Getting Crisis Pregnancy Centers to Confess

If only "crisis pregnancy centers" came with their own FDA warning
labels: "contains misinformation," or "may result in poor
decision-making." Generally, however, crisis pregnancy centers have
long operated under the radar in communities around the country,
quietly suppressing

a woman's right to choose under the pretense of offering
reproductive health care. There are an estimated 2,300 to 4,000 of
these centers nationwide, some backed by government funding
[PDF] and some-according to an investigative report in the latest issue of Ms. magazine-having

close contact with anti-abortion extremists.

The New York City Council-following in the footsteps of Baltimore
and Austin-is

the latest city government to take up legislation to at
least force these Potemkin clinics to fess
up.

Though CPC's may operate just within the letter of the law, the
legislation promoted by City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and
Councilmember Jessica Lappin would force them to disclose up front
that "they do not provide abortion services or contraceptive
devices, or make referrals to organizations that do," according to the Wall Street
Journal. They would also have to say if their facility lacks
licensed on-site medical personnel. As Lappin said
:

These are anti-choice centers masquerading as health clinics.
Women who are scared and vulnerable and having a very tough
decision to make have a right to factually accurate medical
information, and the fact that these folks would purposely try
to mislead them is not right.

Typically, if you walk into a CPC-often located close to an
abortion clinic and given a name that makes it hard to distinguish
from that clinic-you'll be greeted by a counselor who will strive
mightily to dissuade you from an abortion
(sometimes complete with religious exhortations and [deceptive]
fear-mongering advice about medical risks). Then the counselor
might hit you with a menu of "abortion alternatives," particularly
adoption. According to NARAL New York's study of
CPC's around the country:

While some CPCs may provide appropriate support and information
to women facing unintended pregnancies, many do not.
Unfortunately, reports indicate that many CPCs intentionally
misinform and mislead women seeking pregnancy-related
information with the intention of dissuading them from
exercising their right to choose. In fact, some CPCs may force
women seeking objective health-care information to watch
antiabortion films, slideshows, photographs, and hear lectures.
Some may also refuse to provide information about or referrals
for birth control.

A 2006 congressional
investigation led by Rep. Henry Waxman found that the
majority of centers surveyed gave misleading information, ranging
from dubious to just plain wacky:

[One crisis pregnancy] center said that post-abortion stress
suffered by women having abortions is "much like" that seen in
soldiers returning from Vietnam and "is something that anyone
who's had an abortion is sure to suffer from." Other centers
said that abortion can cause "guilt, ... sexual problems, ...
suicidal ideas, ... drug use, eating disorders," and "a downward
spiral where they lose friends and family members."

NARAL notes that some CPC's have
niche-marketed their services to black and Latina women, who have
higher rates of teen pregnancy and whose limited exposure to sex
education renders them easy prey for CPC-style moral suasion.

The New York City bill might bring some much-needed
transparency-as would the Stop Deceptive Advertising Women's
Services Act, introduced in the U.S. Congress recently by Rep.
Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). As
Maloney says in the upcoming issue of Ms.,
"Deception should not be permitted, especially on such a topic.
That's why there needs to be a law." Hopefully, a legal assurance
of truth in reproductive health will be just the start of an open
discussion about the real state of a woman's right to choose.