Constitutional Law

Md. county can't enforce law on pro-life pregnancy-clinic signs

By By The Associated Press

GREENBELT, Md. ? A federal judge has ruled that a portion of a Maryland county law targeting pro-life pregnancy clinics with sign requirements cannot be enforced.

Officials in Montgomery County passed an ordinance last year that requires pregnancy clinics without licensed medical staff to post a sign. The ordinance requires the sign to note the absence of medical staff and say that the county encourages pregnant women to consult with a licensed medical provider.

Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow ruled yesterday that the county cannot enforce the part of the law in question while a legal challenge goes forward.

Lawyers for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal group, challenged the ordinance on behalf of a pregnancy clinic that does not provide birth control or abortions, saying the sign requirements are unconstitutional.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on March 15, 2011 (boomark / email).