Friday 18 November 2016

France Punishes Pro-Life Websites for False Advertising

Meanwhile, US states split on disclosures by Christian pregnancy centers.

The French government introduced plans this fall to create a “digital trading hindrance” to pregnancy websites that don’t clearly identify their pro-life view.

“Being hostile to abortion is an opinion protected by the civil liberties in France,” said Laurence Rossignol, minister for families, children, and women’s rights. “But creating websites that appear official but actually give biased information designed to deter, to blame, or to assign trauma is not acceptable.”

Pro-life websites can continue to exist, but they should not be able to “deliberately deceiv[e] users by posing as official or neutral sites,” the French government stated.

One site the government is targeting is the popular ivg.net, which says that abortion “involves risks that can appear quickly or over time.” The site, which is named similarly to the government’s official site, also includes testimonies from women who regret their abortions, information on social services for mothers, and a hotline to call to talk to someone who will “help you see all the possible solutions.”

“The site provides help for women who suffer from an abortion, who finally find a place here to express their pain—ideologically denied in our country,” spokesperson Marie Philippe told EWTN, a major Catholic broadcaster. Calling the legislation a “media ideology assault,” Philippe said that the site doesn’t “force women to choose one way or another, but simply allows them to make a free and informed decision.”

The battle over whether pro-life groups are deceiving women is also being fought in the United States.

A California law upheld in October requires ...

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