Protecting Pregnancy Centers From Government Coercion

Pregnancy resource centers serve some of the most vulnerable people in their communities. They offer free ultrasounds, material support, counseling, and ongoing care to mothers facing difficult circumstances. Their work is not incidental to their faith convictions; it is a direct expression of them. These centers exist precisely because they believe every human life has inherent dignity from conception, and every service they offer flows from that belief.

In recent years, a growing number of government bodies have attempted to regulate these centers in ways that would compel them to refer clients for abortions, post government-scripted notices undermining their message, or otherwise act in direct contradiction to their founding purpose. These mandates do not merely inconvenience pregnancy centers; they strike at the core of what makes them what they are. A center forced to become a referral conduit for abortion is no longer a pregnancy resource center in any meaningful sense.

The Pregnancy CARE Act addresses this threat directly. By codifying statutory autonomy for pregnancy centers and establishing a private right of action for both equitable relief and monetary damages, the bill creates real and enforceable protections rather than aspirational language. When a government body oversteps, these centers will have a clear legal remedy and genuine recourse.

From a principled, faith-informed perspective, this legislation recognizes something important: protecting the freedom of life-affirming ministries to operate consistently with their convictions is inseparable from protecting life itself. You cannot simultaneously claim to value the work of pregnancy centers and strip them of the ability to do that work on their own terms. The two are bound together.

The American Council supports the Pregnancy CARE Act as sound, principled legislation. It protects conscience, preserves the integrity of life-affirming ministry, and ensures that government power cannot be weaponized to silence those who serve mothers and children in their most vulnerable moments. We urge its passage.