NEWS EDITORS / DIRECTORS:
Hundreds of so-called crisis pregnancy centers are located in every US state, where they have enjoyed the support of wealthy conservative donors, government lawmakers and religious institutions for years.
Now that Supreme Court ruled that states could make abortion illegal, experts say the centers are likely to redouble their efforts to persuade women not to terminate pregnancies, even if those agencies have repeatedly been accused of cheating women on their true purpose.
Nationally, the number of crisis pregnancy centers exceeds the number of abortion clinics 3 to 1, but in some Republican-led states, that number could be much higher.
Here are some details and potential questions you can use in your state’s abortion report:
LOCALIZATION TIPS
– Contact a crisis pregnancy center and abortion clinic to learn more about their footprint in your state. Pregnancy centers are often located directly next to abortion clinics, but they are also located near college campuses. The map of crisis pregnancy centers, last updated in 2021, can be found here: https://crisispregnancycentermap.com/
– Talk to women who have visited crisis pregnancy centers to understand what information and services they have received, whether they are satisfied with this experience and how they found this center. Try to find these women on both sides of the issue by contacting centers, other anti-abortion groups, abortion clinics and reproductive rights advocates.
– In states that send tax money to pregnancy crisis centers, ask lawmakers on both sides whether these programs will continue – often called abortion alternatives – and whether they will propose legislation in the future to expand or stop such initiatives.
– In states where the ban on abortion takes effect after a Supreme Court decision, ask the pregnancy centers if they are changing their surgeries or messaging.
– Ask the pregnancy crisis centers and law enforcement agencies if they have experienced an increase in violence in light of the Supreme Court decision. In states where abortions remain legal, ask if they have experienced or do not expect any harassment or protests.
WIRES by style
– Be careful in describing the positions on the issue: B AP Stylebook recommends using the antiabortion or abortion-rights modifiers. Do not use pro-life, pro-choice, or pro-abortion unless they are in quotes or proper names. Avoid abortions, which means a person who does clandestine abortions.
– It is clear that pregnancy crisis centers are not licensed medical facilities and do not provide medical services such as pre- or postnatal care or other medical services for uninsured women, unlike clinics that offer abortions – which are subject to strict state regulations and patient privacy laws. Crisis pregnancy centers sometimes have nurses or volunteers.
CONTEXT FOR PUBLICATION
To help your readers better understand the nationwide abortion struggle, you can use the following paragraphs:
According to a report by The Alliance: State Advocats for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, national crisis pregnancy centers have more than 3 to 1 abortion clinics, but in Republican-led states, those numbers could be much higher. About 2,500 centers are located nationwide, while there are fewer than 800 abortion clinics.
Most centers offer pregnancy tests and pregnancy counseling. Some also offer limited medical services such as ultrasound. Because the centers are not licensed health care facilities, they are exempt from certain government regulations, such as the minimum level of staffing.
The left states have shown a greater willingness to regulate the way crisis pregnancy centers advertise their services. Last year, Connecticut banned them from using “fraudulent advertising” about the services they provide.
Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas now everyone is helping to fund crisis pregnancy centers.
The Associated Press’s estimate, based on state budget figures, shows that nearly $ 89 million has been allocated by such a center to about a dozen states this fiscal year. Ten years ago, annual funding for the programs was about $ 17 million in about eight states.
Proponents of anti-abortion laws want to reduce the number of women seeking treatment and deter them from traveling to other states. At least 276,000 women terminated their pregnancies outside their state between 2012 and 2017, according to an analysis by the Associated Press for 2019, compiled from government reports and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Localization This is a random feature released by the Associated Press for use by customers. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org.
