Why is NC spending millions in taxpayer money on centers that mislead pregnant people?

The U.S. Supreme Court decision last month that reversed Roe v. Wade means abortion is no longer federally protected. But healthcare remains a human right.

Access to reproductive health information and services — including abortion — is a core component of that right.

In light of the chaotic and often confusing landscape of abortion access, it’s imperative that all patients have medically and legally accurate information about the full range of reproductive healthcare options available to them, including abortion.

As has always been the case throughout our country’s history, these attacks on fundamental rights will do the greatest harm to the most marginalized communities, including people of color, young people, LGBTQ+ people, rural communities, and immigrant communities.

Along with facing other systemic barriers to care, they are also the most likely to lack health insurance, and therefore already struggle to access a full range of healthcare services due to the prohibitive costs. Because of this, full and accurate resources on options to help guide a decision on whether and when to have children are often inaccessible.

Fortunately, in North Carolina abortion is still legal and available — at least until the next election. But there are already national networks in place called crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) that exist for the sole purpose of undermining that right and taking advantage of people who may be in a vulnerable position in order to persuade them to carry a pregnancy to term.

These centers market themselves as “all-options” medical spaces for individuals seeking pregnancy-related information and services. They often establish themselves within sight of an actual reproductive healthcare provider. But most CPCs are funded by anti-abortion activists and are not licensed or regulated as legitimate healthcare providers.

CPCs serve only to mislead people who are already struggling to secure the care they seek. Despite their marketing, CPCs are anti-abortion centers that exist to shame people out of accessing abortion.

These are not new facilities. There was such grave concern about the impact of them that in 2013, the Chapel Hill Town Council issued a resolution “supporting the principles of informed consent and a patient’s fundamental right to complete and accurate medical information and freedom from coercion in the delivery of reproductive health services” as a response to the N.C. General Assembly’s embrace of and funding to CPCs.

Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s ruling, CPCs have mobilized to capitalize on this period of confusion and take advantage of individuals seeking pregnancy-related services.

There are 14 abortion clinics in North Carolina, compared to nearly 100 of these misleading pregnancy centers.

These centers delay access to health care, including abortion and prenatal care. They also spread scientific and medical misinformation, that for example, closely links abortion to breast cancer, psychological disorders, and extreme complications, all of which is not supported by medical evidence. They are also known to provide other inaccurate information, including about due dates, that confuses patients who may be considering abortion.

Despite receiving significant state funding, these centers are unaccountable to the public. North Carolina does not collect evaluative data on CPCs and so does not regulate or monitor the type, amount or quality of care patients receive there. Despite this lack of transparency, CPCs have continued to receive substantial and increasing state funding.

Anyone seeking health care services should receive comprehensive health information and care. North Carolinians who are facing unintended pregnancy deserve no less.

Our legislature should be working to increase access to comprehensive and quality reproductive healthcare by expanding Medicaid, ensuring access to care in rural areas, and strengthening protections for health care providers — not giving over $18 million in taxpayer dollars to these deceptive centers.

Karen Stegman is a Pro-Choice North Carolina board member and mayor pro tem of Chapel Hill.