Baltimore, Md., Jul 7, 2012 / 06:04 am
Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore expressed appreciation after a federal court said Maryland pregnancy centers should not have to post signs they claimed were unnecessary and discriminatory.
"At a time when religious freedom is being challenged on many fronts, this ruling represents a major victory for the First Amendment and for those people who seek to live their lives and their faith according to it," Archbishop Lori said in his response to the decision.
The archbishop, who also heads the U.S. bishops' religious freedom committee, said the centers had been "targeted for their pro-life views." He praised the judges for striking down the "onerous, discriminatory laws" which "have no place in a nation founded on freedom."
In two June 27 rulings, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld lower court decisions against laws regulating pregnancy centers in Baltimore and Montgomery County.