A consortium of New Jersey pregnancy centers has filed a lawsuit against the state for a “misinformation and unwarranted attack” on their credibility.
In December of 2022, the New Jersey Attorney General issued a consumer alert, alleging that pregnancy centers were using deceptive advertising and marketing tactics.
Pregnancy centers accused of misleading advertising
“Your right to an abortion is protected in New Jersey,” the consumer alert states. “You have the right to truthful, unbiased, and accurate medical health information about abortion care and where to access such care.”
Immediately after the alert was issued, Eileen S. Den Bleyker, Esq., an attorney representing the consortium, requested copies of documents supporting the claims. He pursued these records for over four months, without success, and eventually filed a Verified Complaint and Order to Show Cause. The first hearing was held on April 25 in the Superior Court of the New Jersey Law Division.
“I believe Consumer Alert is a misinformed and unwarranted attack on the charitable work these nonprofit organizations have provided to women and families in our community for more than 30 years,” said Den Bleyker. , representing the consortium. “To date, the State has failed to produce any complaints against pregnancy centers that led to the issuance of an Alert or any documentation that New Jersey pregnancy centers are operating at anything less than the best. skill.”
The consumer alert issued in New Jersey is just one of countless examples of how pregnancy centers accused of deceptive advertising have faced continued scrutiny, condemnation, and attack, especially at the end of the last year. Roe. V. Wade Supreme Court Decision.
In 2022, pro-abortion states like New York, New Jersey, California, and Minnesota issued consumer alerts about pregnancy centers. On a national level, politicians like Elizabeth Warren have proposed legislation, issued threatening letters, and even called for the closing of pregnancy resource centers.
A 2022 The CareCast Podcast addresses the accusations levied against pregnancy centers by Elizabeth Warren and other politicians and government officials. Roland Warren, Care Net’s CEO and President, says the argument of pregnancy centers being deceptive falls apart when looked at logically. She noted that women seeking abortions are not as gullible as pro-abortion advocates claim and presented two persuasive statistics: 1) half of women who have had an abortion have had at least one, and 2) Fifty-nine percent of women who have abortions are mothers.
The CareCast segment also highlighted the huge disparity in marketing budgets between Planned Parenthood and pregnancy centers, and how the mainstream media, the White House, celebrities, and even pop culture heavily promote abortion.
Roland Warren says it’s ironic—considering the accusations against pregnancy centers—that the real deception comes from culture when it comes to abortion.
“We (pregnancy centers) don’t bring people into the darkness, we lead them into the light,” she said. “When you’re in the dark and the light comes on, you see what it really is. That’s what pregnancy centers do. And that is why Elizabeth Warren, and others like her, want to, from a biblical construct, put a basket over this light.”
“They want people to continue to be in the dark in terms of how they view this issue. They don’t want the truth of what’s going on to be promoted to the public. [square].”
That reality includes the compassion, hope, and free help that pregnancy centers provide to their communities each year. The consortium of New Jersey pregnancy centers that filed the lawsuit against the state provides free services and ongoing support worth more than $3 million to more than 35,000 women, men, youth, and families each year. This includes nearly $2 million in free medical services provided by licensed and credentialed medical professionals. Nationally, Care Net’s 1,200 affiliates have provided nearly $200 million in free medical services, material, educational, and emotional support over the past three years.
During the CareCast segment, Vincent DiCaro, Chief Outreach Officer at Care Net, encouraged listeners to continue to support pregnancy centers with their time, talent and resources, especially in this dire climate.
“Pregnancy centers need us now more than ever,” she said. “And the women and men in our country who are making pregnancy decisions need pregnancy centers more than ever.”
