{"id":313241,"date":"2024-06-04T10:52:37","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T15:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=313241"},"modified":"2024-06-03T18:26:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T23:26:49","slug":"washington-investigation-pregnancy-resource-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/washington-investigation-pregnancy-resource-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington AG drops investigation into pregnancy resource centers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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After launching an investigation into pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) described as illegal and unconstitutional, the state of Washington has dropped the investigation<\/a> after it caused the PRCs demonstrable harm.<\/p>\n

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson previously issued demands to Obria Group and Obria Medical Groups PNW, alleging in an interview with Bloomberg Law<\/a> that he was \u201cdeeply concerned about any effort to deceive pregnant Washingtonians about their reproductive health care options.\u201d Ferguson demanded the PRCs provide patient information, records, and activities dating as far back as 2010, claiming he wanted to check for violations of Washington\u2019s Consumer Protection Act. Tellingly, only the two PRCs were targeted, and not the dozens of other similar organizations.<\/p>\n

Obria and Obria Medical partnered with Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which filed a lawsuit<\/a> against Ferguson in December. \u201cThe U.S. Constitution protects Obria Group and Obria Medical Groups PNW\u2019s right to freely speak their beliefs, freely exercise their faith, freely associate with like-minded individuals and organizations, and continue to provide services in a caring and compassionate environment to women and men facing difficult pregnancy circumstances,\u201d ADF Senior Counsel Tim Garrison said. \u201cOur clients have already expended exorbitant time and financial resources trying to comply with the unreasonable demands made by Washington\u2019s attorney general and we urge the court to swiftly halt his unlawful actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

ADF argued that the “overbroad, invasive, selective, and burdensome investigative demands” violated the PRCs’ First, Fourth, and 14th Amendment rights.<\/p>\n

READ: Pregnancy centers under attack: NY center firebombed, NC center vandalized as violence rises<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ferguson claimed he didn’t cause any harm to the PRCs, and therefore, federal courts shouldn’t hear the lawsuit against him. However, after one of the centers showed that the investigation had<\/strong> caused them harm \u2014 causing them to lose insurance coverage and pay seven times more for replacement coverage \u2014 Ferguson officially dropped the investigation rather than answer in court. ADF still wants the courts to confirm that Ferguson unlawfully targeted PRCs simply for their pro-life beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one should be investigated by the government simply because they hold views the government doesn\u2019t like. We\u2019re pleased Washington\u2019s attorney general has ceased his unlawful investigation into our clients, and that Obria Group and Obria Medical Clinics PNW will be free to continue their life-saving work in the community,\u201d ADF Senior Counsel Lincoln Wilson said in a press release. \u201cWe look forward to a ruling from the court confirming that the attorney general unlawfully targeted and harassed these clinics because of their pro-life stance. The Constitution protects Obria medical clinics, and all other pro-life organizations, to freely speak their beliefs, exercise their faith, and continue compassionately serving women and couples facing difficult pregnancy circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite providing more than $367 million in services<\/a> to women and families in 2022, pro-life PRCs have been under attack from both the government<\/a> and abortion advocates in recent years. Attorneys general from 17 states, all Democrats, formed a \u201cReproductive Rights Working Group\u201d dedicated to promoting abortion and attacking PRCs. The group includes representatives from pro-abortion organizations, including the National Abortion Federation and the National Women\u2019s Law Center. PRCs have also faced<\/a> vandalism and firebombings, with little to no action taken against the perpetrators.<\/p>\n

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The DOJ put a pro-life grandmother in jail for protesting the killing of preborn children. Please take 30-seconds to TELL CONGRESS: STOP THE DOJ FROM TARGETING PRO-LIFE AMERICANS.<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After launching an investigation into pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) described as illegal and unconstitutional, the state of Washington has dropped the investigation after it caused the PRCs demonstrable harm. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson previously issued demands to Obria Group and Obria Medical Groups PNW, alleging in an interview with Bloomberg Law that he was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":252910,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3473,11],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWashington AG forced to drop investigation into pregnancy resource centers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Washington state has been forced to drop an investigation into pro-life pregnancy centers and admit it caused the PRCs harm.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/washington-investigation-pregnancy-resource-centers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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