Anti-Choice Ethics Director Strategizes Sting Operations Against Abortion Providers
Please share to any clinic workers or medical people you might know, everyone can expect this nonsense to play out in states (like mine,) where they’ve passed bogus sex selection laws to set this up. Notice that the Christian right once again proves their willingness to lie to create agitprop for their cause.
At one point, Balch compared the type of stings he was advocating to the type of tests the U.S. Department of Justice—as well as fair-housing advocacy groups—uses to test whether building owners are violating the federal Fair Housing Act by discriminating against certain groups protected under the law, such as racial minorities and people with disabilities. In these tests, citizens will pose as hopeful renters; documented cases of discrimination can later be used to bring lawsuits against the violating property owners.
“Frankly, you can set up a sting operation,” Balch explained. “You can create a situation in which a pregnant woman goes in—obviously doesn’t go through with the abortion—but makes the appointment, meets with the abortionist who then gives you enough evidence that you can then have that person actually bring a case against that abortionist for violating the law and then get an injunction against the specific individual, spotlighting that person.”
“This happens all the time, for example with drug buys,” Balch said. “The police officer goes in and buys the drugs, and then that provides the evidence.”
For instance, if Balch’s strategy worked, if the pregnant anti-choice activist told the doctor she wanted to abort the fetus because she wanted a girl, not a boy, and the doctor agreed to perform the abortion anyway, the activist could bring a lawsuit against the provider for violating a ban on sex-selective abortions.
In written comments to RH Reality Check, Balch didn’t give specifics on how he envisaged crafting the expanded laws, but said, “depending on how they were written, [they] could be applicable to one or more substantive legal provisions.”
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