Kelly Coons ’22 | Assistant Opinions Editor
“Crisis pregnancy centers” and “faith-based pregnancy centers”: I have a problem with both names. First of all, I think the word “crisis” only adds to a pregnant person’s anxiety, and secondly the phrase “faith-based” breeds misconception; a pregnant person has the right to allow their religion to guide their reproductive decisions, whether they choose a faith-based center or not.
A pregnant person also has the right to be informed of all of their options.
This June, the Supreme Court blocked a California law that required pregnancy centers to tell their patients about state-subsidized care, which includes abortions, citing violation of the First Amendment. The 5-4 decision, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, declared, “Requiring [pregnancy centers] to inform women how they can obtain state-subsidized abortions, at the same time [these centers] try to dissuade women from choosing that option … plainly alters the content of [the center’s] speech.” NARAL Pro-Choice America reports that there are about 4,000 crisis pregnancy centers in the United States, and in 12 states – many of which are socially conservative – they receive funding from the state government. However, there are many crisis pregnancy centers in more liberal areas as well. The Outline discovered that there are at least 11 such centers in New York City, located in all five boroughs. Many of them are situated in low-income, immigrant communities and placed next to abortion providers, which are required to have licensed medical personnel. Crisis pregnancy centers often do not have licensed medical personnel, although they go to great lengths to appear as though they do, down to fake certificates adorning the walls. Since 2016, The Outline says, New York City has required that these centers explain on their signage what services they do and do not provide, but Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer launched an investigation with her office and found that most of the centers did not post the required information anywhere: on their signs, in the clinics or on their websites. Crisis pregnancy center websites give insight into the type of misinformation they spread. Times Union found that 80% of crisis pregnancy center websites made connections between abortions and poor outcomes like cancer, infertility and especially anxiety and depression — so-called “post-abortion syndrome.” The American Psychiatric Association says that there is no such condition, due to the fact that there is no clear evidence which supports the idea that abortions lead to mental health problems.
Legal abortion providers across the United States are heavily regulated, but some regulation goes too far. The Guttmacher Institute reports that nine states regulate the size of procedure rooms, for instance, and eight regulate the width of corridors. These laws do nothing to increase the quality of care, only making the clinics more expensive to maintain and possibly forcing their services to become more expensive as well, further cementing the socio-economic gap between the demographics that have access to abortions and those that don’t.
Those who choose to keep their pregnancies have the right to do so, and they can use crisis pregnancy centers’ other services – some centers, for instance, give out free baby clothes and food. For people who are debating whether or not to do so, however, their decision needs to be informed, and they deserve to be given the truth..
