Lombardo Instructs DHHS To Remove Politicized Language Targeting Crisis Pregnancy Centers

In response to a petition circulated by Nevada Right for Life and in reversal of former Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak’s rhetoric, Governor Joe Lombardo instructed the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to remove politicized language targeting Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) from the State’s abortion website.

The Nevada Current reports:

A four-paragraph section with the subheading “Report Misleading Abortion Service Providers” first appeared on an “Abortion Information for Nevadans” page launched by DHHS in October 2022, under the direction of Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak. It described CPCs as “organizations that seek to intercept women considering abortion.”

“CPCs often advertise that they provide medical services, advice, and counseling in a clinical setting,” the section continued. “However, CPCs do not provide comprehensive, accurate, or evidence-based clinical information. Instead, the primary goal of CPCs is to dissuade people seeking abortions from obtaining the procedure.”

The site then linked to an existing portal for reporting complaints to the state and encouraged the public to report any misleading practices by Nevada CPCs.

Lombardo spokesperson Elizabeth Ray confirmed that the governor’s office instructed the DHHS to remove the information.

“Governor Lombardo was concerned by the mischaracterization and politicization of crisis pregnancy centers on a government website,” she said in an emailed statement. “Governor Lombardo believes that crisis pregnancy centers offer critical resources, support, and care for pregnant women in Nevada.”

The Nevada Current notes that although seven CPC’s operate in Nevada, no reports regarding misleading practices were received by DHHS. However, last September, CPC’s were targeted by Democrats and violent abortion activists.

The Globe reported:

Senator Cortez Masto accused crisis pregnancy centers of misleading vulnerable women and joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in cosponsoring the “Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act” to “crack down on false advertising about abortion services by these fake clinics” that “consistently mislead vulnerable women.” The bill Cortez Masto is co-sponsoring also threatens to shut down pro-life charities if they promote prohibited “disinformation” — a term not defined in the legislation.

Crisis pregnancy centers consistently mislead vulnerable women about the health care services they provide. I joined my colleagues in cosponsoring the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act to crack down on false advertising about abortion services by these fake clinics.

— Senator Cortez Masto (@SenCortezMasto) September 9, 2022

In response to the leak of the Supreme Court’s opinion overruling Roe v. Wade, CPC’s withstood a  wave of vandalism perpetrated by at least two groups: “Jane’s Revenge” and “Ruth Sent us”, and is well-chronicled by Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe:

In the two and a half months since a draft of the Supreme Court opinion overruling Roe v. Wade was leaked, a wave of vandalism and violence has been unleashed against crisis pregnancy centers around the country.

Since early May, nearly 60 such facilities, which offer supplies, counseling, and services to pregnant women who choose not to get an abortion, have been targeted. In one attack, arsonists firebombed CompassCare, a Christian pregnancy center in Buffalo, N.Y., shattering its windows and destroying much of its interior. Graffiti painted on the center’s walls read “Jane Was Here” — a reference to the extremist group Jane’s Revenge, which has declared “open season” on any organization that opposes abortion and vowed to strike them with “increasingly drastic measures” that will not be as “easily cleaned up as fire and graffiti.”

In other incidents, a crisis pregnancy center in Longmont, Colo., was set on fire and spray-painted with the words “If abortions aren’t safe neither are you”; the Mother and Child Education Center in Portland, Ore., suffered $10,000 in damage when militants attacked it on June 27; and the front door of the Community Pregnancy Center in Anchorage, Alaska, was smashed and the parking lot was strewn with nails. Two pregnancy centers in Worcester were vandalized in back-to-back attacks on July 7.

Back in May, The Globe toured a crisis pregnancy center in Las Vegas, established in 1985, that has helped thousands of women by providing formula, diapers, clothing, basic necessities, classes, ultrasounds and counseling. The programs support the family until the baby is three years old. Our tour was scheduled by then-gubernatorial candidate Joey Gilbert.

During our tour, the director of the center told The Globe that the clinic assists over 2,000 clients a year, averages 8,000 visits a year by pregnant women, and has saved over 1,847 babies in 2021.

The clinic operates on a $2 million budget. “We are the only organization that offers free prenatal care in the nation. The government overwhelms women and pushes toward abortion. It is cheaper to get an abortion than prenatal and postnatal care. We meet a woman’s need from a spiritual perspective. We don’t want to be another government clinic. Our spiritual disciple classes went up 800% during the pandemic” she said.

The director added, “The sanctity of human life includes the mother’s challenges. We are champions for women and they do face challenges of an unexpected pregnancy. They feel over-powered. Boyfriends and men are scared, too. It is often not just a woman’s choice. We help her build support. We have both female and male volunteers. 95-98 percent change their minds and choose life. We do what God wants us to do but the Holy Spirit works on the hearts and lives of our clients.”

This move reaffirms Governor Lombardo’s pro-life stance and follows his signing of SB131, abortion legislation that drew criticism from the NVGOP and praise from Planned Parenthood, NARAL and state Democrats.

In an emailed statement to the Nevada Current, Nevada Right to Life Executive Director Melissa Clement praised the removal of the “threatening and bullying” language, and accused former Gov. Sisolak of attempting to “criminalize community service organizations that walk alongside and provide critical services and help to pregnant and parenting women.” She added, “It is a relief to finally have a governor who does not see himself as the marketing department of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.”