NJ to crisis pregnancy centers: "No ultrasound for you!"

Free ultrasound?  Not when abortion is on the line!

The text of New Jersey assembly bill A3477 sounds innocent enough. Taken at surface value, the bill is nothing more than a regulation ensuring that only professional folks are using ultrasound machines. That certainly sounds reasonable enough to a vast number of folks across the political spectrum. The devil, however, is in the details on this little legislative gem.

Bill A3477 was primarily sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Elease Evans of Paterson. Assemblywoman Evans has the privilege of serving in the New Jersey assembly while simultaneously serving as the Director of the Passaic County Board of Freeholders. Although the practice of dual-office holding in New Jersey has been banned, Evans’ status is protected under the grandfather clause of the statute. 

Evans’ bill restricts ultrasound use as follows:

 "1. a. A person shall not sell, offer to sell, offer for promotional purposes, lease, or otherwise   distribute in this State an obstetric-gynecologic ultrasonic imager, except to any of the following:
(1) a health care professional licensed pursuant to Title 45 of the Revised Statutes;
(2) a health care facility licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.);
(3) a dealer, distributor, manufacturer’s representative, or sales agent that purchases an obstetric-gynecologic ultrasonic imager for the sole purpose of selling, leasing, or otherwise distributing the equipment in accordance with this act;
(4) a bank, leasing company, or financial institution that purchases an obstetric-gynecologic ultrasonic imager from a manufacturer or other person for the sole purpose of leasing the system in accordance with this act; or
(5) an educational or research facility that purchases an obstetric-gynecologic ultrasonic imager for training or research purposes.
b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit a person who is not so authorized under federal law or regulations to buy, lease, or use an obstetric-gynecologic ultrasonic imager.

Notably absent from the list of “authorized” purchasers of ultrasound machines are the various crisis pregnancy centers around the state, including Choices of the Heart centers, currently serving Camden, Gloucester and Burlington counties.

Having been passed by the Assembly, the bill now sits in the Commerce Committee of the New Jersey State senate under the watchful eye of the Chairperson, Democratic State Senator Nia Gill of Montclair. If this bill is passed, the crisis pregnancy centers could be in a world of hurt.

Supporters of the bill would argue that the non-profit centers could simply have a doctor purchase the ultrasound machines for them. Thus, they argue, the statute isn’t going to impact their centers. This argument, however, doesn’t understand the nature of crisis pregnancy centers.

These centers are non-profit offices that provide free services to women facing unplanned pregnancies. They provide women with pregnancy tests, limited ultrasound scans and counseling. The ultrasound scans are done under the supervisor of a doctor. These doctors, however, are not employees of the centers, but rather local practicing doctors who have volunteered their time. As such, if the centers were forced to rely on the doctors to purchase the ultrasounds, their job would get very difficult.

For one, if a doctor purchased the ultrasound it would belong to him personally. Should that doctor stop volunteering for the center, the ultrasound would no longer belong there. Secondly, the centers are non-profit and therefore secure most of their funding via private tax-deductible donations. The cost of the ultrasound machines is underwritten by such donors. Making it impossible for centers to purchase the machines directly would invalidate that form of donation. It would also render them unable to apply for private charitable grants for the purchase of such technology. This bill, then, would likely force crisis pregnancy centers to shut down their ultrasound programs or become incredibly dishonest in how they get them. Additionally, the final wording of such a bill will not be completed until after passage. As such there could be further damage done to the rights of crisis pregnancy centers in the final bill.

The folks at crisis pregnancy centers are the only ones that will offer these girls support with no financial stake in what decision she makes. They are also saving the state money through their free services. Most centers estimate that between 85-90% of their clients are uninsured. When these young women come to the center and get a verification of their pregnancy, the folks at the centers are able to help them get into the Medicaid system early enough to qualify for managed Medicaid, which is coordinated through private healthcare insurers and thus provides a wider range of healthcare options for the girl at a lower cost to the state. If a girl waits to enter Medicaid until later in her pregnancy, she has to enter into “basic” care which both limits her options and increases the financial burden to the state. As one center director put it “the state enjoys the benefits of our no cost services but is unwilling to give us the tools to continue.”

The folks in support of this bill are beholden to the abortion lobby special interests. They don’t like crisis pregnancy centers because they are cutting into their bottom line.

Rabid pro-abortion folks like Planned Parenthood and her many sisters in the pro-abortion medical industry know the power of ultrasound. Statistically between 70-90% of women who are considering abortion and see their unborn child on an ultrasound scan will choose life. This could be one reason why the women considering abortion who go to Planned Parenthood and other such clinics are denied the right to see the ultrasound of their child even if they ask. The abortion industry is a billion dollar industry. Like any other billion dollar industry, it seeks to preserve its bottom line and market its wares. Planned Parenthood and their folks also make no pretense of the fact that they are not merely pro-choice, but rather pro-abortion. Don’t think so? Stop by their store and purchase your own “I had an abortion!” tee shirt.

In the state of New Jersey, where the teenage abortion rate is the highest in the nation and the overall rate is second only to New York, the abortion lobby is quite strong. It is this lobby that is influencing government policy and seeking to shut down any opposition to their bottom line. If women can get free services at a crisis pregnancy center, they might never enter one of these clinics.

The folks sponsoring bill A3477 can dress the language up in any way that they like, but the reality is that their bill only targets crisis pregnancy centers. The singling out of only one type of organization that currently uses this technology should speak volumes as to their intent.

The bill must be amended to include crisis pregnancy centers or scrapped entirely. In a state run by mostly liberal Democrats beholden to the abortion industry special interests, this fight amounts to a modern day David and Goliath.

Folks from both sides of the abortion debate should see the value in maintaining the crisis pregnancy centers. The savings to the state and the increase of sound factual information to women facing unplanned pregnancies should be applauded not punished. When even folks on the pro-choice side of the divide like former President Bill Clinton say that we should “reduce the number of abortions,” it would seem that most Americans agree with the work of crisis pregnancy centers. With the Gallup poll in May of this year finding that 51% of Americans claim to be pro-life and only 42% claiming to be pro-choice, the folks in Trenton might find themselves alone on this one with only the pro-abortion lobbyists to keep them company.

Maybe governing against the will of the people and denying people the truth, however, is the new thing to do. It sure did wonders with the stimulus bill. It also seems to be working for the whole healthcare debate, what with all of the screaming and hysteria at the town halls across the country.

Of course, the Democrats are supposed to be the ones for free healthcare. Either the folks in Trenton trying to destroy the crisis pregnancy centers missed that memo or perhaps that whole “free healthcare” socialist revolution isn’t about free healthcare after all.

For more info: 

On the Gallup Poll

NJ Bill A3477