The War on Agency, Continued

[Content Note: Reproductive rights; reproductive coercion; Christian Supremacy.]

The conscious dissemination of misinformation to women and other people with uteri is an integral part of the war on agency, so this ruling regarding "pregnancy crisis centers" disclosures is very disappointing:

A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Baltimore cannot require faith-based pregnancy counseling centers to post disclaimers noting they won't assist clients in receiving abortions or birth control.

The three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., voted 2-1 to uphold a lower court's ruling that the ordinance was unconstitutional — drawing praise from Catholic leaders who had opposed the ordinance and a defense of the law from Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, its original sponsor.

The 2009 ordinance, which Rawlings-Blake sponsored when she was City Council president, drew national attention and was challenged in court by the Greater Baltimore Center for Pregnancy Concerns, St. Brigid's Roman Catholic Church and then-BaltimoreArchbishop Edwin F. O'Brien.

While the city said such centers had provided misleading information in the past and the city had a vested interest in protecting the public health by ensuring honest advertising of services, critics of the ordinance derided it as an assault on anti-abortion beliefs and freedom of speech.

While Mayor Rawlings-Blake disagrees with the decision and will "carefully review the ruling and consider all legal options going forward," Archbishop William E. Lori, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, was naturally thrilled with the decision:

"At a time when religious freedom is being challenged on many fronts, this ruling represents a major victory for the First Amendment and for those people who seek to live their lives and their faith according to it," said Archbishop William E. Lori, who is in Rome, in a statement. "I applaud the Court for recognizing that these centers were being targeted for their pro-life views and for sending a strong message to the rest of the nation that these kinds of onerous, discriminatory laws have no place in a nation founded on freedom."

Leaving aside the self-evident my rights end where yours begin rebuttal to that horseshit, I'd love to know from what part of the Christian doctrine is the good archbishop construing an endorsement of deception.

[H/T to @TrustWomen.]