WND | Dr. James Dobson calls for civil disobedience

WASHINGTON – Dr. James Dobson, the extraordinarily meek Christian psychologist and perhaps the most well-known family counselor in America, called Tuesday for civil disobedience by operators of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers in response to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding a California law that calls for them to promote abortion to woman they serve.

“If California attempts to enforce this law then do not comply,” he said. “Make them put you in jail.”

The state law is called the “Reproductive FACT Act, and was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown Oct. 9, 2015, and reviewed and upheld Friday for constitutionality by the Ninth Circuit, widely regarded as the most “progressive” federal court of appeal in the country.

The law went into effect Jan. 1, 2016, but has been largely unenforced while municipalities waited out a series of lawsuits challenging the law’s alleged infringement on free speech rights guaranteed by the Constitution’s First Amendment. This is the fifth time a challenge has been turned away by the courts starting last December.

The law specifies that 75 pro-life pregnancy centers offering ultrasounds – all of which are state-licensed entities that operate completely free of taxpayer funds – post or disseminate a state-mandated disclaimer notifying women in unexpected pregnancies of state-covered abortions and contraception offered through Medi-Cal.

The clinics, mostly operated by Christians, would be required to violate their deeply held religious beliefs by giving their patients the phone number of a county social services agency where they can obtain an abortion – a requirement the centers say amounts to an abortion referral, opponents of the legislation have maintained.

“Christians across America must express their outrage at the Ninth Circuit Court’s ruling to uphold California’s so called ‘Reproductive FACT Act,’” said Dobson in a written statement early Tuesday morning. “This decision will require 150 pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics across the state to promote abortion services to the women they serve.”

He added: “Since Roe. V. Wade, privately funded crisis pregnancy centers across America have provided a refuge and an alternative to women who might have otherwise chosen abortion. They are vitally important in the fight to promote a culture of life, adoption and health. This ruling now forces these clinics to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs, and it is an affront to our constitutionally mandated rights to life and to religious freedom.”

“This decision is further affirmation of the importance of this presidential election,” he said. “Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump will be responsible for appointing the replacement of Antonin Scalia, and – in all likelihood – two to three other Supreme Court Justices. That court will eventually decide whether or not this remains the law in California and becomes law across America.”
Read more at Dr. James Dobson calls for civil disobedience. 

###