Choosing Lies and Deception: Crisis Pregnancy Centers in North Carolina
Across the country, anti-choice activists are working to limit women’s reproductive health options by restricting access to abortion and birth control. In addition to legislative action, one branch of this movement is targeting pregnant women through “crisis pregnancy centers” that use lies and scare tactics to prevent women from making informed choices about abortion.
Crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, often advertise themselves in the yellow pages and online as providing “pregnancy counseling” or “abortion information.” These anti-choice organizations present themselves as a source of neutral information and advice. In fact, however, the primary goal of the CPC movement is to persuade women to carry pregnancies to term.
Here are some examples from NARAL Pro-Choice NC's investigation of these crisis pregnancy centers:
Alamance Pregnancy Services, Burlington
• Pamphlets given out by Alamance Pregnancy Services claim that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer and that all condoms were defective. During a site visit, the investigator found the counselor to be preachy and judgmental.
Pregnancy Care Center of High Point, High Point
• The investigator reported that the counselor seemed compassionate and friendly, but that she appeared to deliberately manipulate the administration of the pregnancy test, withholding the results of the test in order to produce anxiety in the client.
Randolph Pregnancy Care Center, Asheboro
• A counselor told the investigator that having an abortion under the age of 20 could increase the risk of breast cancer 800%. The counselor also reported that “studies have been done” showing that “9 out of 10 couples who go through an abortion, split up.”
Birthright of Winston-Salem, Winston-Salem
• During a phone conversation, a Birthright representative claimed that Birthright helps women “learn what the options are” in a “loving and caring non-judgmental way.” In contrast to these claims, when the investigator visited the offices, she was told by a counselor that abortion was “horrifying, ruins your life, devastating.”
Pregnancy Life Care Center, Raleigh
• A phone volunteer claimed that “other agencies” lied to women about the side effects of abortion, including infertility and internal bleeding.
Birthchoice, Raleigh
• When an investigator called Birthchoice Raleigh, she was told that emergency contraception was not available in the United States. During a visit to the clinic, a counselor said that abortion is a big industry that makes a lot of money from killing babies, and that infertility was a common side effect of abortion.
Pregnancy Support Services of Wake Forest, Wake Forest
• A counselor told the investigator that condoms don’t work, and wouldn’t or couldn’t give information about where to go for STD testing. Both breast cancer and infertility were given as side effects of abortion.
Rowan County Pregnancy Counseling Center, Salisbury
• When an investigator called the CPC for information about abortion, the CPC employee repeatedly told her that she would give her “factual truths” about abortion that were concealed by “society” and the “news media.” The phone counselor told the investigator that abortion was linked to higher risks of breast cancer and could cause infertility.
Crisis Pregnancy Center of Gaston County, Gastonia
• A phone volunteer told the investigator that “doctors won’t tell you everything you need to know.” The volunteer described the risks of abortion as bleeding, sterility, and death. A woman identified as a nurse said that abortion increased the risk of breast cancer.
Pregnancy Resource Center of Stanly County, Albermarle
• During a phone call to the center, the investigator was told that abortion could cause both sterility and breast cancer.
See this link to read NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina's new report, "Choosing Lies and Deception: Crisis Pregnancy Centers in North Carolina".
A report released by Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA), Federal Funded Pregnancy Resource Centers Mislead Teens About Abortion Risks, found that 87% of federally funded “pregnancy resource centers,” commonly known as crisis pregnancy centers, provided false and misleading information about the physical and mental health effects of abortion and grossly exaggerated the medical risks of abortion. The report also found that virtually all of the funding is funneled through the federal abstinence-only-until-marriage program. Between 2001 and 2005, more than $30 million in federal dollars went to more than 50 crisis pregnancy centers.
Click here to read Federal Funded Pregnancy Resource Centers Mislead Teens About Abortion Risks.
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