The 2008 Fall issue of Ms. magazine ran an aricle on Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPC) and their goal of doing away with reproductive choice, while at the same time taking in millions of government dollars. The article cites the case of Nina Lopez, a 19-year-old college student, whose college referred her to a "pregnancy resource center" or CPC when she had pregnancy worries.
These centers are known for their anti-abortion messages, with very limited options for pregnant women. According to an investigative report done on federally funded pregnancy resource centers that was prepared for Rep. Henry Waxman, these centers are "virtually pro-life [anti-abortion] organizations whose goal is to persuade teenagers and women with unplanned pregnancies to choose motherhood or adoption.
They do not offer abortions or referrals to abortion providers.
There are about 2,500 to 4,000 of these centers in the US, and many of them are associated with evangelical Christian groups.
Lopez said that even before she found out she was pregnant the counselor at one of those centers told her she should abstain from sex. She was provided with a fact sheet on "post-abortion stress." A test revealed that she was not pregnant, but had a possible urinary tract infection, and the center did not treat her for it.
There are states that want to bring accountability to CPCs and are considering introducing bills that would require CPCs to state that they are not medical centers, and do not give out factual medical information.
Bill Smith, of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States seeks to end this "gravy train" of federal money that has gone into these CPCs under the Bush administration.
Check out these resources: http://feministcampus.org/ - Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics