Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
- Walt Whitman
How To Identify Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Crisis pregnancy centers, or pregnancy resource centers, disguise themselves as medical facilities, but usually have no licensed doctors, nurses or counselors. They often appear under “Abortion Alternatives,” and may have names similar to abortion clinics nearby in order to confuse patients into entering their buildings instead of the real clinics.
Once you enter a CPC, their mission is to prevent you from getting an abortion at any cost. They will use misleading language, delay tactics, emotional manipulation, intimidation, and outright lies to either persuade you against abortion or to make you miss your appointment. The worst part? It’s all completely legal and funded by federal dollars.
CPCs do their best to appear as legitimate abortion clinics, so how can you tell which is which? Here is a list of red flags for CPCs:
- The words “crisis” or “resource” appear in the center’s name
- Their ads use language like “Pregnant & Scared?”
- They offer free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds
- When asked if they provide abortions or contraception, they will not give a direct answer
- The waiting room has biased pamphlets, sometimes with graphic pictures labeled as abortions
- They attempt to make you feel guilty about considering abortion
- They offer baby items, such as diapers and formula
- They downplay the effectiveness of contraception and emphasize abstinence
- They emphasize the dangers of abortion (Fact: fewer than 0.3% of patients experience complications requiring hospitalization)
- They discuss the false connections between abortion and breast cancer, infertility, or mental illness, often referred to as post-abortion stress syndrome
- Regardless of how you talk about the pregnancy, they refer to “your baby,” the “preborn child,” “post-abortive women,” and say that you are “already a mother.”
Crisis Pregnancy Centers: An Affront to Choice
A list of licensed abortion clinics in the United States can be found on the Abortion Assistance Blog.
One of two fake abortion clinics on the same street as the REAL center, the EMW’s Women Center here in downtown Louisville. This one is right next door to the actual clinic and this place is seriously a nightmarish hell-hole for any unsuspecting women tricked by the anti’s. They assure you this this the abortion clinic, they get you inside, and then offer you food and drink—which of course, means that once you realize your mistake, you can’t run next door and catch your actual appointment, since you need to fast.
Women have come out of this building crying, and on a few rare occasions, without their pants. They take you to a back room for an ultrasound, have you remove your pants, and then begin lecturing you on the sins of aborting. They do not give you back your pants until you have listened, and a few women tricked this far refused to listen and stormed out furious, ashamed, and in their underwear.
This is the anti-choice agenda—lying, tricking, shaming, and embarrassing women to the brink of hysterics in hopes that she carry the pregnancy to term. Forcing her, through lies and manipulation, to do with her body what THEY want, not what is best for her.
There is no “choice” at the Louisville “Women’s Choice” clinics. Just abuse, shame, and bigots who would rather undress a woman to make her feel vulnerable and then explain how awful of a person she is than let her make HER. CHOICE.
Hi zorsy! I think that you can have personal pro-life beliefs and still be a feminist. However, if you are pro-life politically, that seems to contradict feminism. Here’s why:
You have every right to not like abortions (for whatever reasons, religious or otherwise…), and you have every right to never get one if you so choose, but when you cross the line and start imposing your own personal beliefs on someone else, on their body, that is a problem.
You are making yourself the authority over someone else, stripping them of their agency and autonomy, of their ability to shape their own life and make the decisions they need to make for their own happiness, health, safety, and general well-being.
On a personal note, I would like to say I understand that this can be a very sensitive issue, so I encourage you to explore it more, learn about yourself and your passions, your values, your social concerns. I say that I understand because I have lived this turmoil. I grew up in a staunchly pro-life family. This was what I knew and this was all I knew.
Since beginning my independent adult life, I have slowly evolved my opinions on the subject, recognized them to be my own, and I could not have done that without educating myself for myself.
Too many facepalms for a single post.
While adoption certainly is a great option for some people with unwanted pregnancies, it is not the only option and is not always the best option for everyone.
Adoption means you are still pregnant for 9 months.
Adoption means you still have to pay all those medical bills and make all those doctor’s appointments and take off from work.
