John,

Crisis Pregnancy Centers are not what they appear to be.

On the surface, these agencies may appear to offer pregnant women a full range of healthcare services, but their actual mission is to prevent women from learning about or using abortion services.

These agencies are not actually licensed medical clinics at all. Instead, these fake abortion clinics use tactics such as pressure, shame, and withholding accurate information in order to coerce women into carrying unwanted pregnancies.

Federal HIPAA privacy laws do not apply, since these centers are not actually medical clinics. As a result, they may share women’s most confidential information with statewide or national anti-abortion organizations or law enforcement, putting them at risk of being monitored and prosecuted for seeking basic healthcare.

The results can be devastating, especially in states with anti-abortion laws that seek to criminalize women.

Now, a watchdog group is petitioning five states’ Attorneys General to investigate these fake Crisis Pregnancy Centers for the misuse of private information. Sign on to support these investigations and stop the exploitation of women who need healthcare now.

Sometimes these Crisis Pregnancy Centers actively provide misinformation. For example, they may give a free pregnancy test, but tell the woman a pregnancy is further along than it actually is, to discourage her from obtaining an abortion. Similarly, “pre-abortion screenings” or “abortion education” offerings may actually consist solely of anti-abortion information.

Crisis Pregnancy Center “counselors” may proselytize clients with unwanted religious beliefs, or they may push clients to choose options to fit their own beliefs, such as putting a future baby up for adoption, or providing only fertility awareness with no access to other means of contraception. Women may be shamed for sexual activity or single parenting.

In some states, federal funds are also misdirected to these agencies, funds which are needed to provide actual healthcare for low-income families.

We need investigations of these Crisis Pregnancy Centers to prevent them from misleading women in need. We need to ensure they do not misuse medical health records, and do not place women at further risk of mistreatment by authorities.

Add your name now and call on State Attorneys General to investigate these anti-choice “Crisis Pregnancy Centers.”

Thank you for safeguarding women’s privacy rights and the right to legitimate health care.

- Amanda

Amanda Ford, Director
Democracy for America
Advocacy Fund