State-Level Religious and Free Speech Legislation

The article reports that Wyoming lawmakers passed a state version of the Alliance Defending Freedom–drafted Center Autonomy and Rights of Expression (CARE) Act on March 4, 2026, with similar model bills moving through Kansas and Oklahoma and a related statute already on the books in Montana since 2025. These measures bar state and local governments from requiring crisis pregnancy centers to perform or refer for abortions or provide information about abortion or contraception, and they create a right for those centers to sue if they believe a government has violated those protections. Supporters, including Wyoming’s LifeChoice Pregnancy Care Center director Valerie Berry, frame the bills as defending freedom of speech, association and conscience for largely religiously affiliated organizations they say have faced "unprecedented attacks" since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Critics such as UC‑Davis law professor Mary Ziegler argue the laws would insulate centers from medical standards and blur the line between health care and advocacy, especially given long‑running complaints that many centers present themselves as medical clinics without meeting normal regulatory requirements. The story also notes that a parallel federal proposal, the Let Pregnancy Centers Serve Act, was introduced in Congress but has stalled in the House Energy and Commerce Committee, highlighting how Republicans are using these protections as part of a broader post‑Dobbs messaging and policy strategy going into the midterms.