Crisis pregnancy center
Encyclopedia
A crisis pregnancy center (CPC), sometimes called a pregnancy resource center (PRC), is a non-profit organization
established to counsel pregnant women against having an abortion
.
CPCs are typically run by pro-life Christians according to a conservative Christian philosophy, and they often operate under the auspices of one of three non-profit organizations: Care Net
, Heartbeat International, and Birthright International
. CPCs generally provide peer counseling related to abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth. CPCs that qualify as medical clinics
may also provide pregnancy testing, sonograms, and other services; however, the vast majority are not licensed and provide no medical services.
There are over 4,000 CPCs in the United States, as compared with well under 750 abortion clinic
s. Canada has roughly 200 CPCs and about 25 abortion clinics. Hundreds more operate outside of the U.S. and Canada. At least 20 U.S. states provide funding for CPCs. A report prepared for Henry Waxman
found that, from 2001 to 2005, 50 CPCs received $30 million in funding from the federal government. By 2006, CPCs had received more than $60 million dollars of federal funding, including some funding earmarked for abstinence-only programs.
Legal and legislative action regarding CPCs has generally punished or attempted to preempt deceptive advertising, targeting those that advertise as abortion clinics or requiring centers to disclose that they do not offer certain services or possess certain qualifications. Many CPCs have been found to disseminate false medical information, usually but not exclusively about the supposed health risks of abortion. In 1993, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
(NIFLA) was formed to provide legal advice to CPCs in the U.S.
describes the beginnings of the crisis pregnancy center movement in a 2009 report. In 1968, the first network of centers was established by Birthright, in Canada. Alternatives to Abortion, today known as Heartbeat International, was founded in 1971. Christian Action Council founded its first center in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1980. Christian Action Council eventually would become Care Net.
Others cite Robert Pearson as the founder of the CPC movement. After abortion was legalized in Hawaii in 1967, he started a crisis pregnancy center in Honolulu to fight it.
Peer counselors are typically covered by mandated reporting laws with regard to statutory rape, and they are encouraged to ask about the age of the woman and the biological father. While some centers refer clients for contraception, most do not and the service may be limited to married women. Others may offer Bible study
sessions and peer counseling for women who have recently had abortions.
CPCs have been criticized for using heavy-handed methods such as graphic, detailed videos, religious proselytism, dissemination of inaccurate medical information and the use of misleading advertising. However, CPCs are increasingly distancing themselves from some of these tactics. Many are buying ultrasound machines, employing staff with medical training, and otherwise moving toward a "medical model" of serving women in the communities where they operate. Paige Johnson, a spokeswoman for Chapel Hill based Planned Parenthood
of Central North Carolina stated, "I don't discount the work that they do for women who know they want to keep their babies." CPCs may provide a variety of services, but their primary service is counseling women against abortion.
About a quarter of CPCs conduct free sonograms
as a way to persuade women not to abort. It is frequently claimed that women who visit CPCs and see their embryos or fetuses through the use of ultrasound technology decide against abortion, although there are no scientific studies which support this.
Colorado-based Focus on the Family
had the goal of equipping 800 CPCs with ultrasound machines by 2010, through its "Option Ultrasound" program. The Southern Baptist Convention
—the largest Protestant denomination in the United States
—has formed an Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), which works to equip more CPCs with ultrasound machines through a venture called the "Psalm 139 Project". ERLC President Richard Land wrote: "If wombs had windows, people would be much more reticent to abort babies because they would be forced to confront the evident humanity of the baby from very early gestation onward."
One common piece of medical misinformation is the assertion of a link between abortion and breast cancer. One crisis pregnancy center counselor is reported to have told a client that "50 percent of women who have an abortion get breast cancer and 30 percent die within a year of the procedure"; others have claimed a 50% increase, an 80% increase,, a doubled increase, a quadrupled increase, or said that a client with breast cancer in her family would certainly get cancer and die if she had an abortion. Major medical bodies (including the National Cancer Institute
) say that there is no link between abortion and breast cancer.
Another is the assertion of a link between abortion and mental health
problems. CPC counselors are reported to have conveyed various supposed psychological consequences of abortion, including high rates of depression, "post-abortion syndrome," post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, substance abuse, sexual and relationship dysfunction, propensity to child abuse, and other emotional problems. Figures included a 50% chance of long-term emotional problems or trauma, nine in ten women suffering "post-abortion syndrome," and a sevenfold increase in the suicide rate; one center said that anyone who had had an abortion was certain to experience mental health problems like those suffered by Vietnam veterans. Neither the American Psychiatric Association
nor the American Psychological Association
recognizes the existence of "post-abortion syndrome," and an American Psychological Association review of relevant studies found that "abortion is usually psychologically benign."
CPCs may also claim that surgical abortion is a dangerous procedure, with a high risk of perforation or infection. One CPC counselor is reported to have told an undercover investigator that a patient was left needing a colostomy bag after her bowel was perforated; several reports mention that a CPC described or depicted a woman dying as a result of the procedure. However, fewer than 0.3% of women who have abortions experience complications that necessitate hospitalization.
The alleged risk of perforation and infection is also part of the assertion that abortion negatively impacts future childbearing, by increasing the risk of infertility, miscarriages, complications, ectopic pregnancy, or fetal health problems. One center claimed that there was a one in four chance of not being able to carry another pregnancy. These claims are not supported by medical data.
Besides false information about health risks of abortion, CPCs have also been found to disseminate misinformation about birth control methods, in particular the idea that contraception and condoms do not work or have harmful effects. Some counselors said that "all condoms are defective and have slots and holes in them" or that they fail "something like 40 percent of the time." Other centers said that condoms were permeable to HIV or other diseases, or that hormonal contraceptives had abortifacient effects and did long-term harm to women's health, such as causing infertility and cancer, while one said that condoms caused cancer.
