If Texas flushes women's rights down the toilet this afternoon, even more CPCs will pop up across the state. I can hear my father's voice saying "what's a CPC?"-- I didn't know what it stood for until I started volunteer escorting at my local clinic in college (only a 45 minute drive). Crisis Pregnancy Center. If you look up abortion services, family planning, pregnancy help, etc in the phone book most of what you'll find are CPCs. But you don't know that until you arrive, unless you're a prochoice fanatic who already knows where the nearest abortion clinic is at all times.
Crisis Pregnancy Centers are usually funded by churches, but are increasingly eligible (on a state-by-state basis) for tax dollars as well. CPCs look like abortion clinics but once you're inside you're inundated with guilt and lies. "abortions cause breast cancer" "if you have an abortion you won't be able to bear children again later" "post abortion syndrome" "if you have an abortion you'll definitely become depressed and wish you hadn't" "if you become a member of our church we can help you care for your baby" Many offer free ultrasounds, and then conveniently round down how many weeks along the embryo is, allowing the woman to think she has more time to make a decision than she really does. (Don't forget, first trimester abortions and second trimester abortions have a huge cost difference-- the kind of cost difference that can't be made up in one pay check for the majority of women).
Texas has already slashed funds for free and low-cost clinics which offer exams and birth control (note: not abortion providers). With a lack of access to reproductive information as well as birth control options, the need for abortions will obviously increase. Then, shutting down nearly 90% of the abortion providers in the state will increase the demand for CPCs. And, in turn, increase the number of unsafe, unsanitary, botched abortions. (yes, this is where you turn and bang your head on the nearest wall)
Want some official information to share about CPCs? NARAL Pro-Choice America: nar.al/r8
