The crisis of crisis pregnancy centers

By Chris Fitzsimon, NC Policy Watch

(The source for these numbers is "The Truth Revealed: North Carolina's Crisis Pregnancy Centers," NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation, October 24, 2011.)

5—years since the number of unlicensed, unregulated organizations posing as comprehensive healthcare providers, called "crisis pregnancy centers," has doubled in North Carolina.

122—number of crisis pregnancy centers currently in North Carolina, the vast majority of which are not medically licensed facilities and have neither medically trained nor medically supervised personnel on staff.

0—number of state regulations requiring that clients at crisis pregnancy centers receive medically accurate information or comprehensive, non-directive counseling.

0—number of state regulations that protect clients' confidentiality at crisis pregnancy centers. Centers are not covered by federal health care privacy rules since they are not medical facilities.

66—number of crisis pregnancy centers in North Carolina investigated for report by NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina Foundation.

60—number of crisis pregnancy centers that are part of the Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, the nonprofit that will distribute state funds to the centers from the sale of "Choose Life" specialty license plates under legislation approved by the General Assembly.

94—percentage of crisis pregnancy centers that will receive state funding that have no medical professionals on their staff.

20—percentage of crisis pregnancy centers that will receive state funding that disclose to clients that they have no medical professionals on their staff.

30—percentage of crisis pregnancy centers that will receive state funding that perform ultrasounds.

22—percentage of crisis pregnancy centers that will receive state funding that inaccurately claim abortion causes breast cancer.

26—percentage of crisis pregnancy centers that will receive state funding that engage in deceptive advertising in phonebooks, internet sites and college newspapers.

48—percentage of crisis pregnancy prevention centers at which staff members told women seeking family planning services that none of the common methods of birth control are effective at preventing pregnancy.

24—percentage of crisis pregnancy prevention centers at which staff members suggested the high possibility of miscarriage as a reason to avoid an abortion.

25—maximum number of miles from at least one crisis prevention center to every university campus in North Carolina.

75—percentage of crisis prevention centers in North Carolina that located in communities with higher-than-average populations of color.