Other false information may concern the methodology of pregnancy tests, the advisability of STI testing on pregnant women, the comparative risk, availability, and advisability of abortion at different stages of pregnancy, descriptions of female anatomy, the rate of postpartum depression among women who carry to term, the progression of fetal development, fetal pain, the possibility of getting pregnant from rape, the progression of pregnancy, and the number of pregnancies that end in natural miscarriages.
Pro-choice organizations like Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation
, and Choice Ireland have criticized CPCs' dissemination of false medical information. Care Net denounces "any form of deception in its corporate advertising or individual conversations with its clients," though they also say of their promotion of an abortion–breast cancer link that their "role is clearly to include this possible risk when [they] educate clients about all the risks of abortions."
in nature, and says that its "ultimate aim...is to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ in both word and deed" and that its "pregnancy centers are committed to sharing the love of Jesus Christ with every person who walks through their doors." Heartbeat International, one of the largest CPC networks in the United States and also the largest CPC network in the world, runs "Christian crisis-pregnancy centers" and describes itself as a "Christian association of faith-based pregnancy resource centers" whose materials are "consistent with Biblical principles." NIFLA "strongly believes that sharing the Gospel is an essential part of counseling women in pregnancy help medical clinics". Some CPCs are run by the Catholic Church or by other church groups. Unaffiliated CPCs, or CPCs affiliated with other organizations, may provide a religious perspective in their counseling.
In contrast to overt Christian perspective of most CPC networks, Birthright International
has a stated philosophy of non-evangelism. A Jewish CPC, called "In Shifra's Arms," also exists. According to Waxman's report in 2006, 50 CPCs are funded by the federal government.
Many CPCs require their staff to be Christian. For example, as a condition of affiliation, Care Net and the Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services, the two largest CPC organizations in the United States and Canada respectively, require each employee and volunteer of a prospective affiliate to comply with a statement of faith. CPCs unaffiliated with either of these may also require staff to be Christian.
Religious activity is sometimes part of a CPC customer's experience. Care Net claims to have effected over 23,000 conversions or restatements of Christian faith. NIFLA "strongly believes that sharing the Gospel is an essential part of counseling women in pregnancy help medical clinics". Some visitors to CPCs report that employees subjected them to unwanted evangelizing.
CPCs outside the United States are also frequently Christian. CareConfidential, the largest umbrella network for CPCs in the United Kingdom, runs "Christian-based pregnancy crisis centres" and is a division of the Christian charity CARE. The Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services, a similar network in Canada whose centers may also affiliate with Care Net or Heartbeat International, describes itself as a "Christian charity"; its affiliates "adhere firmly to Christianity." The United States-based Human Life International
runs "Catholic pregnancy centers" in Mexico and also provides aid to the Centros de Ayuda para la Mujer, a network of CPCs in Latin America whose philosophy is "in conformity with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church." As in the United States, unaffiliated CPCs may also be run by church groups or otherwise Christian.
and CBS News, among others, filed stories about CPCs luring women by offering free pregnancy tests but then scaring them with religious arguments. Observers have also pointed out that they use rhetoric and advertising language similar to those of abortion providers—for example, "Plan Your Parenthood" or a directory listing under "abortion services" or "clinics"—and object to the use of such techniques which they say may mislead pregnant women seeking abortion into contacting a CPC.
Some crisis pregnancy centers advertise in a manner called deceptive by "the Texas Attorney General
, the North Dakota Supreme Court, the Federal Centers for Disease Control, the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood[,] the New York Metropolitan Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights", "NARAL Pro Choice America, Planned Parenthood Federation of America[,] the National Abortion Federation, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union
". In particular, the advertising approach of the Pearson Foundation, which assists local groups establishing CPCs, has been criticized by some other pro-life groups, including Birthright International
, another CPC operator. The foundation recommends that a center seek out women who want abortions through "neutral" advertising, and refuse to answer questions that would reveal that they provide neither abortion services nor referrals to abortion services.
Planned Parenthood charges that CPC administrators portray their businesses as "medical facilities", when they do not have professional licensing from local or state health department
s, and are staffed primarily with volunteers rather than medical professionals. "They are integrating increasing numbers of medical services in what they do, offering free pregnancy tests and low-cost testing for sexually transmitted diseases and sonographs," says Gloria Feldt
. "[But] if they are going to practice medicine—and as they add these tests they are practicing medicine—they either need to practice it legitimately or cut out the charade."
In their advertisements, some CPCs may describe themselves as offering "abortion alternatives," or with another term that indicates that they do not assist clients in obtaining an abortion. However, Robert Pearson, identified by some as the founder of the CPC movement, said that a woman "has no right to information" that will allow her to have an abortion.
where parents may surrender custody of newborn infants.
judging that the Fargo Women's Help Clinic, a CPC, had engaged in "false and deceptive advertising" by advertising that they provided abortions. The Help Clinic argued that, because it received no money from its clients and its statements were in support of a position rather than for commercial gain, they were exempt from regulations on commercial speech, but the court ruled that the CPC's advertisements were "placed in a commercial context and...directed at the providing of services rather than toward an exchange of ideas" and thus were not exempt. The court upheld a preliminary injunction forbidding the Help Clinic from advertising that they provided abortions, and from using a confusing name that might "falsely lull people...into thinking that they are, in fact, the Women's Health Organization or the Fargo Women's Health organization, Inc."
Also in 1986, the Problem Pregnancy Center in Fort Worth, Texas was sued by the Texas Attorney General's office after reports from women who had telephoned the agency, which was listed under "abortion information," and found that it was a "right-to-life outfit." A jury found that the center had violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and required it to pay $39,000 in fines, in addition to a larger sum in lawyers' fees.
