Women Organizing Women has worked closely with the Feminist Majority Foundation on their Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics. Please explore this web page to learn more about the danger these fake clinics pose to women's health and rights, and what YOU can do to help shut them down.
What are fake clinics (also called crisis pregnancy centers)?
So-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers or "fake" clinics, frequently advertise on or near ULL's campus and in the campus newspaper the Vermilion as "abortion services." They pose as full-service women's health clinics luring women with free pregnancy tests and "counseling" for unintended pregnancies. These "fake" clinics too often make false medical claims to dissuade and delay women from obtaining comprehensive medical services, particularly abortion and birth contol.
These CPCs are typically run by anti-choice organizations with staff and volunteers who are not usually licensed medical professionals. They often use misinformation to intimidate women out of considering abortion as an option and provide false information about birth contol and about the effectiveness of condoms for prevention of STIs and HIV. Furthermore, their tactics delay women from receiving comprehensive medical care.
Fake clinics target college students by locating near campuses (as is this case with both CPCs in Lafayette: they are both within walking distance to ULL) and advertising free pregnancy tests. On our campus, Student Health Services refers students facing unintended pregnancies to the CPCs in Lafayette.
It is estimated that 3,500 CPCs exist nationwide, outnumbering comprehensive women's health clinics 2 to 1. Most fake clinics are affiliated with one or more national anti-abortion, anti-birth control organizations.
Take it from Me: I Experienced the Lies and Intimidation First-Hand
"I visited A Pregnancy Center and Clinic in Lafayette as part of this campaign. When I made the appointment they
told me to bring in all kinds of information about myself: picture ID,
my social security card, proof of residence and my last few paycheck
stubs. I just went for my appointment and did not bring them any of
that information, and they saw me anyway. They are very secretive about
what they do until you are in the clinic. When I phoned to make the
appointment the woman would not tell me what services they provide. I
kept asking her "What services do you provide?" and she kept asking me
"What services do you need?" over and over until I finally made the appointment.
The
office is located in a medical office building, but there is no doctor
or nurse practitioner in the clinic. Instead, they have a doctor who
has his or her own practice in town and only serves on their board. You first watch a video about what exactly
an abortion procedure entails and then a "peer counselor" with no
license or degree of any kind "counsels" you. I told
her I was considering abortion, and she asked questions about my life
and said things like, "Well, if you have an abortion do you plan on
continuing to have sex outside of marriage?" When I asked if she could
provide me with a referral to an abortion clinic she said they could
not legally do so because then they would be liable for what happened
to me there.
Then
we went into another room and the "nurse" had me administer my own
pregnancy test. I was asking her how to do it and refused to help me. I even had to read my own result, and
sign all kinds of paperwork saying I had performed the test myself.
When I asked her why she said they are not a "lab facility." The room
had a big ultrasound machine in it. That to me is the scariest thing
about CPCs. You have all these untrained, non-medical professionals
putting on white coats and assuming the authoritative roles of
counselors or ultrasound technicians. A pregnant woman needs actual
medical care. When my test came back negative they were quick to send me on my way, and did not advise me to seek medical care for my "missed period" or feigned pregnancy symptoms. They provided me with literature on abstinence and a pamphlet that asserted that abortion increases your risk of breast cancer."
-- Mary Anne McDougall, WOW founder
Federal Funding and the Deception
Over the last ten years, Congress has funneled over $1.1 billion in federal dollars to failed abstinence-only education programs and so-called crisis pregnancy centers. A Congressional investigation of CPCs receving funding through President Bush's faith-based Compassion Capital Fund revealed that 87% provided false or misleading information about the health effects of abortion. The Congressional report found that many of these federally funded centers grossly misrepresent the medical risks of abortion by telling women that having an abortion could increase the risk of breast cancer, result in sterility and lead to suicide and "post-abortion syndrome." Abortion is not associated with with an increase in breast cancer risk or infertility. An eleven year longitudinal study of 13,000 women found that women who gave birth have the same rate of need for psychological treatment as women who have abortions.
TAKE ACTION!
Stop the Referrals
Women Organizing Women has met with Dr. Marelle Yongue, Director of Student Health Services to request that her staff stop referring students to CPCs. She declined to stop referring, but she did agree to disclose that these facilities are not comprehensive healthcare providers and that they do not provide abortions services and referrals or family planning services like condoms, emergency contraception or birth control.
Can you think of another area agency or organization that refers to these CPCs? Ask them to stop!
Share Your Story
Have you visited a CPC? E-mail us at wow@wowull.com and share your experience.
EXPOSE the Deception
Join as we work to educate our campus and community about the dangers of these fake clinics. Educate your friends and families.
Sign the Petition