crisis pregnancy center crisis pregnancy center a crisis pregnancy center (cpc), sometimes called a pregnancy resource center (prc) or a pro-life pregnancy center, is a type of nonprofit organization established by anti-abortion groups primarily to persuade pregnant women against having an abortion.: 1 in the united states, cpcs that qualify as medical clinics may also provide pregnancy testing, sonograms, and other services, while many others operate without medical licensing under varying degrees of regulation. cpcs have frequently been found to disseminate false medical information about the supposed physical and mental health risks of abortion, and sometimes promulgate misinformation about the effectiveness of condoms and prevention of sexually transmitted infections. cpcs are sometimes referred to as fake abortion clinics by scholars, the media, and supporters of abortion rights, due to deceptive advertising practices that obscure the anti-abortion agenda of cpcs from potential patients seeking abortions. a cpc in lincoln, nebraska (foreground) intentionally located across the street from an abortion clinic (background). cpcs are often run by christian groups which adhere to a strictly socially conservative and anti-abortion viewpoint, and they often operate in affiliation with one of three non-profit organizations: care net, heartbeat international, and birthright international. as of 2017, there were approximately 2,300 cpcs in the united states, as compared with 808 abortion clinics. hundreds more cpcs operate outside of the u.s., including canada, latin america, africa, and europe. these cpcs often are operated or financially supported by the same organizations, and use similar practices as the cpcs in the united states. during the presidency of george w. bush (2001–2009), cpcs received tens of millions of dollars in federal grants. as of 2015, more than half of the u.s. states helped to fund crisis pregnancy centers either directly and/or through the sale of choose life license plates. legal and legislative action regarding cpcs has generally attempted to curb deceptive advertising, targeting those that imply that they offer abortion services by requiring centers to disclose that they do not offer certain services or possess certain qualifications. in 1993, the national institute of family and life advocates (nifla) was formed to provide legal advice to cpcs in the u.s. origin protest against crisis pregnancy center in chicago catholic carpenter robert pearson started the first cpc in honolulu in 1967 after abortion was legalized in hawaii. pearson said that "a woman who wanted to terminate her pregnancy 'has no right to information that will help her kill her baby.'" he formed the pearson foundation to help others start their own cpcs, offering detailed instructions for cpc management along with propaganda brochures and images to persuade pregnant women not to get an abortion. in 1968, the first network of centers was established by birthright, in canada. alternatives to abortion, today known as heartbeat international, was founded in 1971. christian action council founded its first center in baltimore, maryland, in 1980. christian action council eventually would become care net. the cpc movement began as american catholic activism, but after the 1973 passage of roe v. wade, interest in establishing cpcs widened to include american evangelical christians. activities while cpcs often look like abortion clinics and are intentionally located near them, most are not legally licensed as medical clinics and do not offer medical services. however, cpcs often offer non-medical support, such as free pregnancy tests, pre-natal care, and classes for budgetting and resume building. some even supply clothing and other supplies. there is a trend toward cpcs obtaining some form of medical certification, largely to support another recent trend of offering sonograms in an attempt to convince women to carry their pregnancies to term. they may also provide screening for sexually transmitted infections, adoption referrals, religious counseling, financial assistance, prenatal services, child-rearing resources and other services. peer counselors are typically covered by mandated reporting laws with regard to statutory rape, and they are encouraged to ask about the age of the woman and the biological father. in the united states, cpcs do not offer contraception, despite advertisement that sometimes gives the appearance that they do. others may offer bible study sessions and peer counseling for women who have recently had abortions. cpcs have been criticized for misleading advertising, for the dissemination of inaccurate medical information, for religious proselytism, and for subjecting clients to graphic videos. the british pregnancy advisory service, an independent abortion-providing agency, said that young women were particularly vulnerable to religiously influenced anti-abortion "crisis pregnancy centres", unregulated by the national health service, because many of the women knew less about the healthcare system or did not want to consult their family gp. additionally, cpcs have been accused of the racial targeting of black women, as cpcs have focused on what they call "underserved" communities in an attempt to lower the high rates of abortion in communities of color. crisis pregnancy centers, along with hospitals and fire and police stations, are designated by state law in louisiana as emergency care facilities where parents may surrender custody of newborn infants. use of sonograms ultrasound scanner some cpcs conduct free sonograms as a way to dissuade women from abortion. proponents say that women who visit cpcs and see their embryos or fetuses through the use of ultrasound technology tend to decide against abortion, although scientific research suggests mandatory pre-abortion ultrasound has no effect on women's decisions to continue their pregnancy. organizations such as colorado-based focus on the family and the southern baptist convention, the largest protestant denomination in the united states, have worked to equip more cpcs with ultrasound machines. false medical information cpcs have frequently been found to disseminate false medical information. in some cases such information may be based on decades-old studies that have been discredited by more recent research. in others, cpcs may falsely claim to be describing an existing scientific consensus. cpcs' false information is usually about the supposed health risks of abortion, saying, for example, that abortion is much less safe for pregnant women than childbirth when the opposite is true. the society for adolescent health and medicine and the north american society for pediatric and adolescent gynecology characterize the care at these centers as lacking "adherence to medical and ethical practice standards". one common