What are these "pregnancy centers" anyway? Will they help me get an abortion?
You may have run into "pregnancy centers" in your search to find out what your options are for ending a pregnancy. They say they offer pregnancy tests and will tell you all your options for how to navigate your pregnancy, but will they really?
The answer is no. These centers are not run by doctors or reproductive health care providers at all, and they will not help you get an abortion. They are also known as anti-abortion clinics or crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs).
Anti-abortion clinics or crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are non-profit, anti-abortion organizations that try to convince pregnant people not to have an abortion. There is at least one in Inyo county, called Options Pregnancy Center, located in downtown Bishop, CA.
CPCs are run by anti-abortion advocates and while they offer some support to pregnant women interested in continuing their pregnancy, they offer confusion, shame, misinformation, and delays to people looking to end their pregnancies.
Pregnancy timelines are counted from the first date of your last period, and there are cutoff dates for when you are eligible for different kinds of abortion procedures, so any delay can have a big impact on your abortion access.
What they do:
- CPCs may advertise a range of reproductive health services, but they don't provide abortion care or birth control
- Some CPCs allow unlicensed, non-medical staff to perform ultrasounds and transvaginal exams.
- CPCs may provide counseling that discourages abortion and limits access to it
What they are not:
- CPCs are not licensed medical clinics
- CPCs are not required to provide accurate information or maintain client confidentiality
- CPCs are not subject to HIPAA or other medical clinic regulations