I don't always read Ms. magazine but will pick it up if something catches my eye. This years Fall issue is out and I quickly became absorbed in one of the cover stories about crisis pregnancy centers. A Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) is not an abortion clinic and it does not provide abortions. They do not refer women to places that provide abortions.
These aren't medical centers. Women are encouraged to make sure they are pregnant before making any decisions by coming in to take a free pregnancy test. They offer counseling, ultrasounds and adoption placement. Most CPC's set themselves in a helpful, caring and supportive light. They are run by Catholics, Anti-Choice groups and some are operated by well know anti-abortion extremists. The clinics don't say that they aren't abortion clinics but they will advertise "abortion alternatives"
In Wichita, Kansas, Dr. George Tiller was the provider of abortions at the Women Heath Care Services clinic. Dr. Tiller was shot multiple times by anti-abortionists who eventually succeeded in murdering in 2009. Tiller was killed while serving as an usher at his church.
My problems with CPCs are not particularly complicated. These are misguided, often federally funded groups that go so far as to lie in order to convince women not to have abortions. I obviously think pregnant women should be able to have every option available to them and that they should be given honest factual information. I'm sure that some CPCs don't lie to women outright but I'm also sure that they don't all tell the truth. Given the fact that they are more determined to just get women inside of their centers as opposed to providing them with quality care.
Let's look at what the names of some CPCs. Here are a few examples; First Concern, A Woman's Concern, Friends of the Unborn, Another way, A New Life, Life Saver and my favorite, Heartbeat. One CPC in Ghent, New York goes by the name We Care. Also in New York and many other states is a CPC called Birth right.
One CPC in Alaska states that while abortion may seem like the easiest way to take care of an unplanned pregnancy, "Most women who struggle with past abortions say they wish they had been told all of the facts before making their choice.” These places claim that abortion is the quickest and easiest decision to make when finding out you are pregnant unexpectedly. They also claim that moral and spiritual traumas await you if you decide to have an abortion. The contradiction of pushing "factual information" as well as biased and unfounded "truths" becomes very clear when reviewing the way CPCs advertise themselves as a caring, non judgmental place to turn to in a time of need. The CPC in Alaska tells you that while abortion seems like an easy choice (which it isn't) "most relationships don't survive an abortion". They assure that you could be making the biggest mistake of your life and not only that, you are going to be shunned by the societal stigma of being an abortion patient.
While there are states that have legal buffer zones that protect women entering clinics from being harassed by protectors many of them do not. Violence is not surprising when tensions are so high and so close. In Kansas, there exists a CPC directly across the street from one of the only late term abortion clinics in the country. Men and women calling themselves sidewalk counselors will often berate and ridicule women entering these clinics. One man can be heard shouting such disgusting things as "Mommy, I don't want to die, please don't kill me Mommy. I'll be a good child." This would be the extremist anti-abortionist Eugene Frye. This man has been arrested many times for super gluing clinic doors shut and defended Dr. Tillers assassin as a "justifiable homicide."
Legislators at all levels have begun to note how CPCs operate in deceptive advertising. Some places have succeeded in getting laws passed requiring truth-in-advertising standards. Some places are legally required to post in English and Spanish that they do not provide abortions or referrals or birth control. The organizers behind CPCs are not complying without a fight and some Catholic organizations have claimed freedom of speech and or religion infringements.
Violence follows extremists in every regard. The "solders" of the anti-abortion army are no exception. These people have planned clinic bombings, trespassed, committed acts of vandalism, attempted and succeeded in committing murder and what incites me is that they do so in the name of "protecting life."
Woman are some of the most staunch anti-abortionists and the numbers increase when religion is a factor (which it frequently is).When it come to males the reasoning is often faith based as well. I will say is that men are absolutely entitled to voice their opinion in terms of what they think about abortion. But you may not decide it; only if they have sired the fetus should they object to a woman's choice to abort because ultimately it remains the choice of the women. However you look at it no man has any experience with the potential of bearing the entire physical consequences of an unwanted pregnancy and because of that the majority of anti-choice men should mind their own damn business. They can read about, research, perform, object and even witness an abortion but you will never need one and you will never know what it feels like. Crisis Pregnancy Centers are a dangerous instrument of extremists and a wealth of federally funded misinformation. Women should be wary of where they turn for facts should they find themselves unexpectedly pregnant.
The Feminist Majority Foundation runs a campaign to expose fake clinics. Check out feministcampus.org
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