Collectively written by the W*SS Staff
January 22, 2023 would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Instead of celebrating nationwide reproductive freedom, today, we’re using our Zine Thought of the Day space to raise awareness about crisis pregnancy centers, and a specific organization, brought to our attention through campus networks. This organization is advertising (see photo) on bus stops in the area of campus using the colors, font, and format of these stickers mirrors those of Planned Parenthood. Even the words “options, safe, and legal” might make passersby believe they are promoting resources so people can make informed and balanced decisions.
These organizations use feminist icons like Rosie the Riveter and slogans about pregnancy not meaning the end of your educational dreams, but if you dig deeper on their website, it’s clear that they are programs sponsored by organizations with anti-choice agendas. These thinly veiled attempts to disguise themselves and attract people who are facing unintended pregnancy and are seeking information and support are a larger issue in the post-Roe world.
Crisis pregnancy centers pose as legitimate reproductive healthcare facilities by providing information, STD testing, contraceptives, and claim to have information about abortion but in truth are run by anti-abortion activists with the intent to shame, scare, dissuade, tell lies, and pressure people out of abortions, contraceptive use, and sexual health information. Once in the door under the guise of receiving information, services and support, crisis pregnancy center staff are trained to dissuade pregnant people from seeking an abortion.
We agree with Legal Voice, a legal advocacy non-profit in the Pacific Northwest, “If you are pregnant and looking for information, you deserve honest information about all your options. You can get that information and the medical care you need at a real clinic, but you will not get that at a crisis pregnancy center. Their mission is to discourage women from getting abortions and access to birth control.”
Crisis pregnancy centers like the one putting stickers up around East Lansing pose as educational centers to lure people in to learn more about abortion care or seek abortion care, but these centers also do not have the capacity to run any sort of medical clinic. Instead, crisis pregnancy centers create a deceptive “safe” space targeting those in a vulnerable state, which makes them a dangerous place for refuge. People who are looking for real help, guidance, and resources should go to real medical clinics with vested interest in offering help.
Unfortunately, “more than half of American women of reproductive age would live closer to a C.P.C. than to an abortion facility, according to [an] analysis” (New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/05/12/opinion/crisis-pregnancy-centers-roe.html). Even on MSU’s campus, we are closer to a crisis pregnancy center than we are to a Planned Parenthood location.
So, what can we do? We must call attention to the true nature of these organizations and the ways in which they might be harmful to students. Second, we need to promote resources that provide a balanced and informed perspective. Our campus partners have developed a number of resources to ensure that safe legal options and help students make informed choices:
On-Campus Resources:
GenCen has curated a variety of important resources on this webpage on Reproductive Justice: https://gencen.isp.msu.edu/resources/repro-justice/
Students can access free or low cost pregnancy testing and STI Screening at Student Health Services
The Gender and Sexuality Campus Center and Women*s Student Services both offer safer sex supplies and the GSCC offers monthly HIV testing.
Center for Survivors, the MSU Pharmacy, and select Sparty’s locations now carry Emergency Contraception (PlanB).
Off-Campus Resources:
Additional Helpful Websites:
Resources:
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