UPDATE, 11/7/23, 10:43p EST: The Board of Supervisors failed to pass Lawson-Remer’s proposal to go on fishing expeditions in an effort to file lawsuits against pregnancy resource centers in San Diego County. However, this effort can be proposed repeatedly, so there is a chance that at some point, it may pass. According to kpbs.org, “After a lengthy public hearing, the board deadlocked on a 2-2 vote on the board letter put forward by Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. She and board Chairwoman Nora Vargas voted yes, while Supervisors Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond voted no.”
The outlet noted, “Supervisors could take up the proposal again at their next regular meeting on Dec. 5, or one in the future. According to a statement from Lawson-Remer’s office, “the policy will continue to come back to the Board of Supervisors for a vote at each meeting, unless the author … requests it be removed from the agenda.”
If Lawson-Remer is not the author of the proposal, then who is?
11/7/23: A San Diego County Supervisor is on a mission to shut down pro-life pregnancy resource centers (PRC), claiming they are fraudulent — without any apparent proof.
Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer has asked the County Board of Supervisors to approve the use of County time and money, reported CBS8, to tell women that PRCs are dangerous, and for the County to work to shut down PRCs completely. She is asking for $500,000 to launch a public education campaign aimed at slandering PRCs. She also wants lawsuits to be brought against the pro-life organizations. The board is scheduled to vote on Tuesday morning.
“They’re fake centers pretending to offer reproductive healthcare advice to women, luring unsuspecting women into their doors. They do not offer actual medical advice. They do not offer any prenatal services. They do not offer a full range of healthcare to women. They instead try to prevent women from exercising their right to seek healthcare services and to seek an abortion,” Lawson-Remer claimed.
READ: Pregnancy centers vs. abortion businesses: Who truly offers ‘limited services’?
In a statement to CBS 8, Carolyn Koole, the Executive Director of Hope Clinic for Women, a PRC which is a licensed primary care medical clinic with the State of California and located in San Diego County, said:
In the last year, Hope Clinic for Women provided over 3,380 free services to women, including pregnancy tests, maternity and infant resources, ultrasounds, parenting classes, and mentoring, totaling more than $678,000. Oftentimes, we establish long-term relationships with these women as we assist them after their pregnancies and continue to offer support.
These women often have no other resources and the Board of Supervisors, through their misinformed and misguided efforts to shut down places like pregnancy centers that help women and their families for free, is a direct attack on women who are in need of assistance.
If the Board really wanted to aid women in unsupported pregnancies, they would be promoting pregnancy centers, not trying to shut them down. It is a travesty that they are directly targeting centers whose mission is to aid women at no cost solely because they are pro-abortion and we are not.
Despite this assistance, which abortion facilities do not offer women, Lawson-Remer wants to close the 16 PRCs in operation in San Diego County. She is asking the County’s legal department to investigate each one to see if they are fraudulent and then shut down each one. Planned Parenthood supports her efforts because PRCs help women choose life, which takes away potential abortion clients from the abortion chain.
“These centers advertise free pregnancy tests, and pregnancy or abortion counseling. They’re often listed online as pregnancy resource or help centers, women centers, or abortion alternatives. All people should have access to the care and information they need about their own decisions about when and if to start a family,” said Dr. Toni Manego, the Chief Medical Officer for Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.
There is nothing in Manego’s statement that indicates PRCs in San Diego County are operating fraudulently. They do offer free pregnancy tests, counseling, ultrasounds, and more to women. While volunteers help at PRCs, many have licensed medical staff available. Some are even licensed medical clinics in the State of California. The reason that Lawson-Remer and others are spreading misinformation about PRCs and working to shut them down is that they don’t commit abortions. Abortion is not health care. It intentionally ends a human life.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of women with a history of abortion say they underwent abortion due to pressure from outside forces such as a boyfriend, parents, financial concerns, and educational concerns. PRCs help to elevate those women by arming and empowering them with the tools they need to parent.
Lawson-Remer has no proof that PRCs in San Diego County are operating fraudulently. If they are, they should be shut down or fined. But if this is not an ideological witch hunt, Lawson-Remer should investigate abortion businesses for any possible fraudulent activity as well. Many have already been shown to lie to women. Some have even injured women. San Diego County has at least nine Planned Parenthood facilities, at least one of which has been sued for malpractice after perforating a woman’s colon and uterus during an abortion.