In 1994, the Center for Unplanned Pregnancy, a San Diego CPC, was legally determined to have engaged in false advertisement. This resulted in it being court-ordered to tell every client that it did not provide abortions or abortion referrals and that its counseling was "from a Biblical anti-abortion perspective," and to stop advertising under "clinics," "abortion service providers," "birth control information" or "pregnancy options counseling" in the telephone directory. The court also disallowed the center from providing pregnancy tests. Three other CPCs involved in the case—Escondido Pregnancy Services, Poway Pregnancy Counseling Center and San Diego Counseling Center—settled out of court and agreed to change their advertising practices, while the last, San Diego Pregnancy Services, had earlier closed when faced with accusations of coercion in its adoption practices.
Other CPCs in New York and California have been enjoined from providing pregnancy tests without a license, while a CPC in California was forbidden to advertise pregnancy tests as "free" if they are conditional upon hearing a presentation or counseling.
launched an investigation into alleged deceptive business practices of 24 crisis pregnancy centers across the State and issued subpoenas to 11 of them. Spitzer's investigation was criticized by some as politically motivated harassment on behalf of political allies like NARAL Pro-Choice America
. In February 2002, a number of the targeted crisis pregnancy centers filed motions in New York State court against the Attorney General's office, seeking to quash the subpoenas. Later that same month, Spitzer withdrew all the subpoenas. However, the Attorney General's office also worked out an agreement with one of the CPCs in question, intended to be used as a model, which sets out practices including informing clients that the center does not provide abortion or birth control, that it is not a licensed medical facility, and that the pregnancy tests it provides are over-the-counter.
(D
-CA
) led an investigation of taxpayer-funded CPCs and found that they provided "false and misleading information" on an alleged link between abortion and breast cancer, on the alleged effects of abortion on fertility, and on the alleged mental health effects of abortion
.
The summary of the report states:
Pro-life groups criticized Waxman's report, alleging that it contained inaccuracies and distortions.
Carolyn Maloney (D
-NY
) and eleven co-sponsors introduced a bill called the "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act", which would have required the Federal Trade Commission
to "promulgate rules prohibiting...persons from advertising with the intent to deceptively create the impression that such persons provide abortion services" and "enforce violations of such rules as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices." Maloney re-introduced the bill in 2007 in the Democratic
-controlled 110th Congress, and was joined by Senator
Bob Menendez (D
-NJ
) in reintroducing it in July 2010 in the Democratic-led 111th Congress, but in no case did it progress out of committee.
when challenged in the federal courts.
New York City
, Baltimore
, Montgomery County, Maryland
and Austin, Texas
have all passed local laws that would require CPCs to post signs about the nature of the services they offer.
An local law requiring Baltimore
crisis pregnancy centers to display signs stating that they do not offer or refer clients for abortion or birth control was declared unconstitutional by the federal court in Maryland in January 2011. The court held that "it is for the provider — not the government — to decide when and how to discuss abortion and birth-control method." The City of Baltimore has appealed the decision to the federal Court of Appeals.
The Montgomery County ordinance, which required CPCs to post signs stating that they do not employ licensed medical professionals and that the county health department advises seeking a licensed health care provider, was enjoined in part by the federal court in Maryland in March 2011. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow
held that the provision of the law requiring CPC's to state the county health department's position amounts to compelled speech likely violative of the First Amendment
.
New York City's effort to regulate the information provided by CPCs was enjoined by the federal court in Manhattan in July 2011. The New York law would have required all pregnancy counseling centers to disclose whether they provide abortion, birth control, or prenatal care. In enjoining enforcement of the law, Judge William H. Pauley III
called it “offensive to free speech principles.” The City has filed an appeal.
Some campaigns to pass disclosure laws have been supported by NARAL Pro-Choice America
, a pro-choice political organization, which cites the ways in which "the centers mislead women." The organization took credit for the passage of the Austin law.
issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law from going into effect, writing that the provisions "constitute a substantial obstacle to a woman's decision to obtain an abortion because they force a woman against her will to disclose her decision to undergo an abortion to a pregnancy help center employee before she can undergo an abortion."
, Heartbeat International, Birthright International
, and National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
(NIFLA). Care Net is the largest network of CPCs in North America
, with 1,100 centers advising over 350,000 women annually. Heartbeat International, a U.S.-based group which affiliates with CPCs both in the United States and abroad, is associated with over 1,000 centers. Some CPCs are affiliated with multiple organizations at once, so the sum does not reflect the total. The largest UK organisations are CareConfidential and LifeUK, while the largest Canadian one is the Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services (CAPSS). Human Life International
, a Roman Catholic group that opposes abortion, also runs CPCs outside the United States.
. Crisis pregnancy counseling grants are provided through a campaign called "Positive Options"; funding is awarded only to centers that offer non-directive and medically accurate counseling that discusses all possible options, including traveling abroad for abortion. Centers that "use manipulation and alarmist information" to persuade women not to have an abortion are called "rogue agencies."
, Louisiana
, Minnesota
, Missouri
, Nebraska
, North Dakota
, Pennsylvania
and Texas
.
In 2005 Florida launched the Florida Pregnancy Support Services Program with $4 million. The funding paid for a toll-free hotline which provides information for non-abortion options and funding for CPCs. Governor Charlie Crist
vetoed a funding cut in 2009 saying, "I appreciate the effort and support that chairman Dean Cannon
and so many other House leaders put forth in making sure that innocent human life was protected in Florida.”
In 24 U.S. state
s, individuals can support CPCs by purchasing Choose Life license plates. Motorists in these states can request these plates and pay an extra fee, a portion of which is used by the state to fund adoption support organizations and crisis pregnancy centers.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
established to counsel pregnant women against having an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
.
