Crisis pregnancy center
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2008-07-11T01:39:11Z
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{{Totally-disputed|March 3, 2008|date=March 2008}}
{{Abortion debate (sidebar)}}
'''Crisis pregnancy centers''' (CPCs), also known as pregnancy resource centers,<ref name="Waxman">{{cite news
|first=Henry
|last=Waxman
|title="False and Misleading Health Information Provided by Federally Funded Pregnancy Resource
|url=http://oversight.house.gov/documents/20060717101140-30092.pdf
|work=United States Government
|publisher=United States Government
|page=pdf
|date= July 2006
|accessdate=2008-02-21
|quote=Many pregnancy resource centers, including all the centers contacted in this
investigation, are affiliated with one or more national umbrella organizations. Two such networks are Heartbeat International and Care Net.1 Heartbeat International describes itself as the “first pro-life network of pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. and the largest in the world, supporting, strengthening and starting nearly 1,000 pregnancy centers to provide alternatives to abortion.” Care Net describes itself as “a Christian ministry assisting and promoting the evangelistic, pro-life work of pregnancy centers in North America.”}}</ref> are [[non-profit organization]]s established by [[pro-life]] supporters that work to persuade [[pregnant]] [[women]] to [[childbirth|give birth]] rather than have an [[abortion]].<ref name="Waxman"/> Most CPCs are in the United States, and are usually affiliated with pro-life [[Evangelicalism| Conservative Evangelical ]] CPC organizations, or a specific [[Roman Catholic]] or Conservative Evanglical church.<ref name="Eavangelicals">{{cite news
|first=Emily
|last=Bazelon
|title=Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/magazine/21abortion.t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&adxnnl=0&adxnnlx=1190386628-YJ8YY6wRm1G3NshX/wMaAg
|work=[[The New York Times]]
|publisher=[[New York Times Company]]
|page=cover story
|date= 2007-01-21
|accessdate=2007-11-06
|quote="The federal government finances at least 50 nonsectarian “crisis pregnancy centers,”" ... "Many of the centers affiliate with two national groups, Heartbeat International and Care Net, which train abortion-recovery counselors. Then there are small, private counseling and Bible-study groups, both Catholic and evangelical, which raise their own money."
}}</ref> Some CPCs operate as [[parachurch]] organizations and function within the guidelines of the associated church.
The counseling services offered by crisis pregnancy centers typically advise women against aborting, promoting alternative pregnancy decisions, such as [[parenting]] or [[adoption]], and often following the teachings of a religious denomination with which the center might be affiliated.<ref name="Waxman"/><ref name="Sonograms">{{cite news
|first=Michael Alison
|last=Chandler
|title="Antiabortion Centers Offer Sonograms to Further Cause"
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/08/AR2006090801967.html
|work=[[Washington Post]]
|publisher=[[Washington Post]]
|page=html
|date= 2006-09-09
|accessdate=2008-02-24
|quote="By many accounts, the ultrasound exams have proven effective in convincing women to stay pregnant. A 2005 survey by Care Net, a Sterling-based network of about 1,000 antiabortion pregnancy centers in the United States and Canada, found that 72 percent of women who were initially "strongly leaning" toward abortion decided to carry their pregnancies to term after seeing a sonogram. Fifty percent made the same choice after counseling alone.
