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Committee debates HB 611 requiring disclosures by pregnancy resource centers; bill voluntarily deferred
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Summary
After lengthy testimony and legal debate, the House Health and Welfare Committee adopted a disclosure amendment for HB 611 but did not report the bill out; members deferred further action following roll-call disagreement and additional questions about oversight, funding and constitutional risks.
Chairman Miller opened a lengthy hearing on House Bill 611, introduced by Rep. Amy Freeman, which would require pregnancy-related service centers that provide health care services to disclose whether they are licensed medical facilities and could subject some centers to greater oversight.
Freeman said the bill grew out of a legislative-auditor review and state appropriations to participating centers. “The legislative auditor found that 12 of the centers were offering ultrasounds and five were prescribing medications,” Freeman said, adding the changes aim to “make sure that the pregnant moms and the babies have the best possible outcome.” She offered an author amendment narrowing the measure to a conspicuous disclosure for centers providing medical services: “This center is not a licensed medical facility regulated by the Louisiana Department of Health,” Freeman said of the proposed sign language.
The committee heard expert legal and medical testimony. Attorney Ellie Schilling said the California NIFLA (NIFLA v. Becerra) decision differs from the Louisiana proposal because the California law imposed viewpoint-based requirements; Schilling said a factual disclosure that a site is not a licensed clinic has been upheld in other contexts. Vincent Collan, executive director of the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, told the panel that interpreting ultrasounds and certain diagnostic actions are “the practice of medicine” and that the Board enforces the standards when complaints are filed.
Opponents including Nicole Woods of the Women’s Resource Center emphasized that many pregnancy centers provide social support and operate under medical directors and RNs; Angie Thomas (Alliance Defending Freedom) and Erica Encina (Louisiana Right to Life) argued the amended disclosure could be unconstitutional and urged caution. The legislative auditor, Gina Brown, summarized the office’s informational audit of the Pregnancy and Baby Care Initiative (PBCI), saying her office surveyed the 12 state grantees and found variation in services and in how medical oversight is documented.
Committee members probed funding and regulatory jurisdiction. Representative Echols and others asked whether state appropriations were direct allocations or Medicaid payments and whether standing orders and volunteer clinicians provide sufficient oversight; auditors said payments were direct appropriations under the PBCI and that compliance with licensing is not currently required for all centers.
On a motion to report the bill with amendments, the chair announced that the bill had not passed and the membership then voluntarily deferred HB 611 for further work. The committee recorded its objections and a roll-call on the motion; the chair later asked for voluntary deferral so members could resolve constitutional and scope concerns and gather additional information from LDH and the auditor.
The committee’s next procedural step is further deliberation; the author and stakeholders signaled willingness to narrow language and continue negotiations in hopes of addressing members’ constitutional concerns and clarifying which facilities would be covered.
