora, set off to a group home in Manchester to conduct a spring clean-up spending their morning sweeping, raking, weeding, planting, and landscaping the grounds and gardens of the home.

Ten student volunteers were on site from all high school grade levels, donating their time to this cause.

Middle School Buzz

In other environmental news, members of Mrs. Laporte’s 7th Grade Science Class at Manchester Township Middle School were buzzing with excitement with their celebration of Earth Day with a lesson on the importance of bees.

Whiting Assembly of God

Sunday

Children’s

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