A report in July from congressional Democrats found that the federal government has contributed $30 million to antiabortion pregnancy centers since 2001. Most of that money paid for sexual abstinence education. But some was distributed as grants to help pay for ultrasound machines, the report found. For example, Life Line Pregnancy Care Center in Loudoun County received a $50,000 federal grant last year to buy a machine. }}</ref><ref name="Bazelon">[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/magazine/21abortion.t.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=5092fc3344065aec&ex=1327035600&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1190370959-M3NVF8bZOGTDu468IEZo8g Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?] By [[Emily Bazelon]]. Published in the ''[[New York Times Magazine]]'', [[January 21]] [[2007]]. Accessed [[January 11]] [[2008]].</ref> About a quarter of CPCs conduct sonograms as a way to persuade women not to abort.<ref name="Sonograms"/><ref>[http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/01/20/DECIDE.ART_ART_01-20-08_A1_K99330S.html?sid=101 The Columbus Dispatch] "Pregnancy centers stir debate"</ref><ref name="Waxman"/> CPCs are distinct from [[pregnancy options counseling]], which offers secular, medically-based information about choices concerning pregnancy, including information about abortion.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42118-2002Feb20?language=printer "Abortion Battle: Prenatal Care or Pressure Tactics?"] The Washington Post</ref>
==CPC Activities==
The majority of CPCs do not offer medical services; this is true of three-quarters of CPCs in the United States.<ref name="Waxman"/> Depending on its size, a CPC will conduct sonograms. They will offer [[Bible study| bible study sessions]] and "peer counseling" for women who have recently terminated a pregnancy<ref name="syndrome">{{cite news
|first=Emily
|last=Bazelon
|title=Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome?
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/magazine/21abortion.t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&adxnnl=0&adxnnlx=1190386628-YJ8YY6wRm1G3NshX/wMaAg
|work=[[The New York Times]]
|publisher=[[New York Times Company]]
|page=cover story
|date= 2007-01-21
|accessdate=2007-11-06
|quote = ...there are small, private counseling and Bible-study groups...
}}</ref>
They will also disseminate pro-life information, [[adoption]] information, information promoting [[sexual abstinence]] until [[marriage]], religious literature and [[Bible| Bibles]], information about [[child care]] and child safety issues, maternity and baby clothing, and information about [[career development]].
CPCs may also provide the contact information of outside agencies that provide medical care, [[legal aid]], or [[social service| social services]].{{Fact| March3|date=March 2008}} A small number of CPCs are affiliated with maternity houses, or temporary homes for pregnant women and young mothers.{{Fact| March3|date=March 2008}} Some may direct clients to an organization that provides scholarships for mothers who give their babies up for adoption. In contrast to other reproductive health centers, such as those operated by [[Planned Parenthood]], CPCs do not provide the contact information for abortion providers or [[emergency contraception]]. For this reason, phone books may list CPC's in a section labeled "Abortion ''Alternatives''" (as opposed to "Abortion Services").
Some CPC's in [[New York| New York State]] offer medical services such as STD testing and pregnancy tests.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42118-2002Feb20?language=printer Abortion Battle: Prenatal Care or Pressure Tactics?]</ref> This resulted in an investigation by then State Attorney General, [[Elliot Spitzer]].<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E3DF153EF937A15751C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1 "Dillon and Spitzer Clash Over Abortion"] New York Times.</ref>
==Henry Waxman report on disinformation==
An United States House of Representatives minority report by Congressmen [[Henry Waxman]] concluded that CPC's provide "false and misleading information" about a link between [[abortion breast cancer| abortion and breast cancer]], the effects of abortion on fertility, and the [[abortion and mental health| mental health effects of abortion]].<ref name="Waxman"/>
The summary of the report says:
<blockquote>
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.<ref name="Waxman"/>
</blockquote>
==Funding==
===Donations===
Most funding for Crisis Pregnancy Centers comes from donations. Centers usually have a director, who may be a full-time paid employee, along with a volunteer staff. Funding and resources are generally provided by churches, individuals and businesses that support the pro-life cause, [[matching gift]]s from employers,{{Fact|March 3, 2008|date=March 2008}} and [[Grant (money)|grant]]s. Some centers are members of [[United Way of America]],{{Fact|March 3, 2008|date=March 2008}} and receive designated gifts, as well as a percentage of non-designated gifts. [[Fundraising]] is often used as well.
