A recent study published by the academic journal “Contraception” showed that wait times were longer and costs higher for abortion clinics than they were for crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), especially in states less friendly to pro-life centers.
The study, funded by the pro-abortion group Society of Family Planning and published in the Jan. 2023 issue of the journal, consisted of a comparison of 445 CPCs to nearby abortion clinics in regard to wait time and cost for pregnancy screenings. The study considered first whether there was a substantial difference in wait times between CPCs and abortion clinics, and second whether state policy in regard to CPCs had any impact on the speed with which they provided their services. The study also considered costs of pregnancy screenings between the two facilities.
The study found that 68.5% of crisis pregnancy centers could provide same day appointments, while only 37.2% of abortion clinics could do the same. There was an even more significant discrepancy between the two in regard to providing free pregnancy testing — 98% of crisis pregnancy centers provided free testing, while only 16.6% of abortion clinics did. (RELATED: Father Raided By FBI Found Not Guilty Of Federal Charges Alleging He Assaulted Abortion Worker)
Differences in wait times were more pronounced in states with policies that were less friendly to CPCs. The study defined friendly policies towards CPCs as state policies that provided funding, whether direct or indirect, to the pregnancy centers.
“Counter to our hypothesis, early pregnancy confirmation appointment wait times at abortion facilities did not exceed those of CPCs disproportionately in states with supportive CPC policies,” the study says. “Rather, we found abortion facility wait times exceeded CPC wait times by a greater margin in states with non-supportive CPC policy environments, compared to states with supportive CPC policies.”
Alexia Newman, director of the pro-life Carolina Pregnancy Center, poses at her facility in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on September 19, 2016. (NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
In states with policies that did not fund CPCs, the wait time difference between the two types of centers was actually more pronounced. In states with funding for CPCs, abortion clinics were less likely to have a wait time of a week or more than in states without funding for CPCs.
The study notes that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center may make affect wait times, since many abortion clinics closed as states enacted bans on the procedure. Longer wait times in states that do not fund pro-life pregnancy centers could also be explained by the fact that fewer women get abortions in states with more conservative abortion laws. There is some evidence that more restrictive abortion laws lead to lower abortion rates. The number of abortions in Texas dropped 97% in the month after the Dobbs ruling.
But even with these considerations, the study admits, “Factors other than state-level CPC policies likely influence service accessibility.”
The study begins by stating that, “CPCs disseminate inaccurate information to advance their mission,” and decrying what some experts say is “harmful disinformation.” The statement echoes similar claims made by pro-abortion groups that CPCs lie, claiming to offer only the same kinds of services as medical centers, but only offering life-affirming options. Yelp added a consumer notice to CPCs in August, warning users that they “provide limited medical services.” Yelp’s VP of user operations lauded the move, saying it would keep them from steering “pregnant people away from abortion care.”
The study provided as examples of this disinformation several studies published in “Contraception” detailing claims from some CPCs that there is a link between abortion and infertility, breast cancer, and mental health issues.
Pregnancy centers have been a target of pro-abortion activists following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. One California center had to hire a security guard after a man with a machete showed up at the building. A pregnancy center in Buffalo has hired a private investigator to look into a firebombing at the building which the radical pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge took credit for.