[JURIST] The Supreme Court [official website] on Monday refused to rule [order list, PDF] on a challenge to New York City Administrative Code § 20-816 [text, PDF], which requires non-profit crisis pregnancy centers to disclose whether they have a licensed medical provider on staff. The ordinance requires that pregnancy service centers make certain disclosures to their clients about their services, which include whether there is a licensed medical provider on staff and whether the facility provides referrals for emergency contraception, prenatal care and abortion. The ordinance was aimed at crisis pregnancy centers run by anti-abortion organizations and meant to protect consumers. The appeal came from a 2011 decision by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website], in which the court blocked [JURIST report] other portions of the ordinance. The American Center of Law and Justice [advocacy website], representing the pregnancy centers in the case, argued that these disclosure requirements violated the center’s First Amendment rights. New York City argued that the law was meant for consumer protection and demanded truth in advertising because although the facilities provide a charitable function, the services they provide could either prevent or delay the decision to terminate a pregnancy. The district court blocked [opinion, PDF] the portions of the law that required the centers to disclose whether they provide referrals for emergency contraception and abortions but upheld the portion that requires the centers to disclose whether they have a licensed medical provider on staff. Judge William Pauley rejected the argument that a facility that provides a good or service should be considered a commercial entity.

Reproductive rights [JURIST backgrounder] continue to be a polarizing issue. In October an Oklahoma Women’s Health Care Provider challenged [JURIST report] a law restricting non-surgical abortion procedures. In September an anti-abortion rights group in Pittsburgh challenged [JURIST report] a city ordinance that created picket-free zones specifically 15 feet from any entrance to a hospital or healthcare facility. In July the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] overturned [JURIST report] a Mississippi law that required all doctors associated with abortion facilities to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, and would have closed the only abortion clinic in the state. In June the Supreme Court struck down [JURIST report] a Massachusetts ordinance requiring a 35-foot protest-free-zone around the drive-way of abortion clinics as unconstitutional.