SACRAMENTO, CA – The SCV Pregnancy Center held a news conference today with Santa Clarita community leaders to defend its good work after its state representative, Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, accused California’s pro-life pregnancy care centers of using deception to attract clients during a hearing in Sacramento last month.
Schiavo made these statements before the Assembly Health Committee in support of AB 710 (this link is to a fact sheet for AB 710 created by Schiavo’s office), a bill she authored to create a public awareness campaign to expose “fake clinics” that pretend to do abortions when they don’t. She also testified that pregnancy centers pretend to be licensed medical clinics when they aren’t.
Watch the Press Conference below
Angela Bennett, the leader of SCV Pregnancy Center located in Schiavo’s Assembly district, responded to these accusations surrounded by her medical staff and holding up her state medical clinic license. During the press conference, Bennett spoke directly to Asm. Schiavo.
“Assembly member Schiavo, I hope you will accept our invitation, just to get to know us. I also hope that you will be open minded to considering accepting the fact that we are a licensed medical clinic in your district. We are caring for women who may have no other place to go. No, we don’t provide abortions and we don’t refer for them, but when a woman leaves our clinic she has all the information she needs… ,” said Bennett. “The next steps will be up to her. The next steps she takes, no matter what they are, we will be there for her,” she continued. “Once you see who we are and how we care for women, I hope you will apologize for the accusations of being a ‘fake clinic” that were leveraged, not against us specifically, but against all the centers in our state.”
Bennett’s comments were made in response to statements Schiavo made in her opening statement before the Assembly Health Committee on April 25 in support of her bill AB 710.
“I see it as extremely dangerous that these fake pregnancy centers present themselves as medical clinics, to be clear, they are not licensed medical clinics,” Schiavo said. “While women are in their most vulnerable state working to get reliable medical information and possibly referrals for abortion care they instead, are met with shaming and fear tactics, and fed miss information about abortions… .” (watch hearing)
The SCV Pregnancy Care Center services include free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, counseling, and material assistance such as baby clothes and supplies.
