What Are Anti-Abortion Centers?
Anti-abortion centers, or so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” are facilities that present themselves as resources for people facing unplanned pregnancies, but in reality, exist to dissuade people from accessing abortion care.
These centers use deceptive practices to attract patients: they are often deliberately located near reproductive health clinics, they create websites that appear in online searches for legitimate abortion clinics, and they advertise online and in print media in ways that might appeal to those who are considering abortion.
Anti-abortion centers are typically managed and funded by organizations that oppose abortion in any and all circumstances. They often use disinformation as a way to dissuade people from accessing abortion care. As a result, a person with an unintended pregnancy seeking full options counseling or abortion referrals should be aware of the existence of such biased facilities.
More About Anti-Abortion Centers:
While these facilities may offer free pregnancy testing, they are purposefully vague about whether they provide abortion care. Some may be licensed to provide medical care; even so, they exist to dissuade people from receiving abortion care. They may not have any medical professionals available to speak with their clients. They tend to "counsel" a pregnant person by engaging in a lengthy discussion about fetal development, providing disinformation about the alleged "dangers" of abortion (see "Busting the Myths" here), and pressuring the individual to choose parenthood or adoption.
In New England, anti-abortion centers outnumber legitimate abortion providers more than 2:1. It is important to ensure that when you pursue abortion care, you double check that you are being treated by a legitimate provider, as anti-abortion centers can delay care.
List of Anti-Abortion Centers in New England:
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Attleboro Women's Health Center/Abundant Hope Pregnancy Resource Center, Attleboro
Daybreak Pregnancy Resource Center, Beverly
Boston Center for Pregnancy Choices, Boston
Pregnancy Help, Brighton
Your Options Medical, Brookline
Heartbeat Pregnancy Help Center, Burlington
Pregnancy Help of Brockton, Brockton
First Concern Pregnancy Resource Center, Clinton
Bethlehem House of Western Mass, Easthampton
Your Options Medical Center, Fall River
Birthright of Falmouth, Falmouth
Care Net Pregnancy Resources Center, Fitchburg
Birthright of Framingham, Framingham
Alternatives Pregnancy Center, Greenfield
Merrimack Valley Pregnancy Services, Inc., Haverhill
Pregnancy Center of Haverhill, Haverhill
Your Options Medical Mobile Van, Hyannis
Pregnancy Center of Lawrence, Lawrence
Pregnancy Care Center/Standing With You/Options for Pregnancy, Lowell
Birth Right, Marlborough
Bethany Christian Services, Marlborough
First Concern, Marlborough
Pregnancy Help, Natick
Birthright of New Bedford Inc., New Bedford
New Direction Pregnancy & Sexual Health Resources, Pittsfield
Life Saver Ministries, North Chelmsford
Pregnancy Support Services of Berkshire, Pittsfield
Friends of the Unborn, Quincy
Your Options Medical Center, Revere
Clearway Clinic, Springfield
Springfield Pregnancy Care Center, Springfield
Birthright, Taunton
Clearway Clinic, Worcester
Problem Pregnancy, Worcester -
Birthright of Manchester, Bedford
Pathways Pregnancy Care Center, Berlin
Bethany Christian Services, Candia
Lighthouse Pregnancy Crisis Center, Center Ossipee
Pregnancy Center of the Upper Valley, Claremont
Care Women’s Center of Concord, Concord
Care Net Pregnancy Center of the Mt Washington Valley, Conway
Birthright, Derry
Seacoast Birthright, Dover
New Generation Inc., Greenland
Pregnancy Resource Center of the Monadnock Region, Keene
Aspire Pregnancy Center, Laconia
Pathways Pregnancy Care Center, Littleton
PennaCook Pregnancy Center, Manchester
OUR PLACE/ Trudy’s Center for Family Support, Manchester
Real Options, Manchester
OUR PLACE/ St. Joseph Hospital Parish Nurse Center, Nashua
Real Options, Nashua
Haven Pregnancy Services, Plymouth
Options Pregnancy Resource Center, Rochester
OUR PLACE, Rochester
Pregnancy Center of the Upper Valley, West Lebanon -
Hopeline Pregnancy Resource Center, Bridgeport
Hope Pregnancy Center, Cheshire
Birthright of Westbrook, Clinton
Hopeline Pregnancy Resource Center, Danbury
Birthright of Danbury, Danbury
Birthright of Greater Hartford, East Hartford
St. Gerard's Center for Life/Hartford Women's Center, Hartford
Birthright of Greater Meriden, Meriden
ABC Women's Center, Middletown
ABC Women’s Center, New Britain
St. Gianna Pregnancy Resource Center, New Haven
Anchor of Hope, New London
Mary and Joseph's Place, North Haven
Birthright of Greater Norwalk, Norwalk
Pathways Pregnancy, Norwich
Hopeline Pregnancy Resource Center, Stamford
Go Mobile CT, UConn Storrs
Two Hearts Pregnancy Care Center, Torrington
Hope Pregnancy Center, Unionville
Carolyn's Place Inc., Waterbury
Go Mobile CT, Waterbury
Go Mobile CT, Willimantic
Caring Families Pregnancy Services, Willimantic
Women's Center of Eastern Connecticut, Willimantic -
Harmony Women's Center, Providence
Mother of Life Center, Providence
Bethany Christian Services, Warwick
Pregnancy Center of Westerly, Westerly
Choices Rhode Island, Westerly
Anchora Options Mobile, mobile van -
Care Net Pregnancy Center of Central Vermont, Barre
True North Pregnancy Resources Center, Bennington
Branches Pregnancy Resource Center, Brattleboro
Aspire Together, Burlington
Birthright, Burlington
Futures Pregnancy Care, Lydonville
Addison Pregnancy Resource Center, Middlebury
First Step Pregnancy Clinic, Rutland
Aspire Now, Williston
Aspire Together Mobile Clinic -
Open Arms Pregnancy Center, Augusta
First Step Pregnancy Resources Center, Bangor
Care Net Center of Mid-Coast Maine, Brunswick
Pregnancy Care Center of Aroostook, Fort Kent
Pregnancy Care Center of Aroostook, Houlton
Hope House, Lewiston
ABBA Women's Resource Center, Portland
Pregnancy Care Center of Aroostook, Presque Isle, Houlton & Fort Kent
Zoe, A Women’s Center, Rockport
Alpha Pregnancy Resource Center, Sanford
First Choice Pregnancy Center, Waterville
Know of an anti-abortion center in your community that is not listed on our website?
