http://www.democratandchronicle.com/news/0225story6_news.shtml

State, pregnancy center discuss subpoena

By Jay Tokasz Democrat and Chronicle

(February 25, 2002) — A pregnancy counseling center in Victor is
negotiating with the New York state Attorney General's Office to resolve
questions about how the facility operates.

Birthright of Victor was one of about two dozen crisis pregnancy centers
throughout the state to receive a subpoena in January.

The Attorney General's Office is investigating possible deception at the
centers. Investigators also want to ensure the facilities are not practicing
medicine without a license.

Several of the centers have refused to cooperate with Attorney General Eliot
Spitzer and have filed petitions with state Supreme Courts asking that the
subpoenas be quashed.

Birthright of Victor has not filed a lawsuit.

"We have very much appreciated their cooperation. We're hopeful we can
resolve the matter with them," said Darren Dopp, a spokesman for the
Attorney General's Office.

Birthright officials did not return telephone calls for comment.

They have said they did not understand why the Victor organization received
a subpoena.

The investigation has provoked criticism from groups that oppose abortion.

Pro-life groups have supported crisis pregnancy centers as a method of
preventing abortions. The subpoenas, they say, are another nod from the
state in favor of the abortion-rights lobby.

In Buffalo, the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Western New York has asked the
court to set aside the subpoena as an unreasonable violation of the
organization's First Amendment rights.

"We don't believe we're being deceptive," said Brian Downey, a lawyer
representing the Buffalo center.

Downey said the center would discuss the matter if the Attorney General's
Office dropped its subpoena.

"We don't want the threat of subpoena hanging over our head," he said.

The subpoena, he said, has a stigma attached to it, and complying with it
will only encourage the state to fish for more information in the future.

"It looks bad," he said. "It can have a chilling effect on people. It has
created a cloud over (us) that we believe is unjustified."