Anti-Abortion Centers (AACs) are fake abortion clinics that attract patients by advertising free health care services, emotional support, and medical information, then use that trust to manipulate patients and dissuade them from having an abortion. The state refers to these fake clinics as Crisis Pregnancy Centers, but this term is misleading, because they do not provide medical care to pregnant patients. They exist to prevent people from making informed decisions about their reproductive and sexual health, targeting vulnerable people who are looking for help. Often, these are religious organizations, and do not employ any licensed health care providers.
Maternal health is of critical importance in North Carolina and funds for pregnancy care are sorely needed. Many North Carolinians live in counties where they have little to no access to prenatal care during pregnancy. Pregnancy-related deaths have been on the rise in recent years and are now higher than the national average. We are facing a maternal health crisis in our state.
Unfortunately, instead of allocating funds to organizations that can provide prenatal care and other maternal medicine, the state is funneling money into organizations that exist to counsel vulnerable people against abortion. In the 2023 budget, the state allocated more than $20 million of taxpayer dollars to these fake clinics.
These organizations provide medically inaccurate information about abortion and about the patient’s own body and health. And, because they are not licensed medical providers, they have no legal obligation to keep anyone’s health information private.
AACs are often found in low-income communities where they can take advantage of vulnerable people looking for affordable and trusted medical care. They can also often be found near actual abortion clinics and have similar names to confuse patients and assist protesters.
Here are some other common signs of fake clinics:
- Do they advertise abortion services or just pregnancy counseling? Sometimes, CPCs will advertise that they provide abortion referrals, but will try to discourage you from choosing abortion.
- Does their website say they are a faith-based organization? This often means they’re affiliated with a church and are not a medical provider.
- If they offer ultrasounds, does it say “physician-quality”? This means they’re not actually being performed by a physician.
- Do they use negative language about abortion, such as saying they assist with “grief after abortion” or use a photo of a sad woman considering abortion?
- Do they claim that medication abortion is reversible? This is not true, and is designed to foster doubt in the safety and efficacy of abortion.
Here are some of the fake clinics that have received state funding in the past:
- Hand of Hope Pregnancy Centers in Fuquay-Varina, Raleigh, and Fayetteville
- Abiding Hope Inc. in Mars Hill
- Caring Hearts Pregnancy Center in Taylorsville
- Carolina Pregnancy Center in Greenville
- Coastal Pregnancy Center in Washington
- Coastal Pregnancy Care Center in Morehead City
- Compassion Care Center in Yadkinville
- Choices Women’s Center in Wilson
- Eastern Pregnancy Information Center in Kinston and New Bern
- iChoose Pregnancy Support Services in Clayton and Knightdale
- In His Hands Pregnancy Support Center in Smithfield
- LifeLine Pregnancy Help Center in Elkin
- Mountain Area Pregnancy Services in Asheville and Waynesville
- Onslow Pregnancy Resource Center in Jacksonville
- Open Arms Pregnancy Center in Hendersonville
- Pregnancy Resource Center of Cleveland County
- Life Choices Rowan in Salisbury
- Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center in Franklin
- Your Choices Randolph in Asheboro
Everyone deserves access to low-cost, medically accurate reproductive health care, including abortion. Anti-Abortion Centers rob North Carolinians of their right to make informed decisions about their bodies. Coercing vulnerable people into particular medical choices is wrong and we will not stand for it.