Adoption means you still need to buy maternity clothes (and new clothes after, because you might not fit into your old clothes for a while).
Adoption means altering your body forever.
Adoption means you still need to be careful of what you put into your body for 9 months (as in, no drinking, smoking, etc.)
Adoption means no roller coasters or other fun things.
Adoption makes travelling more difficult for 9 months.
Adoption means taking time to look through profiles of potential couples, meet with them, read over agreements, and make sure you are giving your baby to good people.
Adoption means people knowing you are pregnant, and having opinions about it, and about what you should do, and who should or shouldn’t adopt your child, and “why don’t you just keep it! It’s my grandchild!”
Adoption is NOT a simple solution to the pro life pro choice debate, and is NOT a simple solution to an unwanted pregnancy.
Ever.
Adoption also means not being able to find a job, if you are currently unemployed, because no one will hire a pregnant person. Or, if there are no laws against firing pregnant people or if those laws don’t apply to the company you work for, it could mean losing your job.
I don’t think a greater truth has ever been spoken holy shit
#SafetyTipsForLadies Stay in the womb. It’s the last time you’ll have full personhood anyway.
This is my most retweeted tweet ever.
Oof.
Excellent.
He is aware he just confirmed that he believes in forcing women to bear children against their will, right?
Correct. They’re not even bothering to hide behind the fetal rights agenda anymore.
At least he’s being honest about his motivations for being pro-life.
Pro-children as punishment!
Love,
Rabble
Chart of the Day/Month/Year, people.
Arkansas Enacts Strictest Abortion Law In The Country
Arkansas has just enacted the most extreme abortion law in the country - barring abortion at 12 weeks.
Despite the Governor’s veto, both chambers of the legislature voted to override, making it illegal to have an abortion after 12 weeks - still in the first trimester and only shortly after most women will have learned they are pregnant. This ban is two months earlier than any other state in the country. And it comes soon after the legislature banned abortion after 20 weeks.
Certain politicians in Arkansas don’t seem to care that this law is unconstitutional. Nor do they care that this law strips women of their ability to make deeply personal reproductive health decisions.
The Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision affirmed the right to a safe & legal abortion. However, opponents of abortion in Arkansas disregard this ruling in their effort to both remove the right that Roe affords women and to force the Supreme Court to reconsider the constitutionality of abortion. These bans in Arkansas are one more step in their strategy to make all abortions completely illegal.
Feeling so much bitterness towards my home state.
What if gun rights were regulated like abortion rights? Here’s a list of just some of the hoops you’d have to jump through before you could own a gun:
- Only one store in the entire state would sell guns. (See: Mississippi, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming for states with only one abortion provider.)
- You’d have to fill out an enormous personal background check including intrusive personal information that has nothing to do with your ability to own or use a gun. Then you’d have to wait at least 72 hours and come back to the store. (Remember, it’s the only one in the state. You better hope you don’t live on the other side of Wyoming.)
- Upon your return, you’d have to sit through intensive mandatory counseling. Your counselor, regardless of his personal beliefs, would have to tell you that gun ownership is actually a bad idea, and that it would negatively effect your mental health to own a gun. (This, despite there being no scientific evidence to support the claim.)
- Next, you’d sit through a gruesome movie showing the actual aftermath of domestic gun crimes. You’d see people with half a head. You’d see dead children in their beds. You’d see the bloody aftermath of a school shooting. You’d be shown statistic after statistic warning you that you’d be contributing to this morally degenerate sanctioning of murder.
- If you lived in Virginia, you’d have to come back (again) for an invasive and uncomfortable fMRI (which costs around $300 out of your pocket) to ensure your honesty in answering all the background check information and your intentions to use your gun responsibly. (This was as close as I could get to the invasive transvaginal procedure included in the recently passed Virginia bill.)
- Oh… and if you were married, your spouse might have to sign off on your gun ownership.
Want to prevent abortion?
Allow safe sex, contraception use, and real sex ed.
Laughing and crying.
For anyone who says, “I don’t support how women get abortions for fun / because they were too lazy to use a condom.”