In some States, individuals can support CPCs by purchasing "Choose Life" [[license plate]]s. In the 17 [[U.S. state]]s currently offering them, motorists can request these plates and pay an extra fee, a portion of which is used by the state to fund crisis pregnancy centers and adoption support organizations.<ref name="chooselife">{{cite news
|title=Court Allows 'Choose Life' Plates:Federal Court Says Tennessee Can Offer Anti-Abortion License Plates
|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/17/national/main1418908.shtml?source=search_story
|publisher=[[Associated Press]]
|date= 2006-03-17
|accessdate=2007-11-06
}}</ref>
Colorado-based [[Focus On the Family]] has a goal of equipping 800 CPCs with ultrasound machines by 2010, through its "Option Ultrasound Program." As of November, 2007, they had donated ultrasound machines to 270 CPCs.<ref>[http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/23436.php Focus on the Family Budgets $4.2M To Provide Ultrasound Equipment to Pregnancy Centers With Goal of Preventing Abortions], ''Medical News Today''</ref><ref>[http://www.heartlink.org/OUP/A000000422.cfm Focus Celebrates Option Ultrasound Success], ''Focus On the Family''</ref>
The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the [[Southern Baptist]] Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the [[United States]], is working to equip more CPCs with ultrasound machines, through what they call the "Psalm 139 Project." "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," says ERLC President Richard Land on the Psalm 139 Project web site.<ref>[http://psalm139project.org/ Psalm 139 Project], opening a window to the womb</ref>
According to the Heidi Group, a Christian organization that advises crisis pregnancy centers, most women who visit CPCs and see their babies through the use of ultrasound technology decide against abortion.<ref>[http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27217 Baptist Press: 'Story shows that sonograms stop abortions']</ref>
===State Funding in the U.S.===
At least 8 states, including [[Florida]], [[Louisiana]], [[Minnesota]], [[Missouri]], [[Nebraska]], [[North Dakota]], [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Texas]], subsidize crisis pregnancy centers.<ref name="statefunding">[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/12/MNGT0O32TB1.DTL&hw=women+sexual+health&sn=005&sc=155]Abortion foes are getting public funds At least 8 states subsidize centers whose goal is to ensure pregnant women give birth] San Francisco Gate</ref>
===Federal funding in the U.S.===
As of July, 2006, 50 CPCs had received [[federal funding]].<ref name="Waxman" /> Between 2001 and 2006, over $60 million of federal funds were given to crisis pregnancy centers.<ref>{{cite web | last =Edsall | first =Thomas B. |date=[[2006-03-22]] | url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101723_pf.html | title =Grants Flow To Bush Allies On Social Issues | work =[[Washington Post]] | pages =A01 | accessdate =2007-11-06}}</ref>
==Legal and legislative actions against CPC's==
Some crisis pregnancy centers have been the subject of criticism, particularly from [[pro-choice]] advocates, but also from such entities as the Federal [[Centers for Disease Control]], the [[Texas Attorney General]], the [[North Dakota Supreme Court]], the [[American Civil Liberties Union]],<ref name="crackdown" /> and some pro-life groups, such as [[Birthright International]], which operates similar centers.<ref name="gross">{{cite news
|first=Jane
|last=Gross
|title=Pregnancy Centers: Anti-Abortion Role Challenged
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6D91138F930A15752C0A961948260
|work=[[The New York Times]]
|date= 1987-01-23
|accessdate=2007-11-06
}}
</ref> All of these have described tactics of some CPCs as "deceptive". Critics charge that these CPCs portray themselves 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.<ref name="bryant">{{cite web
|url=http://www.plannedparenthood.org/news-articles-press/politics-policy-issues/abortion-access/pregnancy-centers-6174.htm
|title=Stopping Crisis Pregnancy Centers
|accessdate=2007-11-06
|last= Bryant
|first= Amy
|date= 2006-04-20
|work=Plannedparenthood.org
|publisher=Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc
}}</ref> A 2002 Washington Post article said Planned Parenthood disagreed with the way CPCs presented themselves <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42118-2002Feb20?language=printer "Abortion Battle: Prenatal Care or Pressure Tactics?"] The Washington Post</ref>.
On [[March 30]], [[2006]], [[Congressperson|Rep.]] [[Carolyn Maloney]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[New York|NY]]) introduced a bill called the "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act", which aims to hold crisis pregnancy centers up to [[False advertising|truth in advertising]] standards. <ref name="crackdown">{{cite web |date=[[2006-03-30]] | url =http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=1082&Itemid=61 | title =Seeking a Crackdown on Deceit by Radical Anti-Choice Centers | work =Rep. Carolyn Maloney press release | accessdate =2006-05-11}}</ref> Maloney said of CPCs, "When women are making a health decision, they should never be subject to deceit and trickery... Some of these Crisis Pregnancy Centers should be called ‘Counterfeit Pregnancy Centers.’ They have the right to exist, but they shouldn’t have the right to deceive in order to advance their particular beliefs."
