Beware of Anti-Abortion Centers in Florida: The Truth Behind Fake Clinics

Warning: Anti-abortion centers harm pregnant Floridians. These fake clinics undermine the trust at the foundation of the patient-provider relationship by posing as health care providers and peddling inaccurate medical information. As Dr. Nicole Fanarjian, OB/GYN, states: “Florida women describe being harassed, bullied, and given blatantly false information at fake clinics.”

Any reason you may seek an abortion is valid. It is vital to learn about your options and find a legitimate provider at ineedana.com. When someone has decided to have an abortion, they should have support and respect, and their experience should be without shame or pressure. Unfortunately, anti-abortion pregnancy centers create the exact opposite experience for folks as they exist to talk women out of abortions.

What are Anti-Abortion Centers?

Did you know there are 192 anti-abortion pregnancy centers operating across Florida? Sometimes calling themselves “crisis pregnancy centers,” these anti-abortion pregnancy centers deceive and shame Floridians seeking comprehensive reproductive health care including abortion care. Anti-abortion pregnancy centers dramatically outnumber actual women’s health care providers and have become the local organizing force for the anti-abortion movement.

Deceptive Advertising and Manipulative Practices

Using lies and manipulative practices, these centers work to shame women out of getting reproductive care – particularly birth control and abortion. Deceptive advertising is their M.O. as they adopt names that sound like actual reproductive health centers. Their methods include the following tactics:

• Intentional Proximity: They intentionally locate on the same block, sometimes even in the same building, as actual abortion providers.
• Digital Deception: They place deceptive ads under internet searches for “abortion.”
• False Professionalism: Their staff and volunteers may pose as medical professionals wearing scrubs or white coats.
• Stalling Care: They often schedule appointments as far out as possible because they know timing is critical with any pregnancy. Patients who wait may face costs that are prohibitive or be too far along to get an abortion.

Medical Inaccuracy and Safety Risks

Anti-abortion pregnancy centers purport to offer pregnancy-related health care and medical services, but fail to provide comprehensive, evidence-based medical care. Tricking, shaming, and scaring potentially pregnant patients is unjust. They have no medical or safety standards, and regarding the equipment they’re using, there’s no way of knowing if they’re even disinfecting it between patients.

Fueled by a staunch anti-abortion agenda, they use free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds for persuasion instead of medical diagnosis. Furthermore, they lie about risks associated with the abortion procedure, linking abortion to increased risk of infertility and breast cancer. You won’t get abortion help or even birth control at a fake clinic.

Legislative Attacks and State Funding

Extremists in the Florida Legislature have repeatedly attacked reproductive health care, in particular targeting access to safe and legal abortion. One avenue of attack has been legitimizing anti-abortion pregnancy centers through legislation. Despite the proven public health need for women and patients to be able to access the full range of timely and affordable reproductive health care services, our State government is funding anti-abortion pregnancy centers that do the exact opposite.

Key Florida Funding and Data

• Total centers operating in Florida: 192
• 2025-2026 Budget Allocation: Gov. Ron DeSantis allocated $30.1 million towards these centers.
• 2023 Legislative Funding: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to increase funding to $25 million annually.
• 2018 Legislation: Then Gov. Rick Scott signed a law requiring Florida taxpayers to permanently fund anti-abortion pregnancy centers.

Floridians deserve timely access and a full range of care options, not medically inaccurate information pushed on them by anti-abortion pregnancy centers. We’re fighting back to hold anti-abortion corporations accountable for profiting off our bodies and to expose a proliferation of false and deceptive medical information, inflated reimbursement rates, and wasteful spending.