HARTFORD — A new lawsuit is challenging a Hartford ordinance that requires faith-based, anti-abortion pregnancy care centers to clearly state whether staff members have medical licenses.
The Connecticut Law Tribune reports the Willimantic-based Caring Families Pregnancy Services claims in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday that the city’s ordinance is unconstitutional because it amounts to “compelled speech.”
The faith-based group has mobile units that offer free services in Hartford a few days each month including pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, adoption referrals, parenting classes and Bible studies. It notes the city ordinance exempts abortion clinics and other health care facilities.
Hartford Corporation Counsel Howard Rifkin says officials are confident the ordinance is constitutional. It was passed amid concerns about faith-based centers posing as legitimate clinics and providing misleading information about abortions.
