Texts Show Worcester Solicitor Avoided Council Request For Crisis Pregnancy Center Law

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester's top attorney for months evaded a city council order to draft a local law regulating crisis pregnancy centers, expressing "great reservations" about the proposed ordinance in text exchanges with a deputy state attorney general, records show.

The texts between City Solicitor Michael Traynor and Assistant Attorney General Margaret Hurley shed light on deliberations inside city hall over a potentially controversial measure requested by At-Large Councilor Thu Nguyen after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.

In the texts, Traynor says that he never intended to write the ordinance, and was told by an unnamed party not to bother with it. Hurley and Traynor also scheduled at least one phone call to strategize about the request. The texts were provided to Worcester Patch under the state's open records law.

In reaction to the texts, Nguyen said Traynor and Hurley were having "back door conversations" about something that should've been up for debate publicly on the council floor.

"I am outraged by the lack of accountability and transparency of our city administration," Nguyen said in reaction to the texts. "They are responsible to follow the direction of council and deliberately chose not to. There is no excuse for that especially when it comes at the sake of people’s livelihood."

City Manager Eric Batista's office did not respond to a set of questions about the texts — or about the larger policy feelings about regulating CPCs — but said in a statement that it's routine for city department leaders to consult with state and federal officials on policy issues.

Batista's office also threw cold water on any possible future ordinance.

"The options before the city are to draft a local ordinance that would likely be challenged, leaving the city exposed to potential fees and litigation, or an ordinance that provides no further protections for residents than state law currently does," the statement said.

(A report submitted to council this week by Traynor says the city has spent $13.57 million on legal settlements over the past five fiscal years.)

A spokesperson for Attorney General Andrea Campbell did not respond to a request for comment as of Monday night. Campbell's office has previously said it does not provide legal advice to municipalities and does not "speculate on the legality or suitability of hypothetical proposals."

Nguyen requested the ordinance at a July 19, 2022, council meeting after other communities in Massachusetts sought to regulate how CPCs advertise services. In general, CPCs attract clients by offering ultrasounds, STD tests and pregnancy tests performed by staff who may not be medical experts. CPCs do not provide either abortion services or referrals and instead steer pregnant people away from abortion.

"Worcester should join Somerville and Cambridge in ensuring that any [CPC] operating within city limits with a primary purpose of providing services to people who are or have reason to believe they may be pregnant, including mobile facilities, must either directly provide or provide referrals for abortions or emergency contraception. Said draft ordinance should be provided to City Council and the public," Nguyen's July 19 order said.

The request was approved in a 6-5 vote, but Traynor never delivered either a proposed ordinance or a legal opinion about one. Nguyen raised the issue during council meetings over the past year, but the proposed ordinance received more attention last month when a local woman sued Clearway Clinic, a crisis pregnancy center located off Shrewsbury Street. The suit alleges that a nurse at Clearway Clinic misdiagnosed the woman's ectopic pregnancy, leading to an October emergency surgery to remove a fallopian tube.

After the lawsuit was filed, Nguyen posted a statement on social media saying they were told the ordinance never made it to the council floor because the AG's office advised city officials against it.

The July 2022 vote on Nguyen's request triggered a process that, in most cases, leads to Batista reporting back to the council with options and proposed ordinance language. But texts show Traynor began to filibuster shortly after the vote on July 19.

In a text thread between Hurley and Traynor that began on July 25, 2022, Hurley asked Traynor when he would report back to the council with his opinion about a CPC ordinance.

"I don't know. Starting a two week trial today. I have great reservations about the request," Traynor wrote.

"Ok good that's all I needed — I may try to connect again on this though — good luck with trial!" Hurley responded.

The thread went silent until Nov. 18, when Traynor texted Hurley about setting up a meeting to talk about the CPC ordinance. In one text, Traynor said he was "told not to bother with [the ordinance]" but was suddenly being asked to start work on it.

Nguyen said they asked Batista about the status of the ordinance in monthly meetings following the July 19 vote. With no progress by October, Nguyen pushed Batista harder for some movement, Nguyen said Friday.

In the same Nov. 18 exchange, Hurley pressed Traynor for details about plans for the request.

"No ordinance has been drafted yet right? Are you doing a written opinion?" she wrote.

"No ordinance and I don't intend on drafting one. But I need to meet with [Batista] about the whole matter. I have struggled to put pen to paper so far," Traynor replied.

Hurley and Traynor arranged a phone call on Nov. 22. Batista's office declined to say what they discussed. The texts began again in March after the AG's office planned to contact Nguyen about the ordinance.

"I meant to ask you, can you get and forward a copy of what gets sent to the councilor? Or simply let me know when the responses get sent?" Traynor asked Hurley on March 14.

"We don't plan to respond in writing we are just calling her (not me but our policy and government team) that call was going to [sic] made this afternoon after 4:30 — about same time I called you," Hurley wrote, using the incorrect pronoun for Nguyen, who uses they/them.

Most of the exchanges between Traynor and Hurley took place while Democratic Gov. Maura Healey was attorney general. As AG, Healey encouraged residents harmed by CPCs to use the existing state civil rights law to file complaints. As governor, Healey has supported a public education campaign to inform residents about the difference between CPCs and abortion clinics. She has not floated the idea of a state law regulating the facilities.

An ordinance in effect in Somerville regulating how CPCs advertise has not faced any legal challenge yet, although other communities are being cautious. Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle vetoed a CPC ordinance approved by the city council, in part citing fear of potential legal challenges.

The conservative Christian legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom sued Connecticut in 2022 over a law passed in 2021 regulating deceptive advertising practices and CPCs. That lawsuit was dropped this year after Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said he won't enforce the law.

Nguyen has re-filed their ordinance, and it will be up for discussion at Tuesday's meeting. The new filing contains the same language as the ordinance they requested one year ago.

"It’s disappointing to see the AG's office and [Traynor] having back door conversations to shut down such a crucial ordinance that protects our community’s access to safe reproductive justice and abortion services," Nguyen said. "I hope the current governor, Maura Healey, and current AG, Andrea Campbell, explain why, as champions of doing this work tackling Crisis Pregnancy Centers, they’d intervene with local ordinances."

Correction: An earlier version of this story had the wrong margin for the July 2022 council vote. A 7-3 vote happened for a separate but related measure regarding supporting reproductive care.