You’ve almost certainly seen an ad for a Missouri Pregnancy Resource Center, even if you didn’t know it. The billboards read: “Pregnant and In Trouble?” “Facing an Unplanned Pregnancy?” or even “Free Pregnancy Tests!”
Unfortunately, pregnancy resource centers have an ulterior motive: they do not exist to counsel you to the best decision for your situation.
They will not offer you resources for whatever path you choose.
Pregnancy resource centers exist to persuade individuals to choose anything but abortion—even if that means outright lying to your face.
How Pregnancy Resource Centers Trick People
Popping up down the street from (or in some cases, right next to) abortion clinics. It’s no coincidence that fake clinics tend to end up next to reproductive health care centers. They’re banking on you getting confused or missing a turn; take a look at Thrive, which is only a block away from Planned Parenthood in St. Louis’ Central West End neighborhood.
Using “pre-abortion” language on their website. Pregnancy resource centers will offer “free” services like ultrasounds and “pre-abortion screenings.” But those services don’t need to be done outside of a real clinic—you’re much safer in a real reproductive health clinic with actual medical staff. Which brings us to…
Designing buildings to look like medical centers and putting staff in scrubs. Yes, even when there’s no trained medical staff on site! It’s all for the illusion that you’re walking into a real clinic.
Anti-Choice Activist Abby Johnson once said: “We want to look professional, … businesslike. And, yeah, we do kind of want to look medical. The best client you ever get is one that thinks they’re walking into an abortion clinic.” [Vice News via YouTube]
Using names that sound like real clinics. With names like “Pregnancy Options Center of Warren County” or “Options for Women” in Bowling Green, MO, one would think they’d offer individuals information on all options. Of course, that’s far from the truth.
Flat-out lying about the “risks” of abortion. The list of untruths that pregnancy resource centers have told about abortion could go on for days. There is absolutely no link to breast cancer rates, infertility, or psychological effects—but these centers aren’t interested in telling you the truth.
How to Determine if a Clinic is Real or a Pregnancy Resource Center in Missouri
With intentionally deceptive and dangerous tactics like these, you’d be right to avoid pregnancy resource centers at all costs—but it can be hard to know where to start when differentiating between actual reproductive health care and these fake clinics.
If you’re not sure if the clinic you’re going to is a fake clinic or not, here’s a couple options to cross-check:
The Crisis Pregnancy Center Map is a non-exhaustive list of fake clinics, but it’s not constantly updated.
If the clinic near you is one of these lists, it is definitely a pregnancy resource center. Not sure but something seems fishy? That’s where we come in!
Text Right By You at 855-458-0886 and we can help you find compassionate, safe and judgment-free care for any of your reproductive health needs. That includes deciphering whether the clinic you’re going to is real or fake!
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