==Effectiveness==
{{unbalanced|section}}
A 1999 national [[Wirthlin Worldwide|Wirthlin]] poll, sponsored by [[Family Research Council]] and [[Focus on the Family]], concluded that CPCs are making a positive impact. Of the 650 women surveyed, 66% had heard of a CPC, and 49% knew whether or not one was located in their area. One in ten had used the services of a CPC. 87% of the women surveyed believed that the centers have a positive impact, and of the women who had actually used a CPC, 98% said the center had been very helpful. <ref>[http://www.assistcpc.org/articles/wirthlinpoll.shtml National Poll Affirms CPC Movement], Results of Wirthlin Worldwide Poll, 1999, as reported by Assist Pregnancy Center, 5101-D Backlick Road, Annandale, VA 22003, AssistCPC.org</ref>
==Prevalence==
As of September, 2006, there were over 2,200 pro-life pregnancy centers in the United States.<ref name="Sonograms"/>While they are most prevalent in the [[United States]], CPCs are also present internationally.<ref name="worldwide">{{cite web
|url=http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/worldwide_directory.asp
|title=Worldwide Directory
|accessdate=2007-11-06
|publisher=[[Heartbeat International]]
}}</ref> Most crisis pregnancy centers are affiliated with one of three major pro-life, [[Evangelicalism#Fundamentalist_Protestant_Evangelicalism | Fundamentalist Christian]] and Roman Catholic organizations that fund CPCs; these are [[Care Net]], [[Heartbeat International (pro-life organization)|Heartbeat International]], and Birthright International. Care Net is the largest network of CPCs in [[North America]], with 1,100 centers advising over 350,000 women annually.<ref name="Waxman"/>Heartbeat International is associated with over 1,000 centers,<ref name="heartbeat">{{cite web
|url=http://www.heartbeatinternational.org/about_us.htm
|title=About Us
|accessdate=2007-11-06
|publisher=[[Heartbeat International]]
|quote = Heartbeat strengthens, starts and protects more than 1,000 pregnancy centers in 40 countries...
}}</ref> and Birthright International has over 400 affiliates.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} The largest UK organisations are [[CareConfidential]] and [[LifeUK]].
==See also==
*[[Pregnancy options counseling]]
*[[Christianity and abortion]]
*[[Abortion and mental health]]
==References==
{{reflist|2}}
==External links==
===Pro-Life Sites===
* [http://www.pregnancycenters.org/ ''Option Line'' crisis pregnancy referral service]
* [http://www.epigee.org/pregnancy/centers.html About Pregnancy Resource Centers]
* [http://www.nrlc.org/news_and_views/April07/nv040207part1.html National Right to Life Committee]
===Pro-choice Sites===
* [http://www.prochoice.org/policy/policyreports/cpc.html National Abortion Federation Policy Report on CPCs]
* [http://www.womensmedcenter.com/faqs/consumerwatch.asp The Woman's Med Center on CPCs]
* [http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/issues/abortion/access-to-abortion/anti-choice-crisis-pregnancy-centers/ Pro Choice America on CPCs]
===Government Sites===
* [http://oversight.house.gov/Documents/20060717101140-30092.pdf ''False and Misleading Health Information Provided by Federally Funded Pregnancy Resource Centers''], report by staff of Rep. [[Henry Waxman]] (D-CA-30)
===Press===
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/08/AR2006090801967.html Antiabortion Centers Offer Sonograms to Further Cause] Washington Post ([http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/08/AR2006090801967_pf.html print view], no photos)
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101723.html Grants Flow To Bush Allies On Social Issues] Washington Post ([http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032101723_pf.html print view], no photos)
[[Category:Pro-life movement]]
[[Category:Pregnancy]]