Spitzer's deal with a pregnancy center may end fight with other facilities
The state attorney general's office has hammered out an agreement with a Rochester-area crisis pregnancy center, in a move that may herald the end of the ongoing battle between the attorney general and 23 other centers across the state.
Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer on Thursday announced the agreement with Birthright, a crisis pregnancy center in Victor, on the southeast side of Rochester. In the agreement, Birthright agreed to clarify to its clients what services it does or doesn't offer.
"We regard this as a very positive development," Spitzer spokesman Darren Dopp said Thursday. "Our goal was not to close any facility or abridge anyone's free-speech rights. We had always hoped for a negotiated settlement." Now that one center has reached an agreement, Dopp said his office hopes that other centers will be able to reach similar agreements with Spitzer.
Early in January, Spitzer's office issued 11 subpoenas seeking documents from 24 crisis pregnancy centers across the state. Investigators were trying to determine whether the centers attract pregnant women by deceptive means and whether they practice medicine without a license.
On Thursday, Dopp said Spitzer plans to withdraw all the subpoenas, although he suggested they could be reissued later if settlement talks prove fruitless.
"If they withdraw the subpoenas, we will sit down and talk with them," said attorney Anne F. Downey, who represents the Buffalo center, along with her husband Brian W. Downey. "We have always been willing to sit down with them and talk about all alleged problems or issues," Brian Downey said. Two weeks ago, the Downeys announced they would file a lawsuit seeking to quash the subpoena issued to the Buffalo center. The pending withdrawal of the subpoena would appear to make their lawsuit moot, they suggested.
Lewis James, executive director of the local crisis pregnancy center, welcomed the prospect of reaching an agreement with the state. "I'd like to see an agreement where we can continue to provide services as we have for 17 years, without (anyone) infringing on our First Amendment rights," he said.
Under the agreement with Spitzer's office, Birthright agreed to:
Clearly inform potential clients that it doesn't provide or even give referrals for abortions or birth control.
Tell clients, verbally and in writing, that it's not a licensed medical provider.
Clarify, in advertising and consumer contacts, that the pregnancy tests it provides are self-administered ones available over the counter.
James said the local center does offer information on all kinds of birth control and abortion procedures. "But when someone asks us about those services, we say we don't provide them," he said. While welcoming Thursday's news, James questioned the time and expense of the attorney general's efforts,
and Anne Downey expressed concerns about what center volunteers will be able to tell clients. "I am still concerned about the free-speech issue," she said. "Do I have to have a script written by Eliot Spitzer?"
e-mail: gwarner@buffnews.com