Please email us at info@reproequitynow.org!
How can you tell if a facility offers unbiased counseling and abortion services or referrals?
Check its website for statements about whether or not it provides abortion referrals. Often, disclosure that the anti-abortion center does not provide abortion care or referrals is buried deep in its website
Ask directly if it offers full options counseling, abortion referrals, or abortion care. Often, anti-abortion centers will ask patients to come into the facility before they disclose whether or not they offer abortion.
Determine if the facility is hesitant to give referrals for abortion care either on the phone or in person.
Anti-Abortion Centers Logos & Organizations:
Many anti-abortion centers are associated with large, national anti-abortion organizations, like Heartbeat International, Birthright International, Care Net, and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA).
If an anti-abortion center webpage includes one of the following logos, it’s a clear sign that the facility does not provide full options counseling:
Common Anti-Abortion Tactics to Recognize:
Anti-abortion centers often use fear-based language, such as “Pregnant and need help?” or “Pregnant, scared, and in need of help?” to attract patients who might be dealing with an unplanned pregnancy.
These centers often falsely link abortion to infertility, breast cancer, depression, and mental health problems. There is no scientific basis in these anti-abortion claims.
Many anti-abortion centers have names with the words “choice,” or “choices,” “hope,” or “options.”
These facilities often advertise a fake service called “abortion reversal,” which is not supported by science and poses serious threats to patients’ health.
Anti-abortion centers often offer abstinence-only sex education, post-abortion support, spiritual support, or bible study. While some people need and want post-abortion counseling, and may seek it through their faith leaders, there is no scientific evidence that abortion results in adverse mental health outcomes.
How to Recognize an Anti-Abortion Center in Person:
Check your clinic’s name carefully. Anti-abortion centers sometimes set up next to real health care clinics and medical providers in order to confuse and deceive patients. Make sure you’re headed to the correct facility!
Make sure you sign a HIPAA form. Legitimate health care clinics will have you fill out a HIPAA form, which is a medical form that protects your private patient information. Anti-abortion centers do not require this form and, as such, have no legal obligation to protect your personal, private medical information.
Look at the posters on the wall. Anti-abortion centers often make abortion seem scary or unsafe or have a message of “choose life” instead of offering unbiased all-options counseling.
Get your questions answered. A real reproductive health care clinic will answer your questions before you make an appointment. Anti-abortion centers often insist you make an appointment before confirming whether they offer abortion, STD testing, or contraceptives.
Trust your gut. Anti-abortion centers may lie to you about how far along you are in your pregnancy to make you think you have more time than you do to make a decision or to make you think that the time to make a decision has already passed. Get a second opinion if what they say doesn’t sound right or make sense to you.
Get a physical copy of your results. If the “clinic” refuses to give you a physical copy of your pregnancy test results or appears to unreasonably delay giving you the results (i.e. they say they will call you or mail them to you), you may be at an anti-abortion center. Testing for pregnancy can be done in a clinic, and you should get results within minutes.
Listen for language. If the attendant only uses terms like “baby” and “child” and doesn’t respect the language you are using, including talking about the gestational age of the fetus or embryo, you may be in an anti-abortion center.
Make sure you have a choice. If a pregnancy test comes back positive and the attendant speaks to you as if you have already made up your mind to carry the pregnancy to term, you may be in an anti-abortion center.
Watch out for offers. Anti-abortion centers may offer you baby clothes, food, accessories, or financial support if you don’t have an abortion. Providing people with postnatal support for wanted pregnancies is important but such support should not be used to coerce you into a reproductive health care choice you are not comfortable with.
If you have been harmed by deceptive practices, harassment, or medical malpractice at an anti-abortion center:
These resources are available to you and we encourage you to use them.
People who have had a negative experience with anti-abortion centers can call Reproductive Equity Now’s free and confidential Abortion Legal Hotline at 833-309-6301 to report their case and be referred to pro bono attorneys.
Patients in Massachusetts can also file a report with the Attorney General Office’s Civil Rights Division online or at 617-963-2917.
If you have concerns about the qualifications or safety of care delivered by a nurse or physician in Massachusetts, you can file a formal complaint with the Commonwealth to initiate an investigation.