§ 2491. Findings; legislative intent

(a) Findings. The General Assembly finds that:

(1) Centers that seek to counsel clients against abortion, often referred to as crisis pregnancy centers or limited-services pregnancy centers, have become common across the country, including in Vermont. Accurate information about the services that a limited-services pregnancy center performs, in addition to forthright acknowledgement of its limitations, is essential to enable individuals in this State to make informed decisions about their care. This includes individuals being informed of whether they are receiving services from a licensed and qualified health care provider at a limited-services pregnancy center, as this allows individuals to determine if they need to seek medical care elsewhere in order to continue or terminate a pregnancy.

(2) Although some limited-services pregnancy centers openly acknowledge in their advertising, on their websites, and at their facilities that they neither provide abortions nor refer clients to other providers of abortion services, others provide confusing and misleading information to pregnant individuals contemplating abortion by leading those individuals to believe that their facilities offer abortion services and unbiased counseling. Some limited-services pregnancy centers have promoted patently false or biased medical claims about abortion, pregnancy, contraception, and reproductive health care providers.

(3) False and misleading advertising by centers that do not offer or refer clients for abortion is of special concern to the State because of the time-sensitive and constitutionally protected nature of the decision to continue or terminate a pregnancy. When a pregnant individual is misled into believing that a center offers services that it does not in fact offer or receives false or misleading information regarding health care options, the individual loses time crucial to the decision whether to terminate a pregnancy and may lose the option to choose a particular method or to terminate a pregnancy at all.

(4) Telling the truth is how trained health care providers demonstrate respect for patients, foster trust, promote self-determination, and cultivate an environment where best practices in shared decision-making can flourish. Without veracity in information and communication, it is difficult for individuals to make informed, voluntary choices that are essential to one’s sense of personal agency and autonomy.

(5) Advertising strategies and educational information about health care options that lack transparency, use misleading or ambiguous terminology, misrepresent or obfuscate services provided, or provide factually inaccurate information are a form of manipulation that disrespects individuals, undermines trust, broadens health disparity, and can result in patient harm.

(b) Intent.

(1) It is the intent of the General Assembly to ensure that the public is provided with accurate, factual information about the types of health care services that are available to pregnant individuals in this State. The General Assembly respects the constitutionally protected right of each individual to personal reproductive autonomy, which includes the right to receive clear, honest, and nonmisleading information about the individual’s options and to make informed, voluntary choices after considering all relevant information.

(2) The General Assembly respects the right of limited-services pregnancy centers to counsel individuals against abortion, and nothing in this subchapter should be construed to regulate, limit, or curtail such advocacy. (Added 2023, No. 15, § 8, eff. May 10, 2023.)