Dear Team,

Last week, we asked what you wanted to know about the fight for reproductive rights—and you delivered. This week, we're answering one of the most common questions we received: What are crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs)?

Here's what you need to know:

• Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) often look like full-service health clinics. They advertise to pregnant people and may offer free pregnancy tests or non-diagnostic ultrasounds, but they don't provide real medical care. By delaying care and steering people away from abortion and contraception, CPCs can have a serious impact on physical and mental health.
• CPCs use deception to stigmatize abortion and to stop people from getting abortions. Patients come seeking care—and instead are misled. CPCs frequently spread misinformation, like the claim that abortion causes infertility or breast cancer. These statements are completely false.
• CPCs target low-income communities where people don't have access to other resources, luring pregnant people in with promises of free goods like diapers, which are conditioned upon engaging in religious counseling.
• Many CPCs have no licensed medical staff, provide no prenatal care, and are not bound by patient privacy laws like HIPAA. That means no diagnostic ultrasounds, no contraception, and no confidentiality.

CPCs can delay essential care and increase confusion, fear, and shame for people seeking reproductive health care or information. By posing as legitimate medical providers and spreading misinformation, CPCs jeopardize patients' safety and autonomy.

At the Center for Reproductive Rights, we believe everyone deserves access to accurate information and real health care.

Join us on Wednesday, November 12 at 1:00PM ET for our upcoming Town Hall, where my colleagues and I will break down the truth about CPCs and answer more of your questions about reproductive rights.

Sincerely,

Alice Wang
Senior Staff Attorney