Bill Schuette Fights for Fake Clinics

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette used the power of his office, and our tax dollars, to support something that hurts Michigan’s women, children and families.

Like he has on numerous other occasions, Schuette filed an amicus brief supporting a position that doesn’t reflect the beliefs of the people he is supposed to represent, and doesn’t benefit them, either. This time, it’s in support of so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers, supporting their claim that they have a constitutionally protected right to lie to women who come to them for help.

What are crisis pregnancy centers? Often, they’re the places that advertise with billboards that say things like SCARED AND PREGNANT? WE CAN HELP.

But they can’t. They’re not health care providers. But they certainly pretend to be in order to get pregnant, vulnerable women in the door.

But once they’re inside, the women who came seeking help never hear the truth: that staff at these centers aren’t qualified or licensed to provide medical care. They aren’t even bound by ethics rules to provide medically accurate information.

When Schuette the signed the Friend of the Court brief in support of the crisis pregnancy center case before the Supreme Court of the United States, he was showing his true colors: he believes crisis pregnancy centers have greater rights under the Constitution than women.

The centers are arguing that the First Amendment gives them permission to lie about medical procedures, and protects them from accountability when they do.

It’s not surprising that Bill Schuette is again siding with his anti-choice, anti-birth control campaign contributors instead of his constituents, but it is laughable that he thinks the rights of a religious organization outweighs the rights of every woman in the state of Michigan to access constitutionally protected medical care.

And, he’s is willing to go all the way to the Supreme Court in defense of staff at these centers lying to women and pretending to provide medical care.

All to undermine women’s actual, constitutionally-protected right to safe, legal abortions.

It’s time to stop his attacks on our health. Join us. Stand up and fight back against Bill Schuette.