Two South Dakota pregnancy centers have pleaded to be included in the fight over whether or not H.B. 1217, the bill that requires a mandatory 72- hour waiting period and visit to a crisis pregnancy center before obtaining an abortion, is constitutional.  The centers’ argument for being part of the suit?  Their ability to expand their business is at stake in the ruling.

Via the Rapid City Journal:

Federal District Court Judge Karen Schreier ruled in late December that the two centers met the burden of proof to intervene in the case. That means their attorney will have the right to initiate discovery, take depositions, file briefs and attend the trial as full participants in the lawsuit.

Care Net, at 2411 W. Main St., Suite 2 in Rapid City, is one of three pregnancy centers that has registered with the state Department of Health to serve as a consultation site for women seeking abortions. Bella Pregnancy Resource Center in Spearfish also has registered with the state but did not join the lawsuit. Care Net provides free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and other resources and support for those facing an unplanned pregnancy. Care Net staff did not return calls for comment on its role in the lawsuit.

The two centers “bring the voice of these pregnancy centers to the lawsuit and the interests of those centers,” said Rory King, an Aberdeen lawyer who serves as in-state counsel for Cassidy’s New Jersey firm. Because there are about 700 abortions performed in South Dakota annually, the centers argued they could be denied access to that many clients by Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit [my emphasis].

The anti-choice movement often refers to the “abortion industry” and its need to sell abortions to make a profit, yet in the end, the CPCs are arguing that their own “businesses” will be hurt unless the government can force women to visit them, and they will sue to make that happen.