Red states move to protect crisis pregnancy centers using model legislation

## Summary
Meg Kinnard/AP hide caption toggle caption Meg Kinnard/AP Conservative lawmakers in multiple states are pushing legislation drafted by an advocacy group that opposes abortion to increase protections for crisis pregnancy centers, organizations that provide some health-related services but also work to dissuade women from having abortions. The legislation would prohibit state and local governments from requiring crisis pregnancy centers to perform abortions, provide referrals for abortion services, or inform patients about such services or contraception options. Opponents of these centers say they falsely present themselves to consumers as medical clinics, though they are not subject to state and federal laws that protect patients in medical facilities. "Across the country, government officials are increasingly, increasingly targeting pregnancy care centers," Valerie Berry, executive director of the LifeChoice Pregnancy Care Center in Cheyenne, said at a February legislative hearing on the Wyoming bill. "This legislation is not about creating division. But the attacks the model legislation primarily aims to address are the legal and regulatory efforts by some states seeking more oversight of the crisis pregnancy centers, including a California law requiring centers to clearly inform patients about their services.

## Article Content
Red states move to protect crisis pregnancy centers using model legislation
March 18, 2026
6:00 AM ET
From
By
Jazmin Orozco Rodriguez
Across the country, there are more than 2,500 crisis pregnancy centers where staff try to convince women not to have abortions and connect them with help. Here, former VP Mike Pence visits a a mobile ultrasound unit with Carolina Pregnancy Center director Alexia Newman in South Carolina in 2022.
Meg Kinnard/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Meg Kinnard/AP
Conservative lawmakers in multiple states are pushing legislation drafted by an advocacy group that opposes abortion to increase protections for crisis pregnancy centers, organizations that provide some health-related services but also work to dissuade women from having abortions.
The legislation would prohibit state and local governments from requiring crisis pregnancy centers to perform abortions, provide referrals for abortion services, or inform patients about such services or contraception options. It also would allow crisis pregnancy centers to sue the violating government entity.
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Wyoming lawmakers
passed a version
of the Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression Act, or
CARE Act
, on March 4. Other versions have advanced in
Kansas
and
Oklahoma
this year. One was
signed into law in Montana
in 2025. The CARE Act is "model legislation" created by the
Alliance Defending Freedom
, an anti-abortion, conservative Christian legal advocacy group.
A similar proposal, the
Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act
, was introduced in Congress last year but hasn't moved out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Wyoming bill says that pregnancy centers, many of which are affiliated with religious organizations, need legal protection after facing "unprecedented attacks" following the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of
Roe v. Wade
. It says that several state legislatures have introduced bills that
would undermine the centers' freedom of speech and association rights
. Opponents of these centers say they falsely present themselves to consumers as medical clinics, though they are not subject to state and federal laws that protect patients in medical facilities.
"Across the country, government officials are increasingly, increasingly targeting pregnancy care centers," Valerie Berry, executive director of the
LifeChoice Pregnancy Care Center
in Cheyenne, said at a February legislative hearing on the Wyoming bill. "This legislation is not about creating division. It's about protecting constitutional freedoms, freedom of speech, and freedom of conscience."
Wyoming state
Rep. Ken Clouston
, a Republican, expressed concern at the hearing about granting protections to pregnancy centers that other private businesses do not have.
"They have protections in place," he said. "My issue with this is giving extra special protections."
In 2022, Wellspring Health Access, the only clinic in Wyoming that provides abortions, was targeted in
an arson attack
.
"We are the ones providing the accurate information on reproductive health care, and we suffer the consequences for that," Julie Burkhart, the president and founder of Wellspring Health Access, told KFF Health News.
Julie Burkhart stands outside the Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper, Wyo., shortly after it was the target of an arsonist in 2022.
Mead Gruver/AP
hide caption
toggle caption
Mead Gruver/AP
Mary Ziegler
, a professor at the University of California-Davis School of Law, said the proposed legislation would insulate crisis pregnancy centers from having to meet the standards that medical organizations face. It would blur the line between advocacy and medical practice, she said. And such legislation provides Republicans with a potentially useful campaign message ahead of midterm elections.
"The GOP needs a messaging strategy as for how it cares about women even if it bans abortion and even if it doesn't want to commit state resources to helping people before and after pregnancy," Ziegler said. "The strategy is to outsource that to pregnancy counseling centers, which of course increases the incentive to protect them."
From model legislation to the Supreme Court
The Alliance Defending Freedom is the same group that
helped overturn
Roe v. Wade
, the 1973 court ruling that protected the right to abortion nationwide. The group drafted
the Gestational Age Act,
model legislation to establish a 15-week abortion ban that was the basis of a 2018 Mississippi law. That led to the
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
Supreme Court case that overturned
Roe
.
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The Alliance Defending Freedom said its attorneys were unavailable to comment on the organization's strategy for the CARE Act. In
promotional materials
for the bill, the group said federal, state, and local efforts are targeting pregnancy care centers in a "c

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## Expert Analysis

### Merits
- Rachel Rodriguez-Williams , a Republican who heads the committee sponsoring the bill, presented the measure as "so important, especially with our maternity desert," referring to a lack of access to maternity health care services.
- Since Roe was overturned, the abortion rights movement has faced significant challenges.
- Despite the challenges clinics that provide abortions face, Burkhart, the head of the Wellspring facility in Wyoming, said it's important to continue offering access to people who need it.

### Areas for Consideration
- Ken Clouston , a Republican, expressed concern at the hearing about granting protections to pregnancy centers that other private businesses do not have. "They have protections in place," he said. "My issue with this is giving extra special protections." In 2022, Wellspring Health Access, the only clinic in Wyoming that provides abortions, was targeted in an arson attack . "We are the ones providing the accurate information on reproductive health care, and we suffer the consequences for that," Julie Burkhart, the president and founder of Wellspring Health Access, told KFF Health News.
- The Charlotte Lozier Institute, a research organization affiliated with the anti-abortion nonprofit SBA Pro-Life America, has suggested that pregnancy centers could help fill the gap left by the Planned Parenthood closures.

### Implications
- The Supreme Court is considering a case this year that will decide whether states can subpoena the organizations for donor and internal information.
- Some crisis pregnancy centers may have a few licensed clinicians, but many do not.
- The Charlotte Lozier Institute, a research organization affiliated with the anti-abortion nonprofit SBA Pro-Life America, has suggested that pregnancy centers could help fill the gap left by the Planned Parenthood closures.
- Courts, including the Supreme Court, have regularly decided in favor of faith-based organizations that argue the attempts at regulation are violations of their First Amendment rights to free speech and religious expression.

### Expert Commentary
This article covers centers, pregnancy, crisis topics. Notable strengths include discussion of centers. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 1491.