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Columbus’ abortion issue is contested near Ohio State.
Planned Parenthood recommends people for abortions in a squat office building. Next door is a crisis pregnancy center that gives counseling and assistance to pregnant women and discourages abortions. Planned Parenthood provides Pap screenings, birth control, and STD treatments.
The crisis pregnancy center is state-funded. Ohio has contributed over $14 million to the clinic and others like it over the last decade while cutting funding for Planned Parenthood programs like breast and cervical cancer screenings. Ohio 13 states fund crisis pregnancy centers, CNN reported. Half of these states fund family centers.
Some organizations are accused of spreading abortion misinformation or using money to promote anti-abortion agendas. Equity Forward’s Ashley Underwood said public monies should encourage public health. She said crisis pregnancy clinics discourage abortions.
Since Roe v. Wade was overruled last summer, a wave of abortion restrictions has swept the country, allowing millions of women easier access to crisis pregnancy clinics. Before the court’s judgment, crisis pregnancy centers outnumbered abortion clinics, and anti-abortion groups anticipate to increase.
State regulators and pregnancy center administrators feel the NGOs deserve taxpayer money since they give free diapers and ultrasounds. Multiple studies, abortion rights groups, and women who’ve visited the centers say some mislead about abortion safety and risks.
Dr. Amy Addante, an Illinois OB-GYN who performs abortions and condemns crisis pregnancy facilities, said healthcare fraud is unusual. “These centers prevent abortions,” addante. “I can’t think of any medical choice or health care component a group wants to block.”
There is Strife Between Adjacent Abortion Clinics on the Issue of Abortion
The PDH waiting area features huge windows (PDHC). The crisis pregnancy center contains green velvet seats, plants, and a coffee counter. Planned Parenthood’s entrance is shaded by PDHC’s sign. Planned Parenthood’s waiting area is run-down, with old benches, faded posters, and mirrored doors and windows.
Jennifer, a Planned Parenthood clinician, told CNN that individuals mistakenly visit PDHC weekly. Some patients said PDHC told them abortion wasn’t safe or made them late for appointments. The Vice president of health services for Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio said the group was misled regarding abortion and contraception.
Ayla Krueger, 23, had an STD test with a buddy. During their hour-and-a-half visit, one nurse said condoms are only 50% effective, STDs can only be prevented by avoiding s*x before marriage, and if a woman with an STD has an abortion, “your STDs migrate up your cervix and may kill you.”
Krueger was astonished. “My heart shattered thinking about forced girls” Experts criticized the center’s tone. OB-GYN Dr. Jonas Swartz of Duke University Medical Center said ascending infections are rare. Crisis pregnancy centers exaggerate abortion risks. Read more: In a Pivotal Pennsylvania Senate Debate, Oz and Fetterman Clash Over Abortion, Inflation, and Crime
The business provides “abortion pill reversal,” a medically problematic, experimental treatment to undo a pharmacological abortion. Experts and medical groups say it’s hazardous. Several hemorrhaging patients quit a 2019 abortion reversal trial.
PDHC president Kathy Scanlon rejected an interview and didn’t respond to CNN’s questions about Krueger’s charges or abortion pill reversal. Every woman having an unexpected pregnancy deserves care and compassion, Scanlon said. The facility offers free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, parental education programs, and baby supplies.
Research reveals crisis pregnancy clinics misinform. Nearly two-thirds of crisis pregnancy centers in nine states posted incorrect or biased abortion information online, according to the Alliance. False claims linked abortions to cancer and infertility. State-funded facilities were more likely to provide experimental surgery and less likely to offer prenatal care, the survey found.
In 2012, 86% of North Carolina crisis pregnancy clinics disseminated false medical information online. Women-helping crisis pregnancy center leaders. Heartbeat International’s deceptive statements are “a false narrative,” claimed Heartbeat founder Peggy Hartshorn. She said her clinics provide well-researched, medically-referenced content.
Deep down, women don’t want abortions; America needs pregnancy centers. Ohio’s six-week abortion ban is on hold pending court challenges. Near Ohio State University, Planned Parenthood refers patients to another abortion clinic.
Across the street from that institution is a state-funded pregnancy center. A few protestors lined the clinic’s gate with gory fetal placards and chanted “you are already a mother” and “abortion is murder” as a patient approached within earshot. One demonstrator, wearing a reflective vest and clutching a clipboard like Planned Parenthood staff, directed patients to the crisis pregnancy center across the street. The facility told CNN the demonstrators weren’t linked.
