Rawlings-Blake cited an investigation by an advocacy group which claimed that women have been misled at pregnancy centers.
Planned Parenthood of Maryland also backed the law.
The bill passed the council by a 12-3 vote on Monday and must be approved by Mayor Sheila Dixon. Though an abortion supporter, she has not stated her position on the legislation.
In a Nov. 12 interview with CNA, Mary Sullivan, Communications Director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, reported that the pro-abortion group NARAL sent interns into Baltimore pregnancy centers to gather information used in hearings for the bill.
Sullivan questioned the reliability of that information.
“The only reliable sources are the actual women served by these centers. All of these women say they received excellent, competent care,” she added, saying backers of the proposal were unable to find a real client who claimed to have been misled.
Mary Ellen Russell, Executive Director of the Maryland Catholic Conference, told CNA in a Wednesday phone conversation that the Conference is “very concerned” about the precedent the legislation is setting.
“We defeated similar legislation at the state level two years ago. We’ll continue to do everything in our power to forestall other jurisdictions in our state from following the example of targeting pro-life charities that support women.”
Maryland Right to Life’s Jeff Meister told CNA on Wednesday that the proposed legislation is part of a national strategy, pointing to similar legislation introduced in the Maryland General Assembly, in other states and in the U.S. Congress.
There the proposals were “soundly rejected,” he reported. This prompted pro-abortion lobbying groups to go to local jurisdictions “where they have more support.”
“There is a national strategy to target pro-life pregnancy centers and that strategy alters as they meet challenges,” he charged.
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Meister noted the main proponents of the bill, like NARAL and Planned Parenthood, and opponents like Maryland Right to Life are all lobbying organizations.
“We’re used to dealing with the politics of abortion,” he explained.
“Now pro-life pregnancy centers, they’re simply charities,” Meister continued. “It’s really unfortunate that charities, with the great work that they’re doing serving women and families, have to go to a legislative body that they’re probably not familiar with and then spend time out of their own day simply to defend their own integrity.
“It’s unfortunate that charities have to be dragged into the political arena.”
The Baltimore Sun reported that the Catholic Archdiocese of Maryland gives $100,000 a year to pregnancy centers and gives the Center for Pregnancy Concerns free use of space at two churches.
Archbishop of Baltimore Edwin F. O’Brien has said the archdiocese is prepared “legally to address” the proposed regulations.