NM Legal Organization Warns of Crisis Centers Preying on People Seeking Abortions

People in-state and from other areas must be on alert for these organizations that offer misleading medical care, SWLC says, and they can be outright deceptive in their practices — while obtaining personal medical history and information on patients. This facility, known as a crisis pregnancy center (CPC), picked its location for a reason, and such centers are dangerous for anyone trying to access abortion care in New Mexico, according to the Southwest Women’s Law Center.

For example, Women’s Pregnancy Options in Albuquerque is listed as a Crisis Pregnancy Center intended to convince women to not get abortions, while a Planned Parenthood clinic is located only three doors down on the same street. These centers often pick storefronts that look like a place to turn, advertising free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. However, one thing these places won’t offer: safe and reliable access to abortion care.

Misinformation and Deceptive Medical Claims

They offer services “that are overstated, deceptive and dangerous,” according to a report the group published, and they relay false and biased medical claims. Most will often misrepresent dangers of abortion care, as nearly 32% of CPCs “claimed abortion increased infertility, pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders, breast cancer, or mental health disorders.” Furthermore, many facilities claim that people suffer “post-abortion stress syndrome” and “abortion as trauma,” which are constructs that have been debunked by medical and mental health professionals.

A study published by the U.S. Library of Medicine states “CPC services do not align with national quality family planning recommendations that define a core set of services to prevent missed opportunities for comprehensive prevention and treatment.” That research affirms what the SWLC reports, that crisis pregnancy centers “frequently provide biased, misleading and inaccurate health information to support their objectives.”

Data Collection and Legal Risks

Crisis pregnancy centers are part of organizations that run anti-abortion campaigns across the world and can share information with states that are prosecuting people for accessing abortion. “Whenever they collect your data, they’re able to share it with states like Texas,” said Jessica Serrano, a lawyer with the Southwest Women’s Law Center. “And so somebody who inadvertently contacts them, that CPC finds out that you got an abortion, then tips off Texas.”

This data can include:

• Name, birthday, and address.
• Ethnicity, race, and marital status.
• Income, education, and substance use.
• Medical history, medications, and STI history.
• Pregnancy history and ultrasound pictures.

Comparison of Reproductive Health Resources

The following table summarizes the differences between types of centers based on the provided data:

Counter-Misinformation Initiatives

To address this crisis, some organizations are taking action. The First Unitarian Church of Dallas is launching a pregnancy resource center to provide comprehensive reproductive health information and counseling. The church aims to counter misinformation from crisis pregnancy centers by offering sonograms, pregnancy tests, and resources for adoption. Unlike crisis pregnancy centers, it will also offer information on contraceptives and out-of-state abortion resources. As T.J. FitzGerald, the minister of community care and engagement, stated: “One of the focuses of this center is that birth and giving birth and determining the future of one's family isn't a crisis.”

Anna Chatillon, a research scientist with Resound Research for Reproductive Health, noted that people looking for abortion information might accidentally end up at crisis pregnancy centers. She emphasized that “all of these people could be better served with evidence-based medical care that would truly support their decision-making about their own pregnancies.”