We’ve been keeping you informed about the State’s outrageous and unethical smear campaign against pro-life pregnancy resource centers (PRCs). As a refresher, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, in conjunction with other state agencies including the Attorney General’s Office and Governor’s Office, announced at the beginning of last month that they would be running a $1 million campaign to tarnish the reputation of pro-life PRCs. Complete with statewide billboards, posters, online ads, and dedicated webpages, the campaign aims to drive women away from PRCs and the free resources, medical care, and support that they offer to women with unplanned pregnancies.
This month, MFI submitted a public records request to the state agencies involved in the campaign to uncover information that they may not want you to know about their unethical tactics. This request was also submitted to Governor Healey’s office.
Although the governor is legally exempt from revealing records to the public, Governor Healey has proclaimed that she intends to voluntarily follow the public records law and “provide more transparency to the Governor’s Office than ever before” – that is apparently, unless the records relate to the Governor’s attempt to silence all opposition to abortion in Massachusetts.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, our request was denied out of hand. The only explanation we received was that complying with our request for documents would “unreasonably hinder the Governor in effectively performing her duties.” But unless the Governor’s “duties” include weaponizing the State against religious charities that oppose her views on abortion, this rationale doesn’t hold water.
We believe Governor Healey and the other state agencies involved in this smear campaign deserve to be held accountable for their lack of transparency and, more importantly, for their reckless rhetoric against pro-life PRCs. We encourage you to contact Governor Healey and ask her to release any records related to this campaign. Massachusetts citizens deserve to know how and why their tax dollars are being spent to undermine these charitable organizations.
Help MFI stand up in support of charitable pro-life PRCs with a generous gift today!