Pregnancy centers near abortion clinics are common. CNN found 100 pregnancy centers within 200 meters of an abortion facility or Planned Parenthood. Some are near clinics in Delaware, Indiana, and Michigan. Abortion activists claim the goal is to mislead women and impede abortion access. Read more: As debate Messaging Overlaps, The GOP Focuses on Crime: The Remark
Tara Murtha, the co-author of a study regarding pregnancy centers and Women’s Law Project spokesman, stated co-locating near a qualified provider is to deflect someone seeking appropriate health treatment. “It’s a systematic impediment to abortion treatment”
Taxpayer Money Going to Anti-abortion Groups
CNN found that 18 states finance crisis pregnancy clinics. In a decade, Texas has given $200 million.
Six states finance pregnancy centers using TANF. As a block grant, the federal government provides states extensive leeway over crisis pregnancy center “alternatives to abortion” monies. Fewer impoverished households get TANF. 1996 TANF helped 68% of poor families with children. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says it will reach 21% by 2020. Texas and Louisiana, which finance crisis pregnancy clinics with TANF, had lower rates.
Aditi Shrivastava, a research co-author, believes financial aid helps families the most. Incorrectly, states are cutting monetary help. After Roe v. Wade’s reversal, some states financed crisis pregnancy clinics. Arkansas and Iowa have similar nonprofit financing. States say crisis pregnancy clinics help women. Arkansas Rep. Robin Lundstrum: “If we want to be the most pro-life state, we must assist women.”
Pregnancy Decision Health Center in Columbus will get $528,000 this year. TANF-only. The balance of the center’s income comes from private donations, according to tax filings. Large government resources are mismanaged. GOP-controlled state legislatures provide most financing. Real Alternatives has given $70 million to Pennsylvania crisis pregnancy facilities.
Real Alternatives utilized money allocated for Pennsylvania women to “fund its activities in other states.” Real Alternatives called the allegations “false and illegal.” Gretchen Whitmer revoked Real Alternatives’ contract in 2019. Whitmer commended a monitoring group that said the charity reached less than a quarter of pregnant women.
Indiana’s Real Alternatives termed the Michigan study “false, deceptive, and libelous.” Multiple Ohio Assembly bills requiring crisis pregnancy centers to offer medically correct information perished in committee. State Republicans were quiet.
Red states have removed Planned Parenthood financing. In Ohio, the organization received state funds for cancer screenings, STD prevention and treatment, and sex education for minors. Ohio outlawed abortion financing in 2016. 2019 legislation was kept. Ohio affiliates of Planned Parenthood lost $600,000 in state funding and halted non-abortion health initiatives.
Medicaid pays for non-abortion treatment at Planned Parenthood. Trump administration restrictions reduce Planned Parenthood’s Title X financing. The Biden administration removed the ban this year. Maria Gallo, an Ohio State epidemiologist, said state financing for crisis pregnancy clinics demonstrates conservative lawmakers put anti-abortion rhetoric over women’s medical treatment. Read more: Florida Police: ‘brutal’ Attack on Pregnant Lady Ends When Witness Draws Pistol
It legitimizes abortion clinics. Unlicensed medical source.
Abortion Clinics Are Fewer in Number Than Crisis Centers
Crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics. In 2021, there were 790 abortion clinics and 2,600 crisis pregnancy centers, according to Reproaction. Supreme Court decision will worsen inequality. Hartshorn, head of Heartbeat International, said the organization has started an online training program.
“We need more people, venues, and pregnancy health pathways,” says Hartshorn. National Center for Responsive Philanthropy says organizations have raised more money. In 2019, the most recent year with available statistics, they made $1 billion compared to $771 million in 2015. CNN spoke with many women who felt misled and exploited at taxpayer-funded crisis pregnancy centers.
Eve thought she was pregnant after losing her job. They Googled Columbus Women’s Care Center. She chose the clinic because it provided free pregnancy tests. Eve sought an abortion after testing positive. She said they handed her a pamphlet warning that the operation might cause infertility, though abortion seldom impacts fertility. Eve was pushed for three hours to carry to term. Read more: Nick Cannon and Twins photograph Abby De La Rosa’s pumpkin patch
Eve left the center and got an abortion. The center didn’t comment on Eve’s visit but said they are “committed to accuracy, quality, and openness.” Eve is pregnant. She wasn’t ready for a baby financially or emotionally. Eve: “Nobody wants an abortion.” “I felt bad”
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