CompassCare CEO Fighting to Keep Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers open in NY after Mamdani Election
Rev. Jim Harden — CEO of CompassCare Pregnancy Services — emerged on Fox News Digital warning that the incoming Mamdani administration could remake access to pregnancy care across New York City, potentially silencing pro-life pregnancy centers. Harden said that his group, which now operates clinics in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island and other boroughs, is deeply alarmed by promises from Mayor-elect Mamdani to “protect New Yorkers from” what his campaign labeled “false or deceptive information” spread by crisis pregnancy centers.
During the interview, Harden made clear that he believes the threat is immediate and grave. He said that under proposed enforcement of a consumer-protection rule known as Local Law 17 (also referred to as “Rule 17” in the campaign materials), pro-life centers like his could face onerous restrictions — mandatory disclaimers in advertisements and on-site notifications, required disclosures of whether licensed medical professionals work there, and possibly referrals to abortion providers. Harden argued this amounts to state-mandated propaganda against his centers’ pro-life mission.
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Harden and the First Amendment
Harden framed the coming fight as one over First Amendment rights. He warned that forcing his clinics to run disclaimers could effectively muzzle constitutionally protected religious and medical speech — not just limit access to services, but strip away patients’ ability to hear alternative perspectives at a sensitive moment. “That language may include anything from a list of what we do not provide… to a phone number referring women to an abortionist,” he told the outlet.
He emphasized that CompassCare does more than ideological counseling: it provides pre-termination evaluations, STD testing and treatment, basic OB-GYN care, and after-abortion support — all free to women in need. Harden warned that if the centers are forced to close or significantly restrict operations, thousands of women in New York City will lose what he called “ethical alternatives” to abortion.
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Harden didn’t hide his frustration or alarm. He called the potential crackdown a betrayal of trust, accusing political elites of trying to “rob women of free medical care and community support.” He questioned which version of Mayor-elect Mamdani will walk into office in January: the Muslim candidate whose faith might oppose abortion, or the socialist politician allied with pro-abortion activists and progressive coalitions.
Throughout, Harden insisted this conflict isn’t only about ideology — it’s about public health, choice, and the future of civic charity. He argued that opposition to his centers would saddle women with fewer options, disproportionately impact vulnerable communities, and reduce real support for unplanned-pregnancy crises. For Harden, the stakes go beyond political theater: they represent a battle for free speech, medical alternatives, and basic moral agency in a city where many now see only one sanctioned choice.
He also warned that the move to tighten regulation on crisis pregnancy centers may set a national precedent. If New York City forces closures or severe restrictions under political pressure, that could embolden similar actions elsewhere. Harden seemed ready for a legal fight: he suggested CompassCare would consider suing to protect its operations and constitutional rights.
In the Fox News Digital segment, Harden’s tone shifted between urgency and defiance — urgent because of what he described as a looming winter of institutional shutdowns, defiant because he said the centers will not quietly surrender. He called on his supporters and pro-life allies to mobilize, to push back, and to demand transparency from city hall. He pitched the issue not as a partisan squabble, but a broader question: in a city with shrinking freedoms, who will speak for the unborn — and for free conscience?
By the end of the interview, Harden left no illusion: under so-called “consumer protection,” a major overhaul of pregnancy care services could begin — but for CompassCare’s leadership, what’s at stake is more than compliance. It’s the soul of medical conscience, patient choice, free speech and the future of pro-life advocacy in America’s largest city.
