What are Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs)?
CPCs are anti-choice facilities that falsely present themselves as genuine, licensed healthcare facilities, such as women’s health centers and abortion clinics. However, these facilities are not actually licensed to provide health care and instead can provide misinformation to pregnant people in order to steer them away from choosing an abortion.
What do I need to know?
CPCs often do not have licensed physicians on site and do not offer abortion or contraceptive services or referrals. They will use inappropriate tactics like providing false medical information, pretending to be medical professions, or continuing to contact you after you leave their locations.
CPCs target populations that are the most underserved by the American healthcare system. This includes young people, people of color, and people with low incomes.
Prenatal care, abortion, and emergency contraception are all time-sensitive services for women. CPCs will delay access to these options until your time window runs out, potentially eliminating your ability to obtain these services altogether.
Your personal information will not be protected. CPCs are not obligated to comply with HIPAA standards and keep your private medical information confidential.
How do I know if a facility is a CPC?
CPCs appear in strategic locations to trick their potential clients. They often set up near legitimate women’s health clinics to further confuse women.
In the waiting room, there will be informational pamphlets that emphasize the risks or dangers of abortion and contraception.
The staff will not identify themselves as medical professionals, they will refer to the fetus as the “baby” and the pregnant woman as the “mother.” Sometimes they will use rhetoric like “killing” and “murder” to describe abortion or contraception.
They can only provide free pregnancy tests and sonograms.
They will find ways to keep getting you to come back, as mentioned earlier, so they can run out the clock on your reproductive health options.
Common false claims used by CPCs:
False: Abortion is dangerous.
False: Abortion causes breast cancer.
False: Abortion is psychologically damaging.
False: Abortion can lead to sterility.
False: Birth-control pills cause abortion.
What are my rights in
New York City?
The NYC Rule “Pregnancy Services Centers Disclosures” (2016) requires all clinics to “disclose if it does or does not have a licensed medical provider on staff who provides or directly supervises the provision of all of the services at such pregnancy services center.”
I think I found a fake clinic. How do I report it?
You can file a complaint about a pregnancy services center in the City that does not:
- Post the disclosure sign required by law.
- Publicize the required disclosure in all advertisements, including print, TV, radio, online, and social media, and in verbal discussions with clients.
The required disclosure must state: “This facility does not have a licensed medical provider on-site to provide or supervise all services.” Centers must post the sign and publicize the required disclosure in English and in Spanish.
If you need help reporting, or you feel you have been misled or harmed by a CPC, please call us at 212-627-9895.
If you are pregnant or think you may be pregnant, access to healthcare is critical.
Review the following resources to find the help you need.
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