CPCs are typically run by pro-life Christians according to a conservative Christian philosophy, and they often operate under the auspices of one of three non-profit organizations: Care Net
Care Net
Care Net is a conservative Christian crisis pregnancy center network operating primarily in the United States. Its centers provide Christian, pro-life approaches to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Care Net centers do not perform, recommend, or refer clients for abortions...
, Heartbeat International, and Birthright International
Birthright International
Birthright International is an international organization of crisis pregnancy centers. It offers a range of services designed to "help support a woman's desire not to have an abortion," including referrals to legal, medical and psychological services, as well as a range of community support...
. CPCs generally provide peer counseling related to abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth. CPCs that qualify as medical clinics
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
may also provide pregnancy testing, sonograms, and other services; however, the vast majority are not licensed and provide no medical services.
There are over 4,000 CPCs in the United States, as compared with well under 750 abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
s. Canada has roughly 200 CPCs and about 25 abortion clinics. Hundreds more operate outside of the U.S. and Canada. At least 20 U.S. states provide funding for CPCs. A report prepared for Henry Waxman
Henry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...
found that, from 2001 to 2005, 50 CPCs received $30 million in funding from the federal government. By 2006, CPCs had received more than $60 million dollars of federal funding, including some funding earmarked for abstinence-only programs.
Legal and legislative action regarding CPCs has generally punished or attempted to preempt deceptive advertising, targeting those that advertise as abortion clinics or requiring centers to disclose that they do not offer certain services or possess certain qualifications. Many CPCs have been found to disseminate false medical information, usually but not exclusively about the supposed health risks of abortion. In 1993, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates is an American 501 charitable organization. Founded in 1993, it is based in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The organization provides legal advice to over 1200 crisis pregnancy centers within its membership network...
(NIFLA) was formed to provide legal advice to CPCs in the U.S.
History
The Family Research CouncilFamily Research Council
The Family Research Council is a conservative or right-wing Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by James Dobson. It was fully incorporated in 1983...
describes the beginnings of the crisis pregnancy center movement in a 2009 report. In 1968, the first network of centers was established by Birthright, in Canada. Alternatives to Abortion, today known as Heartbeat International, was founded in 1971. Christian Action Council founded its first center in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1980. Christian Action Council eventually would become Care Net.
Others cite Robert Pearson as the founder of the CPC movement. After abortion was legalized in Hawaii in 1967, he started a crisis pregnancy center in Honolulu to fight it.
CPC activities
While CPCs often look like abortion clinics and are intentionally located near them, the overwhelming majority are not legally licensed as medical clinics and do not offer medical services. Most CPCs offer free pregnancy tests, often over-the-counter ones, and there is a movement towards obtaining medical clinic status, largely so that more CPCs may offer sonograms in an attempt to convince women to carry their pregnancies to term. They may also provide STD screening, adoption referrals, religious counseling, financial assistance, prenatal services, child-rearing resources and other services.Peer counselors are typically covered by mandated reporting laws with regard to statutory rape, and they are encouraged to ask about the age of the woman and the biological father. While some centers refer clients for contraception, most do not and the service may be limited to married women. Others may offer Bible study
Bible study (Christian)
In Christianity, Bible study is the study of the Bible by ordinary people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. Some denominations may call this devotion or devotional acts; however in other denominations devotion has other meanings...
sessions and peer counseling for women who have recently had abortions.
CPCs have been criticized for using heavy-handed methods such as graphic, detailed videos, religious proselytism, dissemination of inaccurate medical information and the use of misleading advertising. However, CPCs are increasingly distancing themselves from some of these tactics. Many are buying ultrasound machines, employing staff with medical training, and otherwise moving toward a "medical model" of serving women in the communities where they operate. Paige Johnson, a spokeswoman for Chapel Hill based Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
of Central North Carolina stated, "I don't discount the work that they do for women who know they want to keep their babies." CPCs may provide a variety of services, but their primary service is counseling women against abortion.
Use of sonograms
Obstetric ultrasonography
Obstetric sonography is the application of medical ultrasonography to obstetrics, in which sonography is used to visualize the embryo or foetus in its mother's uterus...
as a way to persuade women not to abort. It is frequently claimed that women who visit CPCs and see their embryos or fetuses through the use of ultrasound technology decide against abortion, although there are no scientific studies which support this.
Colorado-based Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
had the goal of equipping 800 CPCs with ultrasound machines by 2010, through its "Option Ultrasound" program. The Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
—the largest Protestant denomination in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
—has formed an Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), which works to equip more CPCs with ultrasound machines through a venture called the "Psalm 139 Project". ERLC President Richard Land wrote: "If wombs had windows, people would be much more reticent to abort babies because they would be forced to confront the evident humanity of the baby from very early gestation onward."
False medical information
Journalists, congressional investigators, prospective CPC clients, and pro-choice advocates have routinely found that CPCs give out false medical information. In a few cases, such information may be based on decades-old studies that have been discredited by more recent research. In others, CPCs claim an existing scientific consensus in favor of such information. The information is usually about the supposed health risks of abortion; centers fail to mention that abortion is 11 to 12 times safer than childbirth. Some centers even say that "terminating a pregnancy is far more dangerous than carrying a baby to term," although the opposite is the case.One common piece of medical misinformation is the assertion of a link between abortion and breast cancer. One crisis pregnancy center counselor is reported to have told a client that "50 percent of women who have an abortion get breast cancer and 30 percent die within a year of the procedure"; others have claimed a 50% increase, an 80% increase,, a doubled increase, a quadrupled increase, or said that a client with breast cancer in her family would certainly get cancer and die if she had an abortion. Major medical bodies (including the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
) say that there is no link between abortion and breast cancer.
