The left has accused pro-life advocates of caring only about politics, at the expense of pregnant women in crisis and of unwanted children.
But crisis pregnancy centers, supported and served by churches and individual volunteers, have been in existence for more than half a century to help meet those needs and provide an alternative to abortion.
In this post-Roe era, nevertheless, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., is calling for a crackdown on the centers, contending they are deceiving women, reported MassLive.
“These are deceptive outfits that front for groups that are trying to harass or otherwise frighten people who are pregnant to keep them from seeking an abortion, and they do so under the cover of pretending to offer abortion services,” Warren claimed during a press conference June 27 in downtown Boston.
“So I’d like to see us talk about how we might move more aggressively to make sure that someone doesn’t face that bait and switch that could be traumatic at a time that that person is already under stress.”
Warren wants the centers to provide full disclosure of the services they offer, contending that if that were done, the pregnant women who use them would plummet “pretty close to zero.”
“We have in all places in our country a notion of truth in advertising – that deceiving people in order to provide services is wrong and, in most contexts, outlawed,” Warren said. “The idea that centers have grown up to prey on people who are pregnant and vulnerable and seeking help is fundamentally wrong. We should stop it nationwide.”
See a WCVB-TV Boston report on Warren’s remarks:
Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren: “We need to put a stop” to crisis pregnancy centers “right now.” pic.twitter.com/PzhBe21AGk
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2022
Actress Patricia Heaton, a pro-life activist, reacted to Warren’s remarks, noting crisis pregnancy centers have been forced to hired armed security due to an increase in attacks.
“Our medical pregnancy clinic serves client families for five years, providing superior services for anyone who asks,” she said in a tweet reported by Movieguide. “We raised $250K for a mobile medical clinic for underserved areas, treating everyone.”
Heaton, best known for her role in the TV series “Everybody Loves Raymond,” made the case for crisis pregnancy centers.
“I find it impossible to subscribe to a philosophy that believes that the destruction of human life is a legitimate solution to a problem that is mostly social, economic and psychological,” she said. “In reality, most women ‘choose’ abortion because they believe they have no other choice. Women who experience unplanned pregnancy also deserve unplanned joy.”
Abortion advocate Rebecca Hart Holder, the executive director of the Reproductive Equity Now, complained to MassLive that crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion facilities in Massachusetts three to one.
“It’s embarrassing, frankly,” Hart Holder said, noting crisis pregnancy centers typically are situated near Planned Parenthood clinics. “It’s a pernicious problem that we have to tackle.”
The New York Times reported in May that more than 16 million women of reproductive age live closer to a crisis pregnancy center than an abortion facility. And in a “post-Roe America,” that figure is poised to more than double.
Over 16 million women of reproductive age in the U.S. currently live closer to a crisis pregnancy center than to an abortion facility. In a post-Roe America, that number would more than double, write Carly Thomsen, @CarrieNBaker and @zachwlevitt. https://t.co/zfT1rbKr9Y
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) May 12, 2022
At the news conference with Warren was Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who called the overturn of Roe an outrageous decision crafted by “radical right wing justices.”
“This is a patriarchal, misogynist, xenophobic manifestation of a radical ring wing extremist vision of the United States of America,” Markey said. “It’s very simple: Abortion is health care and health care is a human right.”
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