AMHERST — An Amherst town councilor is withdrawing a proposed bylaw taking aim at limited services crisis pregnancy centers, where pregnant women who may be seeking an abortion could get erroneous information and might not get any legitimate medical or clinical care.
Instead of pursuing the bylaw “Concerning Deceptive Advertising Practices of Limited Services Pregnancy Centers,” District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier is asking the Town Council, along with other elected leaders at the local, state and federal level, to focus on ways of keeping abortion legal and accessible.
“I would like to be very clear about my reason for withdrawing this measure,” Devlin Gauthier wrote in a June 10 memo to the council. “It has nothing to do with the importance or legitimacy of this bylaw, and everything to do with the need for an approach which meets the urgent moment we are now in.”
While she considers these sites to be dangerous and a threat to reproductive health, in part because they offer a strictly anti-abortion message and may not offer any reproductive care for those who are pregnant, Devlin Gauthier notes that she wrote the draft, which would have levied $300 fines for violations, before a leak of the possible U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case was published by Politico. The leaked draft opinion appears to show that justices are ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973 and, as she puts it, undo over 50 years of protections offered to those who benefit from reproductive care.
“In light of the leaked opinion, the focus of leaders on the local, state, and federal level must be aligned and prioritize availability of resources, education and preparedness,” Devlin Gauthier wrote.
In addition, she notes that no limited services crisis pregnancy centers are located in Amherst. That means dedicating time and attention to what they are doing can be a low priority.
“I would like to again stress that rescinding this measure is by no means a reflection of its importance nor my confidence in its eventual passage, and I fully plan to bring it forward at a later date, when the time is right,” Devlin Gauthier wrote.
A similar ordinance was adopted in Somerville in March, and has also been put in place by legislators in the state of Connecticut.
Town Council has previously indicated its support for abortion rights, such as in 2019 when councilors endorsed the state’s ROE Act, which removed barriers and restrictions on abortion access, and made a statement in support of abortion rights in the town, state and country.
