Supreme Court justices on both sides of the ideological spectrum expressed skepticism Tuesday about California’s “truth-in-advertising” law requiring anti-abortion clinics to more fully disclose what they are.
The anti-abortion “crisis pregnancy centers” objected to the law on free-speech grounds.
While some more liberal justices appeared receptive to the state’s case initially at the court Tuesday, the arguments appeared to unwind during several instances. Problems repeatedly arose for those defending the statute.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, the potential swing justice in this case, said the law in certain circumstances would seem to impose an undue burden. He cited a hypothetical example of a billboard in Los Angeles with the words “Choose Life.” He asked the lawyer for the state if it was paid for by an unlicensed facility if it would have to say so in large font and in multiple languages.
The lawyer for the state said that it would. For Kennedy, that seemed to be too much.
The case Tuesday pitted the right to know against the right of free speech. On one side are self-identified “crisis pregnancy centers” that seek to prevent abortions, and on the other side is the state of California, which enacted a law to ensure that these centers do not intentionally or unintentionally mislead the women who walk through their doors.
Supporters of the California law call the state’s effort nothing more than seeking “truth in advertising.” But anti-abortion pregnancy centers see the law as unconstitutional, compelling speech that turns them into mouthpieces for a government message they disagree with.
Read the full story at NPR
