DOWNTOWN — More than a dozen abortion rights organizations plan to rally outside of an anti-abortion pregnancy center this Saturday to raise awareness about how these centers can mislead and endanger people looking for reproductive health care.
The rally will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday outside Aid For Women Chicago at 8 S. Michigan Ave. Speakers at the event will share their personal experiences about the ways anti-abortion pregnancy centers have harmed them, organizers said.
Aid for Women advertises pregnancy screenings where people can receive free ultrasounds and pregnancy counseling to help them make “a fully-informed decision,” according to its website. But in reality, visitors to the center are not fully informed of their choices, as referrals for abortion care are not provided under any circumstances.
The site also shares misinformation, including the link between cancer and abortions, which has been debunked by the American Cancer Society.
Aid For Women’s medical services page states no abortion services or referrals are provided and advertises a service to reverse the effects of medication-based abortions. The efficacy of such treatments is questionable, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist has said the treatment is not scientifically sound.
The organization’s separate donation website also states it empowers women to “choose life,” and the group is founded on the faith and teachings of Catholicism.
“What kind of pre-abortion counseling are you offering if you’re anti-abortion?” said Lizz Winstead, founder of Abortion Access Front. “It’s heartbreaking to prey upon people who show up seeking guidance. To me, it’s the worst sort of garbage you could do to someone who’s simply looking for help and assumes that, because of the way it’s presented, these organizations have their best interests at heart.”
Susan Barrett, the executive director of Aid for Women, said the organization’s website is clear that it does not provide abortions or referrals to abortion providers.
“Every day we talk with women who are contemplating ending a pregnancy,” Barrett said in a statement. “Every woman’s situation is different, and we are here to offer women the information and support they need to make a real choice.”
Community-focused. Reader-funded. Journalist-run.
Support Chicago’s neighborhood news. Support Block Club today.
There are about 100 anti-abortion pregnancy centers like this in Illinois and nearly 3,000 throughout the country, said Lisa Battisfore, founder of Reproductive Transparency Now.
Many crisis pregnancy centers do not have licensed medical professionals on staff, and are run by anti-abortion volunteers.
Nationally, about $89 million in state budgets went toward funding anti-abortion pregnancy centers in 2022, The Associated Press reported.
“People need to realize that these places exist in their communities,” Winstead said. “We need to raise awareness and give people enough tools to identify fake clinics so that they can go more reputable places to seek the support they need in their pregnancy journeys.”
Organizers hope the rally will also encourage Governor JB Pritzker to sign Senate Bill 1909, which passed in the Illinois Senate in May and would allow the Attorney General’s Office to investigate and fine pregnancy centers that use deceptive practices. Pritzker has previously voiced his support for the bill.
“We want to show that people haven’t forgotten about this bill and encourage the governor to push forward with building up more of these consumer protections,” Battisfore said. “And we want to let people know these centers exist and help them to learn more about them because most people don’t know the true nature of their mission.”
Many pregnant people go to these centers, believing they’re visiting unbiased medical professionals who can provide free services, emotional support and trustworthy information about their options, including abortion, Battisfore said.
However, counselors at these centers instead try to discourage people from having abortions and often provide misleading information to do so, Battisfore said.
“Inherently, crisis pregnancy centers remove people’s autonomy to make their own decision about their pregnancies, because they provide false, misleading, incomplete information about abortion, contraception, sexuality and sometimes adoption because their end goal is making sure someone doesn’t choose abortion,” Battisfore said.
Since many pregnancy centers are unlicensed, the people who work at them are not necessarily trained medical professionals and have been known to endanger people seeking help, Winstead said.
People have reported numerous dangerous experiences at anti-abortion centers, including receiving incorrect information about their ultrasounds that caused them to lose their babies, according to Winstead’s website Expose Fake Clinics Now.
Winstead went to a pregnancy center when she was 16 years old after seeing an ad for free pregnancy tests on the bus.
“This person, who was not a doctor but was dressed in a lab coat, gave me a pregnancy test and told me that my options were, ‘Mommy or Murder,’” Winstead said. “I’ll never forget what they said to me when I asked about abortion. They said, ‘Abortion is against our law.’ They meant the law of their religion, but I was 16 so I heard ‘against the law.’
“It was a deceptive, terrifying and shaming experience.”
Barrett said Aid For Women is overseen by licensed providers.
“Aid for Women medical clinics operate under the direction of a Medical Director who is an Illinois Board-certified OB/GYN,” Barrett said in a statement. “A licensed Registered Nurse manages the clinics, and the clinics are fully staffed by an Advanced Practice Nurse, licensed RNs and Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographers.”
Saturday’s event is co-hosted by Abortion Access Front and Reproductive Transparency Now and sponsored by more than a dozen other organizations.
How To Identify Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers:
- Check the organization’s donation website, which often includes more direct language about the group’s goals, Battisfore said. Aid for Women’s donation website states the organization provides women with support to “choose life” while its main website says it helps women make “a fully informed decision.”
- If an organization states it doesn’t provide abortion referrals, they are likely an anti-abortion center, Winstead said.
- If an organization offers abortion reversals, it shouldn’t be trusted, Winstead said. Abortion reversals can be dangerous and are not scientifically proven to work.
- Check the online reviews to read about the experiences people have had within different clinics, Winstead said. If you have a negative experience somewhere, leave a review to let other people know, Winstead said.
Support Local News!
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