medical claim is the assertion of a link between abortion and breast cancer. crisis pregnancy centers have told clients that their chances of getting breast cancer increase dramatically after abortion. major medical bodies (including the national cancer institute) say that there is no link between abortion and breast cancer. another assertion is that of a link between abortion and mental health problems. cpc counselors have warned clients of severely negative psychological consequences, including high rates of depression, "post-abortion syndrome", post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, substance abuse, sexual and relationship dysfunction, propensity to child abuse, and other emotional problems. "post-abortion syndrome" has not been validated as a discrete psychiatric condition and is not recognized by the american psychological association, the american psychiatric association, the american medical association, the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists, nor the american public health association. the royal college of obstetricians and gynaecologists finds no evidence to support an increased likelihood of abuse. cpcs may also claim that surgical abortion is a dangerous procedure, with a high risk of perforation or infection and death. in fact, the risk of complications requiring hospitalization after an abortion is approximately 2 in 1,000 in the us. the alleged risk of perforation and infection is also part of the assertion that abortion negatively impacts future childbearing, by increasing the risk of infertility, miscarriages, complications, ectopic pregnancy, or fetal health problems. these claims are not supported by medical data. cpcs have also been found to disseminate misinformation about birth control methods, in particular the idea that contraception and condoms do not work or have harmful effects. false information about pregnancy and the female body or about fetal development may also be provided, as may misinformation about the availability of abortion in early pregnancy and the rate of postpartum depression among women who carry to term, cpcs may also misinform women about their stage of pregnancy in order to prevent them from seeking an abortion until it is no longer legally possible. care net denounces "any form of deception in its corporate advertising or individual conversations with its clients", though they also say of their promotion of an abortion–breast cancer link that their "role is clearly to include this possible risk when educate clients about all the risks of abortions." a july 2006 report by representative henry waxman (d-ca) and his minority members' staff in the house committee on government reform noted that cpcs had received over $30 million in federal funding since 2001, derived mostly from programs for abstinence-only education. for this report, female investigators telephoned cpcs that had received federal funding, and posed as pregnant teenagers deciding whether to get an abortion. they found that 20 of the 23 centers reached, (87%) provided false or misleading information about the health effects of abortion, particularly about a supposed link between abortion and breast cancer, supposed risks to subsequent fertility, and supposed negative mental health repercussions. religious affiliation the overwhelming majority of cpcs in the u.s. are run by christians according to a conservative christian philosophy. as of 2007, two christian charities, care net and heartbeat international, accounted for three quarters of cpcs in the united states. care net, the largest cpc network in the united states, is explicitly evangelistic in nature, and says that its "ultimate aim...is to share the love and truth of jesus christ in both word and deed" and that its "pregnancy centers are committed to sharing the love of jesus christ with every person who walks through their doors." heartbeat international, one of the largest cpc networks in the united states and also the largest cpc network in the world, runs "christian crisis-pregnancy centers" and describes itself as a "christian association of faith-based pregnancy resource centers" whose materials are "consistent with biblical principles". the national institute of family and life advocates (nifla), which works with cpcs on legal issues, "strongly believes that sharing the gospel is an essential part of counseling women in pregnancy help medical clinics". some cpcs are run by the catholic church or by other church groups. unaffiliated cpcs, or cpcs affiliated with other organizations, may provide a religious perspective in their counseling. in contrast to the overt christian perspective of most cpc networks, birthright international has a stated philosophy of non-evangelism. a jewish cpc organization, called in shifra's arms, also exists. many cpcs require their staff to be christian. for example, as a condition of affiliation, care net and the canadian association of pregnancy support services, the two largest cpc organizations in the united states and canada respectively, require each employee and volunteer of a prospective affiliate to comply with a statement of faith. cpcs unaffiliated with either of these may also require staff to be christian. religious activity is sometimes part of a cpc customer's experience. care net, which "is committed to presenting the gospel of our lord to women with crisis pregnancies", claims to have effected over 23,000 conversions or restatements of christian faith. nifla "strongly believes that sharing the gospel is an essential part of counseling women in pregnancy help medical clinics". some visitors to cpcs report that employees subjected them to unwanted evangelizing. cpcs outside the united states are also frequently christian. careconfidential, the largest umbrella network for cpcs in the united kingdom, runs "christian-based pregnancy crisis centres" and is a division of the christian charity care. the canadian association of pregnancy support services, a similar network in canada whose centers may also affiliate with care net or heartbeat international, describes itself as a "christian charity"; its affiliates "adhere firmly to christianity". the united states-based human life international runs "catholic pregnancy centers" in mexico and also provides aid to the centros de ayuda para la mujer, a network of cpcs in latin america whose philosophy is "in conformity with the magisterium of the roman catholic and apostolic church." as in the united states, unaffiliated cpcs may also be run by church groups or are otherwise christian. affiliation with the anti-abortion movement most crisis pregnancy centers are affiliated with several major anti-abortion organizations in the united states; these are care net, heartbeat international, birthright international, and national institute of family and life advocates (nifla). a cpc