Do pregnancy centers “depend on deceiving women”?
Recently, pro-abortion blogger Amanda Marcotte wrote in opposition to the court decision which struck down New York City’s anti-pregnancy center law. She makes the usual accusations against pregnancy centers, always citing personal testimonies from CPC Watch, which is not exactly an unbiased source. She takes them as gospel, but has no problem rejecting the video evidence against Planned Parenthood as “doctored” and “lies.” For me, the absence of a Live Action-style attack against pregnancy centers– with video, across many states– speaks volumes.
But I digress. The central issue in this article is the claim that pregnancy centers “depend on deceiving women who walk through their doors into thinking they’re going to get actual medical care”– which, coming from Marcotte, means abortion. Sonograms, pregnancy testing, prenatal care, STD testing, and other services evidently don’t count, since those are provided by many pregnancy centers.
Do pro-life centers and clinics depend on deception? There are thousands of pregnancy centers across the country, so it’s always possible that there are some bad apples, but I don’t believe that deceptive advertising is typical. Since Marcotte’s rant was prompted by New York City, let’s focus there. This is an advertisement for Expectant Mother Care, a pregnancy center with multiple locations in the big apple: 
This clearly advertises “Abortion Alternatives,” not abortion. And, of course, no abortion business is free. There is absolutely nothing about this ad that would suggest that EMC is an abortion business. If a woman thinks that EMC is an abortion facility, it must be for reasons other than deliberate deception on EMC’s part.
I suspect that, for some people, there’s a thought process that goes something like this: “Here is a place that has something to do with crisis pregnancy. The only solution that’s ever offered to women in my neighborhood is abortion. So maybe it’s an abortion center.” And who can blame them? Abortion centers far outnumber non-profit pregnancy help centers in New York City and other urban areas.
If you are pregnant and need assistance, visit BirthRight.org to find a secular pregnancy center or OptionLine.org to find a faith-based Christian center. If you’re Jewish and live in the D.C./Maryland area, consider visiting In Shifra’s Arms.
I have to say when I was new in town, desperately poor, and trying to find maternity services, all the Crisis Pregnancy Centers were clear and obviously advertized as abortion alternatives and places to help you keep the pregnancy. On the other hand, many of the abortion clinics had very vague ads that left me completely in the dark as to what sort of place I would be calling. Sure, some of them used the term 'abortion', but most just had flowery ads about 'help offered' or 'we can help with' then a long list that included 'crisis pregnancies' in amongst STDs and such. I think abortion proponents accuse CPC of misleading advertizing and lying to women because they do it so handily and, well, what you practice is easest seen in others, wether it's there or not.
Thank you for sharing that, Jespren. Were you able to find the help you needed?
I find her claim very hard to believe. I can tell you as someone who volunteers at a CPC (not in New York, but still), that we are trained specifically to give facts. And if we are asked for abortion, we are supposed to state "We do not provide or refer for abortions." How much clearer than that can you get?