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

Warning: Anti-abortion centers harm pregnant Floridians. According to Dr. Nicole Fanarjian, OB/GYN, “Florida women describe being harassed, bullied, and given blatantly false information at fake clinics. 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.”

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. Unfortunately, anti-abortion pregnancy centers create the exact opposite experience for folks as they exist to talk women out of abortions. Fueled by a staunch anti-abortion agenda, they use free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds for persuasion instead of medical diagnosis. These 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 Practices and Manipulative Tactics

Using lies and manipulative practices, they work to shame women out of getting reproductive care – particularly birth control and abortion. Their methods include the following:

• Deceptive advertising is their M.O. as they adopt names that sound like actual reproductive health centers.
• They place deceptive ads under internet searches for “abortion.”
• They intentionally locate on the same block, sometimes even in the same building, as actual abortion providers.
• Their staff and volunteers may pose as medical professionals wearing scrubs or white coats.
• They lie about risks associated with the abortion procedure, linking abortion to increased risk of infertility and breast cancer.
• They have no medical or safety standards, and there’s no way of knowing if they’re even disinfecting equipment between patients.
• You won’t get abortion help or even birth control at a fake clinic.
• 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.

State Funding and Legislation

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. Many of these are state-funded with taxpayer dollars. The following data outlines the increase in public funding:

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

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. Tricking, shaming, and scaring potentially pregnant patients is unjust. Floridians deserve timely access and a full range of care options, not medically inaccurate information pushed on them by anti-abortion pregnancy centers.