Another is the assertion of a link between abortion and mental health
Abortion and mental health
The relationship between induced abortion and mental health is an area of political controversy. The issue has been part of the political debate over abortion, dating to 1988 when U.S. President Ronald Reagan directed Surgeon General C...
problems. CPC counselors are reported to have conveyed various supposed psychological consequences of abortion, including high rates of depression, "post-abortion syndrome," post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, substance abuse, sexual and relationship dysfunction, propensity to child abuse, and other emotional problems. Figures included a 50% chance of long-term emotional problems or trauma, nine in ten women suffering "post-abortion syndrome," and a sevenfold increase in the suicide rate; one center said that anyone who had had an abortion was certain to experience mental health problems like those suffered by Vietnam veterans. Neither the American Psychiatric Association
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential worldwide. Its some 38,000 members are mainly American but some are international...
nor the American Psychological Association
American Psychological Association
The American Psychological Association is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States. It is the world's largest association of psychologists with around 154,000 members including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. The APA...
recognizes the existence of "post-abortion syndrome," and an American Psychological Association review of relevant studies found that "abortion is usually psychologically benign."
CPCs may also claim that surgical abortion is a dangerous procedure, with a high risk of perforation or infection. One CPC counselor is reported to have told an undercover investigator that a patient was left needing a colostomy bag after her bowel was perforated; several reports mention that a CPC described or depicted a woman dying as a result of the procedure. However, fewer than 0.3% of women who have abortions experience complications that necessitate hospitalization.
The alleged risk of perforation and infection is also part of the assertion that abortion negatively impacts future childbearing, by increasing the risk of infertility, miscarriages, complications, ectopic pregnancy, or fetal health problems. One center claimed that there was a one in four chance of not being able to carry another pregnancy. These claims are not supported by medical data.
Besides false information about health risks of abortion, CPCs have also been found to disseminate misinformation about birth control methods, in particular the idea that contraception and condoms do not work or have harmful effects. Some counselors said that "all condoms are defective and have slots and holes in them" or that they fail "something like 40 percent of the time." Other centers said that condoms were permeable to HIV or other diseases, or that hormonal contraceptives had abortifacient effects and did long-term harm to women's health, such as causing infertility and cancer, while one said that condoms caused cancer.
Other false information may concern the methodology of pregnancy tests, the advisability of STI testing on pregnant women, the comparative risk, availability, and advisability of abortion at different stages of pregnancy, descriptions of female anatomy, the rate of postpartum depression among women who carry to term, the progression of fetal development, fetal pain, the possibility of getting pregnant from rape, the progression of pregnancy, and the number of pregnancies that end in natural miscarriages.
Pro-choice organizations like Planned Parenthood, the National Abortion Federation
National Abortion Federation
The National Abortion Federation is an organization of abortion providers. Though originally a U.S. group, NAF has expanded to include practitioners in Canada and Australia as well as many European countries and Mexico...
, and Choice Ireland have criticized CPCs' dissemination of false medical information. Care Net denounces "any form of deception in its corporate advertising or individual conversations with its clients," though they also say of their promotion of an abortion–breast cancer link that their "role is clearly to include this possible risk when [they] educate clients about all the risks of abortions."
Religious affiliation
The overwhelming majority of CPCs in the U.S. are run by pro-life Christians according to a conservative Christian philosophy. As of 2007, two Christian charities, Care Net and Heartbeat International, accounted for three quarters of CPCs in the United States. Care Net, the largest CPC network in the United States, is explicitly evangelisticEvangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
in nature, and says that its "ultimate aim...is to share the love and truth of Jesus Christ in both word and deed" and that its "pregnancy centers are committed to sharing the love of Jesus Christ with every person who walks through their doors." Heartbeat International, one of the largest CPC networks in the United States and also the largest CPC network in the world, runs "Christian crisis-pregnancy centers" and describes itself as a "Christian association of faith-based pregnancy resource centers" whose materials are "consistent with Biblical principles." NIFLA "strongly believes that sharing the Gospel is an essential part of counseling women in pregnancy help medical clinics". Some CPCs are run by the Catholic Church or by other church groups. Unaffiliated CPCs, or CPCs affiliated with other organizations, may provide a religious perspective in their counseling.
In contrast to overt Christian perspective of most CPC networks, Birthright International
Birthright International
Birthright International is an international organization of crisis pregnancy centers. It offers a range of services designed to "help support a woman's desire not to have an abortion," including referrals to legal, medical and psychological services, as well as a range of community support...
has a stated philosophy of non-evangelism. A Jewish CPC, called "In Shifra's Arms," also exists. According to Waxman's report in 2006, 50 CPCs are funded by the federal government.
Many CPCs require their staff to be Christian. For example, as a condition of affiliation, Care Net and the Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services, the two largest CPC organizations in the United States and Canada respectively, require each employee and volunteer of a prospective affiliate to comply with a statement of faith. CPCs unaffiliated with either of these may also require staff to be Christian.
Religious activity is sometimes part of a CPC customer's experience. Care Net claims to have effected over 23,000 conversions or restatements of Christian faith. NIFLA "strongly believes that sharing the Gospel is an essential part of counseling women in pregnancy help medical clinics". Some visitors to CPCs report that employees subjected them to unwanted evangelizing.
CPCs outside the United States are also frequently Christian. CareConfidential, the largest umbrella network for CPCs in the United Kingdom, runs "Christian-based pregnancy crisis centres" and is a division of the Christian charity CARE. The Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services, a similar network in Canada whose centers may also affiliate with Care Net or Heartbeat International, describes itself as a "Christian charity"; its affiliates "adhere firmly to Christianity." The United States-based Human Life International
Human Life International
Human Life International is an American-based Roman Catholic activist pro-life organization. Founded in 1981 by Father Paul Marx , HLI is located in Front Royal, Virginia. Human Life International describes itself as "the largest international pro-life organization in the world", noting that it has...
runs "Catholic pregnancy centers" in Mexico and also provides aid to the Centros de Ayuda para la Mujer, a network of CPCs in Latin America whose philosophy is "in conformity with the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church." As in the United States, unaffiliated CPCs may also be run by church groups or otherwise Christian.
