What is a crisis pregnancy center? What to know about these anti-abortion organizations
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Anti-abortion pregnancy resources centers in Kansas and Missouri provide counseling to people to continue pregnancies. Abortion rights advocates say they are misleading.
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What is a crisis pregnancy center? What to know about these anti-abortion organizations
Crisis pregnancy center director explains services offered by the faith-based organization
If you find yourself pregnant and are looking for medical advice, a quick web search will likely produce a plethora of options. Some, like the Kansas City Women’s Clinic and Planned Parenthood Kansas City, are clinics that offer a full range of reproductive medical services.
Others, however, are nonprofit resource centers focused on pregnancy counseling. They have names like Kansas City Pregnancy Clinic and Advice and Aid Pregnancy Centers. The counseling provided encourages people to continue their pregnancies instead of getting abortions.
According to Missouri’s Department of Social Services, these centers “encourage women to carry their pregnancies to term by offering pregnancy testing and counseling with emotional and material support.”
What is a crisis pregnancy center?
A crisis pregnancy center is an organization that offers advice and resources related to pregnancy, but does not recommend, refer or provide abortions. This can be confusing because some centers advertise services like “free abortion and abortion pill education.”
Some of these centers provide pregnancy tests and supplies for new parents, like diapers and baby clothes. They may require clients to attend classes or workshops in order to obtain these free items. These classes can include religious elements, as many centers are affiliated with religious groups.
Crisis pregnancy centers in the Kansas City area include:
Resource Health (formerly known as Rachel House)
There are at least 76 crisis pregnancy centers in Missouri. Missouri’s Department of Social Services directs pregnant people to these agencies through its “Alternatives to Abortion Services Program.” There are no longer any abortion clinics operating in the state following June’s ban on the procedure.
There are at least 49 crisis pregnancy centers in the state of Kansas, and four abortion clinics.
What services do crisis pregnancy centers provide?
We contacted several local crisis pregnancy centers, including Liberty Women’s Clinic, to learn more about what services these facilities offer. These included maternity clothing, baby items and referrals to financial and housing assistance.
“Liberty Women’s Clinic offers pregnancy testing, options counseling, limited obstetrical ultrasound, STI testing and treatment, and referrals to social, medical, adoption and other agencies,” founder Carol Graham told The Star in an email. The center also offers donated gift cards in place of direct cash assistance.
The only medical service the agency provides aside from pregnancy and STI testing is a “limited obstetrical ultrasound.” This procedure is performed by a registered nurse or nurse practitioner. Some crisis pregnancy centers employ medical professionals to perform limited medical services, while others are staffed entirely by counselors without medical training.
“Our FNP/RNs have extensive practical and clinical training and are deemed competent by our Medical Director,” Graham said in an email.
Is a crisis pregnancy center a licensed and regulated medical facility?
In most cases, no.
Missouri’s definition of a “pregnancy resource center” does not require that it perform medical services or register with the state health department. Medical professionals who work at such centers must hold their own medical licenses, but the other employees and the centers themselves do not need licenses, according to Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the state health department.
Crisis pregnancy centers are not among the over 30 types of medical and health-related facilities that the state regulates with monitoring and inspections. Abortion facilities, on the other hand, require state licensure, and need to adhere to state regulations. There are no abortion clinics currently operating in Missouri due to the state’s recent abortion ban.
In Kansas, all licensed medical facilities are listed in a state directory. None of the six Kansas crisis pregnancy centers in the Kansas City area are included in this directory. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment licenses, regulates, and inspects hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, including the Planned Parenthood clinic in Overland Park and Trust Women in Wichita.
According to a 2018 paper published in the American Medical Association’s Journal of Ethics, many crisis pregnancy centers, “strive to give the impression that they are clinical centers, offering legitimate medical services and advice, yet they are exempt from regulatory, licensure, and credentialing oversight that apply to health care facilities.”
The journal article adds that, “Women do not receive comprehensive, accurate, evidence-based clinical information about all available options,” since the pregnancy counseling at these centers does not include abortion as an option.
How are crisis pregnancy centers funded?
Most of these agencies are registered nonprofits, so they receive funding from private donations and grants from religious organizations. In Missouri, they are also funded by taxpayer money.
A recent report by ProPublica noted that the state of Missouri plans to allocate $8 million to these centers during the fiscal year that began on July 1. Missouri also offers tax credits to residents who donate to crisis pregnancy centers.
Many centers are affiliated with larger organizations that oppose abortion, such as Birthright International, Care Net, Heartbeat International or the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates. These groups provide funding to crisis pregnancy centers as well as anti-abortion advertising efforts, legal support and more.
If I want an abortion, how can I ensure I’m going somewhere that offers one?
A good way to check if the agency you’re visiting provides abortions is to look it up here. Abortion Finder is a guide to abortion providers in the United States created by the sex education nonprofit Bedsider.
Eleven clinics provide abortion services within a five-hour drive of Kansas City. You can find them on this map.
Do you have more questions about pregnancy care in Kansas City? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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