National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (16-1140)
argument 16-1140National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra
Supreme Court of the United States
1h 0m
6 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 7 days ago
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Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What constitutional issue does California’s compelled‑speech law raise for pregnancy‑center clinics?
We'll hear argument this morning in case number sixteen eleven forty, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates versus Becerra. Mr. Ferris?
Mr Chief Justice, and may it please the court. California took aim at pro-life pregnancy centres by compelling licensed centres to point the way to an abortion and imposing onerous advertising rules on unlicensed centres that do not provide ultrasounds or any other medical services. The state then provided exemptions for all other medical providers who serve pregnant women. This la law targets a particular topic of discussion, employs compelled speech, and is directed at disfavored speakers with disfavored viewpoints.
Take the um other side. If the state law were that all women's health provided that perform abortions. Would have to tell the patients. If you would like to carry the pregnancy to term, you will have access to a clinic that will uh assist them, uh provide um adoption facilities they might contact or provide instruction on how to care for infants. Suppose that were the statute, would that be unconstitutional?
No, Your Honor, this courts decided a very similar case in the Casey decision uh from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania imposed that requirement in the context of an informed consent discussion. Informed consent is triggered by a doctor proposing to perform a particular medical intervention. Medical interventions are surgeries, abortion is a medical intervention. And in that case, uh medical interventions require the discussion of the benefits of the procedure, the risk of the procedure. But why
isn't this also Informed consent. So that so that the patient will know. what uh the array of services available to her.
Your Honor, uh the services provided by our licensed centres are not medical interventions. Perhaps the best explanation is a Planned Parenthood Center in Pennsylvania did pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, but did not perform abortions, requiring that Planned Parenthood Center. They talked about abortion, encouraged abortion. That would be unconstitutional to compel them to give this disclaimer because it's not a procedure.
May maybe Justice Ginsburg can protect her own question, but I I was interested Her her question is a hypothetical case. Yes. The hypothetical case is uh doctors who are offering abortion services have to say that if the pregnancy is carried till full full term there's assistance.
Your Honor, that uh it would be the hypothetical case. I understand, Your Honor. If the state anchors that in the informed consent uh framework, then it would be considered under the the Casey um uh legal principles. Because in Casey this court recognized that
It doesn't anchor it under any it just that's what the law is, what it says. Um if you are an abortion provider, you have to tell patients that if they want to carry the pregnancy determine. They can have assistance, call this number.
Your Honor, yes. That is uh in the context of proposing a medical intervention describing the alternatives. In this court in Harris versus McCrae and in Casey indicated that the state has an additional interest in beyond the health of the woman in the advent uh interests of advancing the life of the unborn child to a degree. It can't go too far.
But you're saying that if there is a non medical facility I mean I don't want to put words in your mouth, this is a question. If there is a non medical facility That the state has reason to think is is a is Um Yeah. telling women about only one set of options and not another set of options, but here the case would be they're only telling women about abortion providers. And they're not telling women about other ways uh that they may be able to complete their pregnancy. um that the state could not impose a requirement that that uh a facility post a notice saying in fact there are many kinds of facilities in the world and some are abortion providers and some are crisis pregnancy centers and some are something else that that that would not be permissible.
Your Honor, that would be decided since it's in an unlicensed facility that the requirement is being framed up.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What constitutional issue does California’s compelled‑speech law raise for pregnancy‑center clinics?
0:00–7:41
2
How does the Court’s Casey decision on informed consent relate to the NIFLA‑Becerra case?
7:41–15:10
3
Why do the parties argue that the statute is “gerrymandered” to target pro‑life facilities?
15:10–21:11
4
What is the difference between licensed medical providers and unlicensed crisis‑pregnancy centers under the law?
21:11–27:15
5
How would a requirement that unlicensed centers post a multi‑language notice affect First Amendment rights?
27:15–35:17
6
What arguments are made about the level of scrutiny—intermediate vs. strict—for the disclosure requirement?
35:17–44:54
7
How do the parties use hypothetical statutes to test the limits of the compelled‑speech claim?
44:54–51:56
8
What is the Court’s final stance on whether the California law is unconstitutional?
51:56–1:00:09