Hold Anti Abortion Centers Accountable!
Georgia State Lawmakers
“The patient’s right to self-decision can be effectively exercised only
if the patient possesses enough information to enable an informed
choice.”
–American Medical Association, Code of Medical Ethics
Anti Abortion Centers or AACs (which are also known as crisis pregnancy clinics or pregnancy help centers, and many other names) deceptively advertise as comprehensive women’s health clinics, often
listed under “abortion services,” to lure women and pregnant folks to
their facilities, where they are pressured to choose pregnancy or
adoption in lieu of abortion or birth control. They are often HARD TO SPOT in our communities because they intentionally are hard to distinguish. (See if they are in your community: www.crisispregnancycentermap.com/)
AACs outnumber abortion clinics 5-to-1 in Georgia, which means that the majority of pregnant folks seeking abortions will be misdirected to AACs due to targeted advertisements. These AACs also target low-income people and people of color, advertising their "services" (free pregnancy tests, diapers, clothes, and an anti-abortion message) at Black and Latinx churches.
Anyone seeking medical care should receive comprehensive, truthful, and unbiased information related to that care. Yet Anti Abortion Centers actively harm people seeking reproductive care by disrespecting their agency as deciders, employing scare tactics to influence their decisions, and irresponsibly delaying entry into real care (by implying that abortion care, diagnostic ultrasounds, and legitimate prenatal care can be found within -- none of which are really provided there).
If nothing is done, pregnant people's safety and dignity will continue to be jeopardized by AACs' systematic use of deceptive marketing and medical misinformation. AACs currently use YOUR tax dollars on these tactics, thanks to Georgia's Positive Alternatives to Pregnancy and Parenting Grant Program (passed in 2016 to allot state funds to AACs), all to keep people from obtaining safe abortion care.
Sign on to demand legislative solutions that would hold AACs accountable!
WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW:
- Sign this petition and share it.
- Contact your representatives directly and urge them to investigate this issue.
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Learn more and join the campaign to take further action.
- Document similar false advertising in Georgia and share your report with our campaign here https://forms.gle/KD5kd7AaeeQu5b5f8
Note: A mailing address is optional for petition signers, but will help us tell your elected officials how many people in their specific districts have demanded action.
Fake Clinics Suck! is a Georgia-based campaign led by SPARK Reproductive Justice NOW!, Access Reproductive Care - Southeast, the New Georgia Project, SisterLove Inc., URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, and the Amplify Georgia Collaborative.
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To:
Georgia State Lawmakers
From:
[Your Name]
We are concerned about establishments in our communities that target pregnant people with offers of free services, while serving a hidden ideological agenda and not complying with quality care standards. We are requesting that you investigate and develop legislation to end deceptive practices that interfere with people's access to pregnancy care.
Anti Abortion Centers (AACs, also called crisis pregnancy clinics, pregnancy help centers, or other names) deceptively advertise as comprehensive women’s health clinics -- often even listing themselves under “abortion services” in Google and the Yellow Pages, although they do not provide abortion care or comprehensive care. They do this to bring women and pregnant folks to their facilities, then pressure or persuade them to choose parenting or adoption in lieu of abortion (or to forgo birth control, if not already pregnant).
They are everywhere (www.crisispregnancycentermap.com), yet often HARD TO SPOT in our communities because they intentionally are hard to distinguish. This is clearly not in our best interests.
AACs outnumber abortion clinics 5-to-1 in Georgia, which means that the majority of pregnant folks seeking abortions will be misdirected to AACs due to targeted advertisements. These AACs also target low-income people and people of color, advertising their "services" (free pregnancy tests, diapers, clothes, and an anti-abortion message) at Black and Latinx churches.
Anyone seeking medical care should receive comprehensive, truthful, and unbiased information related to that care. Yet Anti Abortion Centers actively harm people seeking reproductive care by disrespecting their agency as deciders, employing scare tactics to influence their decisions, and irresponsibly delaying entry into real care (by implying that abortion care, diagnostic ultrasounds, and legitimate prenatal care can be found within -- none of which are really provided there).
If nothing is done, pregnant people's safety and dignity will continue to be jeopardized by AACs' systematic use of deceptive marketing and medical misinformation. AACs currently use OUR tax dollars on these tactics, thanks to cynical abuse of Georgia's Positive Alternatives to Pregnancy and Parenting Grant Program (passed in 2016), all to keep people from obtaining safe abortion care.
We demand legislative attention to this problem, via investigation into the use of deceptive practices and poor use of public funds, and via legislation to hold these establishments accountable.