Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Pregnancy Service Center Signage Requirement Held Void-For-Vagueness

In Austin LifeCare, Inc. v. City of Austin, (WD TX, June 23, 2014), a Texas federal district court struck down as void for vagueness an Austin, Texas ordinance that requires unlicensed pregnancy service centers that do not have full-time licensed health care providers on site to post signs to indicate whether the center provides medical services and if the services are provided under supervision of a licensed health care provider. The ordinance covers centers that offer pregnancy testing or perform sonograms and then offer options counseling. The court concluded that neither "full time" nor "medical services" is adequately defined in the ordinance. Austin American-Statesman reports on the decision.