What to Know About Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Kansas and Missouri
If you find yourself pregnant and are looking for medical advice, a quick web search will likely produce a plethora of options. Online search for abortion can take you to anti-abortion center. Some, like the Kansas City Women’s Clinic and Planned Parenthood Kansas City, are clinics that offer a full range of reproductive medical services. Others, however, are nonprofit resource centers focused on pregnancy counseling. They have names like Kansas City Pregnancy Clinic and Advice and Aid Pregnancy Centers.
What is a crisis pregnancy center?
A crisis pregnancy center is an organization that offers advice and resources related to pregnancy, but does not recommend, refer or provide abortions. According to Missouri’s Department of Social Services, these centers “encourage women to carry their pregnancies to term by offering pregnancy testing and counseling with emotional and material support.” The counseling provided encourages people to continue their pregnancies instead of getting abortions. Anti-abortion pregnancy resources centers in Kansas and Missouri provide counseling to people to continue pregnancies, though abortion rights advocates say they are misleading. This can be confusing because some centers advertise services like “free abortion and abortion pill education.”
Services Offered by Resource Centers
Some of these centers provide pregnancy tests and supplies for new parents, like diapers and baby clothes. These services included maternity clothing, baby items and referrals to financial and housing assistance. They may require clients to attend classes or workshops in order to obtain these free items. These classes can include religious elements, as many centers are affiliated with religious groups.
Regarding medical services, the only medical service the agency provides aside from pregnancy and STI testing is a “limited obstetrical ultrasound.” This procedure is performed by a registered nurse or nurse practitioner. As Liberty Women’s Clinic founder Carol Graham explained, “Liberty Women’s Clinic offers pregnancy testing, options counseling, limited obstetrical ultrasound, STI testing and treatment, and referrals to social, medical, adoption and other agencies.” Some crisis pregnancy centers employ medical professionals to perform limited medical services, while others are staffed entirely by counselors without medical training.
Licensing and Regulation
Is a crisis pregnancy center a licensed and regulated medical facility? In most cases, no. Missouri’s definition of a “pregnancy resource center” does not require that it perform medical services or register with the state health department. Crisis pregnancy centers are not among the over 30 types of medical and health-related facilities that the state regulates with monitoring and inspections. Medical professionals who work at such centers must hold their own medical licenses, but the other employees and the centers themselves do not need licenses, according to Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the state health department. In Kansas, all licensed medical facilities are listed in a state directory.
Facility Locations and Regional Availability
Missouri’s Department of Social Services directs pregnant people to these agencies through its “Alternatives to Abortion Services Program.” There are significant differences in the availability of resources across state lines:
- Missouri: There are at least 76 crisis pregnancy centers in Missouri. There are no longer any abortion clinics operating in the state following June’s ban on the procedure.
- Kansas: There are at least 49 crisis pregnancy centers in the state of Kansas, and four abortion clinics.
Crisis pregnancy centers in the Kansas City area include:
- Resource Health (formerly known as Rachel House)
- Advice and Aid Pregnancy Centers
- Kansas City Pregnancy Clinic
- Parkville Women’s Clinic
- Birthright of Kansas City
- Liberty Women’s Clinic