Crisis pregnancy centers don't provide abortion, contraceptives, or counseling about whether or not a woman may want an abortion. Instead, they hit you over the head with pro-life propaganda, some even going so far as to bring religion into it and telling women that "God will never forgive you". In a time in a woman's life that is already so fraught with emotions and confusion, being manipulated into making a certain decision doesn't seem fair. The author of this article, Susan Dominus, tries to shed light on these centers. She also examines council members on the Manhattan city council who are trying to get crisis centers to be more direct about what they offer, such as putting signs up by the door listing what they do and do not offer pregnant women.
Some of the people running the centers got argumentative, and said that if that's the case, then Planned Parenthood ought to put up that they only offer abortion counseling, but that is in fact not the case at all. Planned Parenthood offers all kinds of counseling services, and just because they are pro-choice and offer abortion doesn't mean that they would encourage a woman to have one if she was leaning towards adoption or another solution.
Is it wrong for crisis pregnancy centers to mislead scared pregnant women with strong anti-abortion messages? Is this kind of manipulation fair? Or should women be offered all of their choices, so that they can make the best decision for them? I personally think these centers should be held more accountable about the services they offer--if a woman walks in thinking she wants an abortion, she should know before she even opens the door that this is not what she'll be presented with once inside.
--Alexandra
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