Think of the Baltimore City Council in session as an episode of a reality television show that might be called “Democrats Gone Wild.” The legislative body has 15 members elected from districts throughout the city and one president elected at large. All are Democrats.
Last week, Baltimore distinguished itself by having one of the few city councils in the nation to enact a law that, in essence, harasses pregnancy centers that provide neither abortions nor birth-control referrals.
Yes, you read that right: In the eyes of the Baltimore City Council, people who run pregnancy centers that don’t kill unborn children — or advocate killing them, or refer pregnant women to places that do — are the bad guys. Those bad guys must now, under penalty of a $150 daily fine, post signs in English and Spanish saying, according to one news story, that “they do not provide or make referral for abortion or birth-control services.”
Baltimore’s City Council members voted 15-3 to pass this nonsense. That three Democrats had the guts to hold out and go against the tide shows that there may be hope for this party yet, but the action of what may be appropriately called the “Dirty Dozen” still boggles the mind.
Not that I’m surprised by such acts from this particular legislative body.
For years, Baltimore’s City Council had a reputation of being weak, a mere rubber stamp for the mayor. Notable exceptions were former council President Lawrence Bell and, believe it or not, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley when he was still a lowly city councilman, but the legislative body was so lacking in backbone that I dubbed it the “Punt on First Down Crew.”
Even that doesn’t quite describe how wussy it was. This bunch didn’t just punt on first down. It punted on first and 5.
Bodymore, Murderland’s council has now gotten past its “Punt on First Down” phase. (Some say the presence of the first female mayor caused some council members to finally find their backbone.) But with the new law harassing pregnancy centers that provide counseling, clothing and food for mommies-to-be, the council has become simply revolting.
What reason is given for this law? Read what council President Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the chief sponsor of a law that would have made even Josef Stalin wince, had to say:
“[Rawlings-Blake] called the measure a victory for women’s well-being,” one news story said (emphasis mine). “She cited a study by an advocacy group indicating that women have been misled at pregnancy centers that provide counseling, clothing and food for expectant mothers, but not abortions.”
Quoting Rawlings-Blake directly, the story added: “It’s a step towards making sure women have the information they need to make the right decision for their health and their future.”
That disgusting odor you just whiffed would be the stench of the bat guano wafting south from Baltimore. Can we believe Ms. Rawlings-Blake?
Several years ago, Kenneth Harris — a Baltimore city councilman who was fatally shot in a robbery last year — learned that the school system paid contractors for repairs on schools that were never done. Harris made it clear to the school board that he would use his power as chairman of the council’s education committee to see that taxpayers got some answers about why their money was being wasted.
He never got the chance. The very next week, Ms. Rawlings-Blake used her power as council president to strip Mr. Harris of his committee chairmanship. It was all in the name of having a more effective legislature, Ms. Rawlings-Blake assured Baltimoreans.
I didn’t believe her then, and I don’t believe her now. The aim of this law is to harass faith-based, anti-abortion pregnancy centers. It’s targeted at them exclusively; that’s why Planned Parenthood of Maryland is so pleased with it.
A law that applied to everyone involved in the business of advising and counseling pregnant women would require the Planned Parenthood folks to post signs giving details about the views of its founder, Margaret Sanger, on things like eugenics and forced sterilization.
And, according to Edwin Black’s book, “War Against the Weak,” Sanger “associated with some of America’s most fanatical eugenic racists” and “surrounded herself with some of the eugenics movement’s most outspoken racists and white supremacists.”
A law requiring such disclosure would be just as silly and unwarranted as the one the Baltimore City Council just passed. But the Montgomery County Council is also considering such a bill. Will the District of Columbia follow?
Examiner Columnist Gregory Kane is a Pulitzer-nominated news and opinion journalist who has covered people and politics from Baltimore to the Sudan.
