This speech was given by MNAAC member, Maggie, on March 4, 2023.
Good afternoon. My name is Maggie and I am a member of the Minnesota Abortion Action Committee or MNAAC. We are a grassroots organization of activists defending abortion & reproductive rights in the Twin Cities and we’d like to thank you all for coming out today in defense of women’s and reproductive rights.
It’s easy to be fooled by the professional exterior of anti-abortion centers but they are not here to help you. They promise financial help and medical care while providing no actual assistance.
These so-called “clinics” are rarely medically certified. This means they aren’t restricted by HIPAA so your private information can be sold or used against you. And these anti-abortion centers don’t just exist on the fringes of the anti-abortion movement. They are front and center with 90 sites in Minnesota alone. 90 centers across Minnesota built with the sole purpose of preventing abortion. The reason these centers have been allowed to outnumber abortion care clinics 11 to 1 is because many of them are state funded. $3.4 million of taxpayer money goes to the Positive Alternatives Act each year which in turn supplies these organizations with more funding than necessary. For example, centers like Choice Pregnancy Center in Redwood Falls serve fewer than 20 clients per year but receive $65,000 per year under its state grant. Instead of this $65,000 going to affordable childcare, public transportation, public schools or any number of things that would actually benefit struggling communities and individuals, our tax dollars are paying for the upkeep and expansion of centers that often serve people false promises and advertise unscientific scams like abortion pill reversal.
While First Care Pregnancy Center isn’t state funded, that doesn’t mean it’s any less harmful. Anti-abortion centers like this one specialize in guilt-mongering. On First Care’s website there’s a page for post-abortion healing that asks “Do you feel like God could never forgive you?” This is why these centers exist. They aren’t here to provide counseling or care. They’re here to guilt and lie to you about abortions. They target the most vulnerable and marginalized communities to further their agenda. And they’re only attempting to expand their reach by setting up shop in neighborhoods like East Phillips. We are here today to show that we won’t let them, am I right? (Wooooo!)
We are here today to resist the presence of these corrupt organizations in our communities and to demand that there be no more state funding for anti-abortion centers. In East Phillips, we want the community to have a choice over the decisions they make about their bodies, their healthcare, and the people that provide that healthcare. East Phillips deserves better. In our community, we will continue to fight because abortion is a human right!
Fight fight fight!
Abortion is a human right! X2
Thank you!