Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB196: SB196 "Pregnancy Center Fraud Prevention Act"; enact

Last action February 19, 2025 · Senate Read and Referred

Senate Bill 196 would prohibit limited services pregnancy centers in Georgia from using false or misleading advertising about the products and services they offer, and would create new enforcement tools and penalties.

In plain language

Limited services pregnancy centers, sometimes called crisis pregnancy centers, are facilities that do not provide abortions or emergency contraception and often do not employ licensed medical staff. This bill amends Georgia's perinatal facilities law (O.C.G.A. Title 31, Chapter 2A, Article 3) to add definitions for terms like advertising, client, pregnancy services center, and prenatal care, and to spell out when a facility counts as a limited services pregnancy center. The bill rewrites O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-56 to ban these centers from disseminating advertising about their products or services that is untrue, deceptive, or misleading. The Attorney General or a local district attorney could bring a civil action after giving the center written notice and ten days to fix the advertising. Courts could order corrective advertising, posted notices about staff and services, restitution, and civil penalties of $500 to $5,000 per violation. Individuals harmed by such advertising could also sue directly for damages and other relief. The Attorney General must create an online complaint portal designed to be usable by someone with a fifth grade reading level.

What the bill does

Adds new legal definitions for terms including advertising, client, emergency contraception, pregnancy services center, and limited services pregnancy center to O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-51.
Bans limited services pregnancy centers from disseminating advertising about their products or services that is untrue, deceptive, or misleading under a revised O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-56.
Requires the Attorney General or a local district attorney to give written notice and a ten day correction period before filing a civil enforcement action.
Lets courts order corrective advertising, posted disclosure notices, restitution, and civil penalties of $500 to $5,000 per violation, plus attorney's fees for the state if it prevails.
Creates a private right of action allowing anyone harmed by such advertising to sue for compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees.
Directs the Attorney General to build an online complaint portal that is accessible, usable by someone reading at a fifth grade level, and completable within about ten minutes.

Who it affects

Limited services pregnancy centers and their staff, pregnant individuals and others seeking pregnancy related services or information, the Attorney General's office, local district attorneys, and the Georgia Department of Public Health, which maintains related public materials and a facility list.

Why it matters

People seeking pregnancy related care could gain a formal way to challenge advertising they believe is false or misleading, through state enforcement or their own lawsuit. Centers found in violation would face financial penalties, court-ordered corrections, and removal from state materials, changing how they can market their services.

Key provisions

Section 1 names the bill the 'Pregnancy Center Fraud Prevention Act.'
Section 2 lists legislative findings describing concerns about deceptive advertising by limited services pregnancy centers, including claims about medication abortion reversal.
Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-51 to add definitions such as advertising, client, pregnancy services center, and limited services pregnancy center, and describes factors that give a facility 'the appearance of a medical facility.'
Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-56 to prohibit false, deceptive, or misleading advertising by limited services pregnancy centers and sets up enforcement by the Attorney General or local district attorneys.
Section 4(c) requires a written notice and ten day cure period before the state can file a civil action against a center.
Section 4(e) sets civil penalties of not less than $500.00 and not more than $5,000.00 per violation, plus removal of the center's contact information from state public materials.
Section 4(f) creates a private cause of action for individuals injured by the advertising, allowing damages, injunctive relief, and attorney's fees.
Section 4(g)-(h) requires the Attorney General to create a public complaint portal that is accessible and usable at a fifth grade reading level.

Status timeline

2025-02-19Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2025-02-18Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

pregnancy centers
reproductive healthcare
consumer protection
false advertising
abortion policy