An NBC News piece published Wednesday claimed crisis pregnancy centers mislead women into thinking abortion causes long-term health issues amid the ongoing vandalism and attacks on centers by pro-abortion activists.
The piece said two network producers visiting centers in Texas found that councilors tell women that abortion can lead to mental illness, infertility and cancer. The outlet described the center as being “faith-based” where they largely receive funding from religious donors, though some are state funded.
A center near the Mexican border played a video for their clients informing them that abortion can lead to mental illness, the piece said. Another center in the Dallas area told patients, as well as the producers, that the abortion pill can have traumatic effects.
“My job is not to scare you … you never get over seeing that baby,” a volunteer in the Dallas area said. “Can you imagine one of these in your panties?” she added, pointing to a plastic model of an unborn child.
While abortion and mental illness are not directly correlated, the National Library of Medicine said women who undergo abortion have an increased risk of facing depression, anxiety and other clinical conditions. It also concluded that abortion largely contributes to mental health problems in at least some women.
EXCLUSIVE: When NBC News producers visited crisis pregnancy centers in Texas, counselors misinformed them saying abortions caused mental illness and implied links to cancer and infertility.https://t.co/75VoEBmEwU
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 29, 2022
In Texas, crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics 9 to 1 largely due to the “Alternatives to Abortion” state funding package passed by the Texas Legislature in 2005, NBC reported. The state has spent a record $100 million on the centers for 2022 and 2023.
The piece largely quoted former Texas state Representative Sarah Davis and Democratic Texas state Rep. Donna Howard calling the state’s funding a waste of spending and claiming these centers are committing “fraud.”
The Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life organization, said people argue against the centers by saying they spread misinformation in order to impose restrictions on them, NBC News reported.
“Apparently those lawmakers never spoke with any of the thousands of Texas women who have been supported by local pro-life pregnancy centers,” pointing out that the average client satisfaction rate of a center is “above 95%,” the Charlotte Lozier Institute said.
The piece also included the story of Maleeha Aziz, who was allegedly informed she would get breast cancer if she underwent an abortion. She got an abortion and told the outlet she never experienced mental health problems.
The story comes as crisis pregnancy centers across the country have been vandalized by pro-abortion activists in response to both the leaked majority opinion draft and official overruling of Roe v. Wade. A suspicious fire broke out at a pregnancy center in Gresham, Portland, who provides grief care, medical services, ultrasounds, and other services and materials for pregnant women.
The Capitol Hill Crisis Pregnancy Center was vandalized with red paint and black spray paint with the words “Jane Says Revenge.” First Care Women’s Health in Manassas, Virginia was also vandalized, with messages such as “abortion is a right” written in graffiti. (RELATED: ‘If Abortion Isn’t Safe, You Aren’t Either’: Vandal Attacks Pregnancy Center)
Similarly to NBC News, the New York Times published an opinion piece accusing the centers of being a manipulative operation seeking to misinform women into carrying their pregnancies to term. Pro-life activists challenged these claims made by the newspaper, describing their role in helping women with the necessary care.
“Here’s the reality that the New York Times chooses to ignore. On average, 99% of pregnancy help center clients report having had a positive experience at their local pregnancy center,” Moira Gaul, a crisis center associate, told TheDCNF. “The truth is that life-affirming pregnancy centers provide women facing unexpected pregnancies holistic and professional care, focused on addressing the needs of individual women instead of the one-size-fits-all, life-ending, profit-driven solution of the abortion industry.”
The centers offer free or low-cost pregnancy testing, education on adoption services, ultrasounds, STD testing and treatment, prenatal and parenting lessons, after abortion recovery counseling and sexual risk avoidance education, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.