No State Funds for Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs)
According to a report by The Alliance: State Advocates for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, the harms of crisis pregnancy centers are well-documented. Minnesota is home to 90 of these fake clinics. At this time, there are only 9 abortion care clinics left in the state, meaning CPCs outnumber abortion clinics 11:1.
Minnesota taxpayers provide CPCs with over $3 million a year in funding through the Positive Alternatives Act (PAA), with almost no oversight or regulation. MN is now an island of abortion access in a sea of red states. We should be spending this money on expanding access to reproductive healthcare – especially since people from around the Midwest are coming here for these services.
Per the statute, eligibility for grantees includes:
(5) ensure that its alternatives-to-abortion program’s purpose is to assist and encourage women in carrying
their pregnancies to term and to maximize their potentials thereafter;
(6) ensure that none of the money provided is used to encourage or affirmatively counsel a woman to
have an abortion not necessary to prevent her death, to provide her an abortion, or to directly refer her to an
abortion provider for an abortion
(e) An organization that provides abortions, promotes abortions, or directly refers to an abortion provider
for an abortion is ineligible to receive a grant under this program. An affiliate of an organization that provides
abortions, promotes abortions, or directly refers to an abortion provider for an abortion is ineligible to receive
a grant under this section unless the organizations are separately incorporated and independent from each
other.
CPCs exist to deny their patients the right to make informed decisions about abortion, but the truth is that patients who seek out the service of CPCs already intend to carry their pregnancies to term, they just need material support, which CPCs do not provide. These fake clinics generally seek out underserved communities, who already lack resources, which confirms their predatory nature.
More Facts About CPCs:
- Gender Justice found that Choices Pregnancy Center in Redwood Falls serves fewer than 20 clients per year and receives approximately $65,000 per year under its state grant.
- 1/2 of the CPCs In MN offer “non-diagnostic” ultrasounds, which cannot be used to determine gestational age, study placenta or amniotic fluid, detect ectoptic pregnancy, fetal abnormality, or fetal distress.
- 22% of CPCs in MN promote “abortion pill reversal” , which is unethical and not based in science.
- None of the CPCs provide contraception, 54% provide no STI-related care, 97% do not provide well-person care, 95% provide no prenatal care or referrals.
AG Ellison Issues Consumer Alert Regarding CPCs
On August 23rd, MN Attorney General, Keith Ellison, issued a consumer alert regarding crisis pregnancy centers.
“CPCs may provide misleading information about abortion and contraception, and often do not provide services they claim to offer; consumers encouraged to contact AG’s Office with concerns or complaints.”