Advertising methods
CPCs have been criticized for deceptive advertising. Some falsely advertise that they offer abortion services, attracting clients who wish to have an abortion. In the 1980s, investigative reporters from the Arizona Republic, the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
and CBS News, among others, filed stories about CPCs luring women by offering free pregnancy tests but then scaring them with religious arguments. Observers have also pointed out that they use rhetoric and advertising language similar to those of abortion providers—for example, "Plan Your Parenthood" or a directory listing under "abortion services" or "clinics"—and object to the use of such techniques which they say may mislead pregnant women seeking abortion into contacting a CPC.
Some crisis pregnancy centers advertise in a manner called deceptive by "the Texas Attorney General
Texas Attorney General
The Texas Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Texas.The department has offices at the William P. Clements State Office Building at 300 West 15th Street in Austin.-History:...
, the North Dakota Supreme Court, the Federal Centers for Disease Control, the National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood[,] the New York Metropolitan Religious Coalition for Abortion Rights", "NARAL Pro Choice America, Planned Parenthood Federation of America[,] the National Abortion Federation, as well as the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
". In particular, the advertising approach of the Pearson Foundation, which assists local groups establishing CPCs, has been criticized by some other pro-life groups, including Birthright International
Birthright International
Birthright International is an international organization of crisis pregnancy centers. It offers a range of services designed to "help support a woman's desire not to have an abortion," including referrals to legal, medical and psychological services, as well as a range of community support...
, another CPC operator. The foundation recommends that a center seek out women who want abortions through "neutral" advertising, and refuse to answer questions that would reveal that they provide neither abortion services nor referrals to abortion services.
Planned Parenthood charges that CPC administrators portray their businesses as "medical facilities", when they do not have professional licensing from local or state health department
Health department
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their own...
s, and are staffed primarily with volunteers rather than medical professionals. "They are integrating increasing numbers of medical services in what they do, offering free pregnancy tests and low-cost testing for sexually transmitted diseases and sonographs," says Gloria Feldt
Gloria Feldt
Gloria Feldt at Temple, Texas, is a well-known author, commentator, and feminist leader.Feldt is a frequent public speaker, lecturing at universities, civic and professional organizations, and national and international conferences on women, feminism, politics, leadership, media, and health...
. "[But] if they are going to practice medicine—and as they add these tests they are practicing medicine—they either need to practice it legitimately or cut out the charade."
In their advertisements, some CPCs may describe themselves as offering "abortion alternatives," or with another term that indicates that they do not assist clients in obtaining an abortion. However, Robert Pearson, identified by some as the founder of the CPC movement, said that a woman "has no right to information" that will allow her to have an abortion.
Safe haven
Crisis pregnancy centers, along with hospitals and fire and police stations, are designated by state law in Louisiana as emergency care facilitiesSafe haven law
Safe-haven laws are statutes in the United States that decriminalize the leaving of unharmed infants with statutorily designated private persons so that the child becomes a ward of the state...
where parents may surrender custody of newborn infants.
Legal and legislative action
Legal and legislative action in response to CPCs has typically focused on their advertising practices, and has usually resulted in the CPCs in question being obliged to make clear statements about the services they offer.Court cases
In 1986, a lawsuit by the Fargo Women's Health Organization, a medical clinic that performed abortions, led to the North Dakota Supreme CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
The North Dakota Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the state of North Dakota. The Court rules on questions of law in appeals from the state's district courts....
judging that the Fargo Women's Help Clinic, a CPC, had engaged in "false and deceptive advertising" by advertising that they provided abortions. The Help Clinic argued that, because it received no money from its clients and its statements were in support of a position rather than for commercial gain, they were exempt from regulations on commercial speech, but the court ruled that the CPC's advertisements were "placed in a commercial context and...directed at the providing of services rather than toward an exchange of ideas" and thus were not exempt. The court upheld a preliminary injunction forbidding the Help Clinic from advertising that they provided abortions, and from using a confusing name that might "falsely lull people...into thinking that they are, in fact, the Women's Health Organization or the Fargo Women's Health organization, Inc."
Also in 1986, the Problem Pregnancy Center in Fort Worth, Texas was sued by the Texas Attorney General's office after reports from women who had telephoned the agency, which was listed under "abortion information," and found that it was a "right-to-life outfit." A jury found that the center had violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and required it to pay $39,000 in fines, in addition to a larger sum in lawyers' fees.
In 1994, the Center for Unplanned Pregnancy, a San Diego CPC, was legally determined to have engaged in false advertisement. This resulted in it being court-ordered to tell every client that it did not provide abortions or abortion referrals and that its counseling was "from a Biblical anti-abortion perspective," and to stop advertising under "clinics," "abortion service providers," "birth control information" or "pregnancy options counseling" in the telephone directory. The court also disallowed the center from providing pregnancy tests. Three other CPCs involved in the case—Escondido Pregnancy Services, Poway Pregnancy Counseling Center and San Diego Counseling Center—settled out of court and agreed to change their advertising practices, while the last, San Diego Pregnancy Services, had earlier closed when faced with accusations of coercion in its adoption practices.
Other CPCs in New York and California have been enjoined from providing pregnancy tests without a license, while a CPC in California was forbidden to advertise pregnancy tests as "free" if they are conditional upon hearing a presentation or counseling.
