Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that pits the state of California against crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). California CPCs claim that a state law known as the Reproductive FACT Act violates their right to free speech, because it requires any licensed medical provider that offers family planning or pregnancy services to post signs about free or low-cost abortion services provided by the state.
Since CPCs are founded by faith-based, anti-choice organizations, they're not too happy about being forced to offer pregnant people information on how to have an abortion. In fact, CPCs are typically created with the express goal to dissuade pregnant women from having an abortion, and have been repeatedly accused of spouting medically inaccurate information in order to do so.
Fortunately, the misconceptions, outdated science, and sometimes straight-up lies pregnant people often hear at CPCs usually wouldn't make someone change their mind about getting an abortion, says Sarah Roberts, DrPH, an associate professor at Advancing New Standards In Reproductive Health (ANSIRH). "A vast majority of women decide whether or not they're going to continue with a pregnancy by the time they present for care," she says. But what pregnant people hear at CPCs could contribute to feelings of judgement or shame, and there are a small number of people who are swayed by these centers.
So, we talked with Daniel Grossman, MD, director of ANSIRH, about the abortion myths someone might hear at a CPC, and what science actually says about these claims.
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