Crisis pregnancy centers: Red Flags for fake abortion clinics
Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) are fake clinics organized by the anti-abortion movement to deter patients seeking abortion away from ending their pregnancies.
The first CPC was opened in 1967 in Hawaii after the state decriminalized abortion. An estimated 4,000 of these clinics exist nationwide in the United States, outnumbering real abortion clinics. In 2021, the California Women’s Law Center reported that the number of CPCs in California (179) is 20% higher than the number of abortion care clinics. CPCs share misinformation about abortion and try to dissuade patients from having abortions. They are often located near abortion clinics too.
We’re particularly concerned about patient safety at CPCs in ban states. When patients are unaware that the clinic is a CPC and disclose that they ultimately choose abortion, the CPCs encourage them to return to the CPC for after-abortion counseling and ultrasound. This is a trap to turn the patient in to authorities.
The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health issued an announcement in November of 2023 to outline red flags to look out for to identify a CPC from their advertisements:
“Pregnancy decision consultations”
“We do not perform or refer for abortion”
“Free limited ultrasound”
“Post abortion counseling”
“Abortion pill reversal”
Visit our Resource Page for accurate abortion information.
File a complaint for a CPC you may have encountered here.
