Gottheimer continues his advocacy against deceptive, anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers in New Jersey

NEW JERSEY – U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) Monday sounded the alarm on anti-choice Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) posing as reproductive healthcare providers across New Jersey and highlighted their intentionally deceptive marketing practices.

The CPC in Cherry Hill refuses to refer women to medical providers for the abortion pill and even promotes “abortion pill reversal” — a medical treatment that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologistshas called “unproven” and “unethical.” This so-called treatment can be potentially harmful by giving pregnant women misleading information that an abortion can be undone.

“This center calls themselves ‘Options for Her,’ but really, they should call themselves ‘No Options,'” Gottheimer said. “These clinics could give a masterclass in false advertising….They claim to provide pregnancy options to women and care about their health care, but, in reality, they just care about one thing: preventing women from actually making their own personal decision about what’s best for them and their families. These centers will go to any length to deceive women, whether that’s on their website or when they enter the front door.”

The dangers of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs):

• New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued a consumer alert, warning people that Crisis Pregnancy Centers do not provide health care. They are organizations that seek to prevent people from accessing reproductive health care and provide false or misleading information.
• CPCs mislead about the risks associated with abortion, use aggressive tactics to manipulate women into changing their minds based on no medical information, and deceive women into thinking they’re too far along to legally get the care they need.
• CPCs promote dangerous medical misinformation such as abortion pill “reversal” — an unproven and unethical treatment. This so-called treatment can be potentially harmful by giving pregnant women misleading information that an abortion can be undone.
• In June, a woman sued a CPC for failing to diagnose her ectopic pregnancy, which resulted in an emergency surgery and the loss of her fallopian tube.
• CPCs don’t provide legitimate prenatal care or refer women to health clinics that would offer a full range of health services.
• CPCs locate their facilities near real healthcare clinics so their employees can physically divert women away from real healthcare providers.

Gottheimer’s Work to Protect Choice: 

• Helping lead the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act to prevent so-called “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” from spreading deceptive advertising about healthcare. This legislation directs the Federal Trade Commission to prohibit mis- and disinformation related to abortion services and authorizes the FTC to penalize organizations that break this rule.
• Sent a letter with Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-2) to Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra, urging him to put an end to taxpayer funding of “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” with TANF grants.
• Introduced legislation with Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-2) and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) from Texas to stop legal attacks on the abortion pill.