Don’t Be Fooled by the Names!
Dear Leading Ladies,
The shock waves are still reverberating a year after the Supreme Court, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, overturned 50 years of precedent – 50 years of protecting a woman’s right to choose whether or not to proceed with a pregnancy. In some states, women no longer have any choice and may even face imprisonment if they terminate their pregnancies. In other states, they must meet stringent standards, such as terminating before they may even know they are pregnant or a heartbeat can be detected. Doctors, too, face punishment for aiding women who seek abortions, sometimes even when the pregnant woman’s life is in danger. Too many women find themselves scraping together the money to travel out of their home states to places such as Massachusetts to seek surgical or medication abortions where they are still protected and legal.
Yet, even in Massachusetts, women must be vigilant about the care they are seeking around reproduction. Crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) entice women with misleading advertising to come to them for counseling and care. Then they try to convince the women to continue their pregnancies.
Where to find help…not.
We went on the website helpinyourarea.com, a site that promotes CPCs, and clicked on Massachusetts. What pops up first is this statement: “Most Massachusetts pregnancy testing centers listed offer: free ultrasounds, free pregnancy tests, confidential services, abortion clinics, abortion recovery and RU486 [Mifepristone] abortion pill information.” Sounds benign enough, right?
Then it lists several facilities, many named Birthright, Pregnancy Care Center and Your Options Medical Centers, plus Clearway Clinic, A Woman’s Concern, Alternatives Pregnancy Center, Heartbeat Medical Health Center, Northern Berkshire Pregnancy Support Center, First Concern Pregnancy Support Center, Abundant Hope Pregnancy Support Center, Massachusetts Pregnancy Support Center, Boston Center for Pregnancy Support Services, Pregnancy Center, Birthright Homeport, and CareNet Pregnancy Resource Center.
Only some names give a clue that you might be walking into a place with a pro-life agenda.
But then…
If you take the time to dig deeper into the navigation topics at the top of the page, the intent becomes clear. “Abortion Clinics Information” talks about risks – without giving any statistics – and encourages patients to undergo free ultrasounds and talk to doctors who do not perform abortions. “Abortion PTSD” tells patients to get pregnancy tests to confirm their pregnancies and offers frightening tales of possible outcomes from abortions. Then, “Abortion Risk” adds more scary stories and adds gut-wrenching visions about the beginning of life, including claims that an abortion may lead to blood clots, sterility, serious mental health problems, and the need for all sorts of further surgeries.
More than duplicitous
These wolves in sheep’s clothing are more than duplicitous. According to the Massachusetts government website:
CPCs may appear to be reproductive health care clinics, but do NOT provide abortion care or abortion referrals, contraception, or other reproductive health care, despite what they may advertise.
Most CPCs are NOT licensed medical facilities.
CPCs are NOT typically staffed by licensed doctors or nurses, even though some people who work at CPCs may try to look the part, for example, by wearing a white coat.
Some CPCs offer ultrasounds performed by unlicensed personnel who are not qualified to provide that service, which may lead to inaccurate or misleading results about a pregnancy.
CPCs staffed by unlicensed personnel are NOT required to keep your medical records private.
Unlicensed CPCs are NOT required to follow codes of ethics or standards of care that govern health care professions because they are not health care providers.
CPCs often provide inaccurate and misleading information about abortion and the medical and mental health effects of abortion.
CPCs often mislead people about how far they are into their pregnancy.
CPCs often try to delay scheduling appointments to push people beyond the point at which they can obtain an abortion.
CPCs project a warm, inviting, and supportive environment for pregnant girls and women.
A study by NARAL (Pro Choice America) confirms that Black and Hispanic women of limited means have been particularly targeted by CPCs. The offer of free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and other care is understandably appealing to these women. What they get, however, is often more – or different – than what they came for.
If all this weren’t frightening enough, it turns out that while there are 29 crisis pregnancy centers in Massachusetts, there are only ten facilities that provide abortions. And, according to an article in the New York Times, post Roe v Wade, 34 million women of reproductive age in the United States currently live closer to a CPC than to an abortion facility.
The good guys
The ten legitimate abortion facilities are Abortion Clinic in Brookline; HealthQ Sexual and Reproductive Health in Beverly, Haverhill, and Lawrence; Boris I. Orkin private abortion clinic in Brookline; Planned Parenthood Greater Boston Health Center in Boston; Merrimack Valley Women's Health Services in Haverhill; Four Women Health Services in Attleboro; Planned Parenthood Central Massachusetts Health Center in Worcester; and Planned Parenthood Western Massachusetts Health Center in Springfield.
In addition, there are many other facilities licensed to provide legitimate reproductive health care, but not abortions. The MA government offers information about these sites in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, and Vietnamese here. These agencies include Edward Kennedy Communiity Health Center in Framinigham, Milford, and Worcester; Health Imperatives on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard and in Wareham, Brockton and New Bedford; Harbor Health Services in Hyannis and Plymouth; Citizens for Citizens in Taunton; Family Health Center of Worcester; Community Health Center of Franklin County; Community Health Center of Franklin County in Orange; Tapestry in North Adams, Greenfield, and Pittsfield; Holyoke Health Center - Chicopee Health Center; North End Waterfront Health (two sites); Cambridge Health Alliance in Somerville; Harbor Health in Dorchester (two sites); Boston Healthcare for the Homeless; North Shore Community Health Center in Peabody and Gloucester; Greater Family Health Center in Lawrence; HealthQ in Haverhill and Beverly; and Cambridge Health Alliance in Revere.
What can we do?
As always, spread the word. Let others know that if a place is listed as a pregnancy resource center, pregnancy help center, pregnancy care center, or women’s resource center on CPC websites such as helpinyourarea.com/massachusetts, it is undoubtedly a place with a pro-life, anti-choice agenda. Ditto for places that advertise free pregnancy tests, abortion counseling, pre-abortion screenings, and abortion education, but do not provide abortion or help you access abortion care elsewhere. Other tell-tale signs are attempts to delay your appointment and the use of tactics to try to pressure patients into continuing a pregnancy.
There are some legal suits against CPCs. For instance, one filed in Worcester County on June 22, accuses Clearway of engaging in “deceptive advertising, because it does not make clear that its true goal is to dissuade women from terminating their pregnancies.”
If you have concerns about your experience – or that of someone you know – with a crisis pregnancy center, file a complaint with the MA government’s Civil Rights Division online or at 617-963-2917.
Be well,
Therese (she, her, hers)
Judy (she, her, hers)
Didi (she, her, hers)
Leading Ladies Executive Team
www.leadingladiesvote.org
ladies@leadingladiesvote.org
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