January 30, 2025

Lawsuit filed on behalf of Bethlehem House

REGIONAL
Staff Report

File photo May 2021

EASTHAMPTON – On Wednesday, Jan. 29, the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center (MLLC) filed a defamation civil lawsuit in Hampshire Superior Court on behalf of Easthampton based Bethlehem House, a faith based pregnancy resource center (PRC).

The suit seeks damages and injunctive relief against Reproductive Equity Now (REN), a pro-abortion activist group that partnered with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in a million-dollar state funded campaign which targeted PRCs in the state including Bethlehem House.

Bethlehem House is a charitable faith-based center that has provided compassionate and confidential material resources such as diapers, strollers, and cribs to more than 5,000 pregnant and parenting women and their family members since 2006.

In a press conference last June, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy joined with REN in accusing Massachusetts PRCs of posing as abortion providers, trying to deceive women. They published a guidebook and webpage which listed Bethlehem House alleging it and other PRCs employed deceptive practices to attract patients, such as locating near an abortion clinic and using language on its website to confuse women into thinking it offers abortions.

But as MLLC noted, “nothing could be further from the truth. Bethlehem House is not located near an abortion clinic, its name and advertising are explicitly religious and pro-life, it does not use the word ‘abortion’ on its website or other advertising, and it offers no medical care.”

And this lawsuit isn’t the only challenge coming out of the governor’s efforts. The pro-life news service, LifeSiteNews this week reported that based on an inquiry made to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, no complaints have been filed since the governor announced the media campaign last June.

File photo August 2022

Bethlehem House has been targeted since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June of 2022. In August 2022 its building was vandalized.  Vandals spray-painted “Jane’s Revenge” on benches located outside the building and the message, “If abortion isn’t safe, neither are you.” “Jane’s Revenge” is a pro-abortion group which has taken responsibility for various attacks on churches and pro-life pregnancy centers. 

That damage occurred while the Easthampton City Council was weighing a law which would have targeted PRCs. The council eventually passed the measure only to have the mayor veto it based on concern that the city could face legal actions based on potential constitutional violations.

MLLC asserted in a statement announcing the lawsuit that “REN’s statements about Bethlehem House have damaged its reputation and caused significant emotional distress to its volunteer staff, who are simply trying to help women and babies.”

The referenced LifeSiteNews article can be found at https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/exclusive-massachusetts-democrat-governor-fails-to-push-public-against-pro-life-pregnancy-centers/