Spitzer investigation
In January 2002, then-New York Attorney General Eliot SpitzerEliot Spitzer
Eliot Laurence Spitzer is an American lawyer, former Democratic Party politician, and political commentator. He was the co-host of In the Arena, a talk-show and punditry forum broadcast on CNN until CNN cancelled his show in July of 2011...
launched an investigation into alleged deceptive business practices of 24 crisis pregnancy centers across the State and issued subpoenas to 11 of them. Spitzer's investigation was criticized by some as politically motivated harassment on behalf of political allies like NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America , formerly the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then National Abortion Rights Action League, and later National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, is an organization in the United States that engages in political action to oppose...
. In February 2002, a number of the targeted crisis pregnancy centers filed motions in New York State court against the Attorney General's office, seeking to quash the subpoenas. Later that same month, Spitzer withdrew all the subpoenas. However, the Attorney General's office also worked out an agreement with one of the CPCs in question, intended to be used as a model, which sets out practices including informing clients that the center does not provide abortion or birth control, that it is not a licensed medical facility, and that the pregnancy tests it provides are over-the-counter.
Waxman Report
In 2006, Congressman Henry WaxmanHenry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...
(D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-CA
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) led an investigation of taxpayer-funded CPCs and found that they provided "false and misleading information" on an alleged link between abortion and breast cancer, on the alleged effects of abortion on fertility, and on the alleged mental health effects of abortion
Abortion and mental health
The relationship between induced abortion and mental health is an area of political controversy. The issue has been part of the political debate over abortion, dating to 1988 when U.S. President Ronald Reagan directed Surgeon General C...
.
The summary of the report states:
The individuals who contact federally funded pregnancy resource centers are often vulnerable teenagers, who are susceptible to being misled and need medically accurate information to help them make a fully informed decision. The vast majority of pregnancy resource centers contacted for this report, however, provided false or misleading information about the health risks of an abortion. This may advance the mission of the pregnancy resource centers, which are typically pro-life organizations dedicated to preventing abortion, but it is an inappropriate public health practice.
Pro-life groups criticized Waxman's report, alleging that it contained inaccuracies and distortions.
Proposed "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act"
On March 30, 2006, Rep.Congressperson
A Member of Congress is a term used for a politician who has become qualified, appointed or elected, and inducted into some official body , typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature...
Carolyn Maloney (D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-NY
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
) and eleven co-sponsors introduced a bill called the "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act", which would have required the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
to "promulgate rules prohibiting...persons from advertising with the intent to deceptively create the impression that such persons provide abortion services" and "enforce violations of such rules as unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices." Maloney re-introduced the bill in 2007 in the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-controlled 110th Congress, and was joined by Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Bob Menendez (D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-NJ
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
) in reintroducing it in July 2010 in the Democratic-led 111th Congress, but in no case did it progress out of committee.
Disclosure and Signage Laws
Most efforts by municipalities to mandate that CPCs provide certain information or post signage have been found to run afoul of the United States ConstitutionUnited States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
when challenged in the federal courts.
New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
and Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
have all passed local laws that would require CPCs to post signs about the nature of the services they offer.
An local law requiring Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
crisis pregnancy centers to display signs stating that they do not offer or refer clients for abortion or birth control was declared unconstitutional by the federal court in Maryland in January 2011. The court held that "it is for the provider — not the government — to decide when and how to discuss abortion and birth-control method." The City of Baltimore has appealed the decision to the federal Court of Appeals.
The Montgomery County ordinance, which required CPCs to post signs stating that they do not employ licensed medical professionals and that the county health department advises seeking a licensed health care provider, was enjoined in part by the federal court in Maryland in March 2011. Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow
Deborah K. Chasanow
-Biography:Born in Washington, D.C., Chasanow received a B.A. from Rutgers University in 1970 and a J.D. from Stanford Law School in 1974. She was a law clerk, Hon. David L. Cahoon, Montgomery County Circuit Court, Maryland from 1974 to 1975. She was in private practice in Washington, D.C. in 1975...
held that the provision of the law requiring CPC's to state the county health department's position amounts to compelled speech likely violative of the First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
.
New York City's effort to regulate the information provided by CPCs was enjoined by the federal court in Manhattan in July 2011. The New York law would have required all pregnancy counseling centers to disclose whether they provide abortion, birth control, or prenatal care. In enjoining enforcement of the law, Judge William H. Pauley III
William H. Pauley III
William H. Pauley III is a United States federal judge.Born in Glen Cove, New York, Pauley received an A.B. from Duke University in 1974 and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1977. He was a law clerk, Office of the Nassau County Attorney, New York from 1977 to 1978. He was a Deputy...
called it “offensive to free speech principles.” The City has filed an appeal.
Some campaigns to pass disclosure laws have been supported by NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America
NARAL Pro-Choice America , formerly the National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws, then National Abortion Rights Action League, and later National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, is an organization in the United States that engages in political action to oppose...
, a pro-choice political organization, which cites the ways in which "the centers mislead women." The organization took credit for the passage of the Austin law.
Mandatory consultation
South Dakota enacted a law in 2011 which would have required consultation at a crisis pregnancy center as a precondition to obtaining an abortion. The law, which was to take effect in July 2011, also would have established a 3-day waiting period, the longest in the country. In June 2011, Judge Karen SchreierKaren Schreier
Karen Elizabeth Schreier is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota.- Early life and education :...
issued a preliminary injunction blocking the law from going into effect, writing that the provisions "constitute a substantial obstacle to a woman's decision to obtain an abortion because they force a woman against her will to disclose her decision to undergo an abortion to a pregnancy help center employee before she can undergo an abortion."
Affiliation
Most crisis pregnancy centers are affiliated with several major pro-life organizations that fund CPCs; these are Care NetCare Net
Care Net is a conservative Christian crisis pregnancy center network operating primarily in the United States. Its centers provide Christian, pro-life approaches to women facing unplanned pregnancies. Care Net centers do not perform, recommend, or refer clients for abortions...
, Heartbeat International, Birthright International
Birthright International
Birthright International is an international organization of crisis pregnancy centers. It offers a range of services designed to "help support a woman's desire not to have an abortion," including referrals to legal, medical and psychological services, as well as a range of community support...
, and National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates is an American 501 charitable organization. Founded in 1993, it is based in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The organization provides legal advice to over 1200 crisis pregnancy centers within its membership network...
(NIFLA). Care Net is the largest network of CPCs in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, with 1,100 centers advising over 350,000 women annually. Heartbeat International, a U.S.-based group which affiliates with CPCs both in the United States and abroad, is associated with over 1,000 centers. Some CPCs are affiliated with multiple organizations at once, so the sum does not reflect the total. The largest UK organisations are CareConfidential and LifeUK, while the largest Canadian one is the Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services (CAPSS). Human Life International
Human Life International
Human Life International is an American-based Roman Catholic activist pro-life organization. Founded in 1981 by Father Paul Marx , HLI is located in Front Royal, Virginia. Human Life International describes itself as "the largest international pro-life organization in the world", noting that it has...
, a Roman Catholic group that opposes abortion, also runs CPCs outside the United States.
Ireland
In Ireland (where abortion is illegal except when pregnancy endangers the mother's life) the government has created the Crisis Pregnancy Programme (formerly the Crisis Pregnancy Agency), a nation-wide working group to address crisis pregnancies. One of its objectives is to reduce the number of women who opt for abortion; the primary method it uses in pursuit of this goal is the provision of "services and supports which make other options more attractive." The CPP funds crisis pregnancy initiatives and is in turn reimbursed by the Health Service ExecutiveHealth Service Executive
The Health Service Executive is responsible for the provision of healthcare providing health and personal social services for everyone living in Ireland, with public funds. The Executive was established by the Health Act, 2004 and came into official operation on January 1, 2005...
. Crisis pregnancy counseling grants are provided through a campaign called "Positive Options"; funding is awarded only to centers that offer non-directive and medically accurate counseling that discusses all possible options, including traveling abroad for abortion. Centers that "use manipulation and alarmist information" to persuade women not to have an abortion are called "rogue agencies."
Federal funding
As of July, 2006, 50 CPCs had received federal funding. Between 2001 and 2006, over $60 million in federal funds were given to crisis pregnancy centers.State funding
In 2006, 20 U.S. states subsidized crisis pregnancy centers. These included FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
In 2005 Florida launched the Florida Pregnancy Support Services Program with $4 million. The funding paid for a toll-free hotline which provides information for non-abortion options and funding for CPCs. Governor Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
vetoed a funding cut in 2009 saying, "I appreciate the effort and support that chairman Dean Cannon
Dean Cannon
Dean Cannon is a Representative in the House of Representatives of the Florida Legislature.He received his Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Florida in Journalism, and his Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida as well...
and so many other House leaders put forth in making sure that innocent human life was protected in Florida.”
In 24 U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s, individuals can support CPCs by purchasing Choose Life license plates. Motorists in these states can request these plates and pay an extra fee, a portion of which is used by the state to fund adoption support organizations and crisis pregnancy centers.
Pro-life positions
- A Passion to Serve: A Vision for Life – Pregnancy Resource Center Service Report 2009, the status of the CPC movement by a coalition CPCs and pro-life organizations
- About Pregnancy Centers, Epigee Women's Health
- Pro-Abortionists Crank Up Campaign to Mislead Public, National Right to Life CommitteeNational Right to Life CommitteeThe National Right to Life Committee is the oldest and largest pro-life organization in the United States with affiliates in all 50 states and over 3,000 local chapters nationwide. The group works through legislation and education to work against abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted...
- A N.Y. WITCH HUNT – INTOLERANT ATTACK ON PRO-LIFE PREGNANCY CENTERS, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
- National Poll Affirms CPC Movement, Assist Pregnancy Center
Pro-choice positions
- Crisis Pregnancy Centers, National Abortion FederationNational Abortion FederationThe National Abortion Federation is an organization of abortion providers. Though originally a U.S. group, NAF has expanded to include practitioners in Canada and Australia as well as many European countries and Mexico...
- The Truth about Crisis Pregnancy Centers, NARAL Pro-Choice America
- Inside A Crisis Pregnancy Center, Planned ParenthoodPlanned ParenthoodPlanned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
- Crisis Pregnancy Centers Seek To Increase Political Clout, Secure Government Subsidy, Guttmacher InstituteGuttmacher InstituteThe Guttmacher Institute is a non-profit organization which works to advance sexual and reproductive health. The institute operates in the United States and globally "through an interrelated program of social science research, policy analysis and public education." According to their mission...
- RH Reality Check on CPCs
Press
- States React to Crisis Pregnancy Centers, Washington Post, May 9, 2007
- Antiabortion Centers Offer Sonograms to Further Cause, Washington Post, September 9, 2006
- Pregnancy Centers Found to Give False Information on Abortion, Washington Post, July 18, 2006
- Grants Flow To Bush Allies On Social Issues, Washington Post, March 22, 2006
- Abortion Battle: Prenatal Care or Pressure Tactics?, Washington Post, February 21, 2002
- Some Abortion Foes Forgo Politics for Quiet Talk, New York Times, January 16, 2006
- Church Groups Turn to Sonogram to Turn Women From Abortions, New York Times, February 2, 2005
- Congressional Inquiry Examines Reports of Bogus Abortion Clinics, New York Times, September 21, 1991
- PREGNANCY CENTERS: ANTI-ABORTION ROLE CHALLENGED, New York Times, January 23, 1987