On 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Gottheimer announces new action to combat taxpayer dollars funding anti-choice clinics
Centers Posing as Reproductive Health Care Providers in NJ Manipulate Women, Endanger Health
NEW JERSEY — On the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade and in front of an anti-choice clinic posing as a legitimate health care provider, U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer announced new action to prevent Crisis Pregnancy Centers from providing false or misleading information that puts women’s health at risk.
Even in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at risk, these deceptive anti-choice clinics never offer the choice of an abortion. Instead, they manipulate women in a vulnerable situation, and push their own ideological agenda. Many of these clinics have photos of what look like doctors, but the truth is there are no doctors or nurses inside. 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.
Gottheimer, with Congresswoman Angie Craig, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, calling on him to stop the flow of federal tax dollars to Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs).
Far-right extremists want to continue sending taxpayer-funded Temporary Assistance for Needy Families grants (TANF) grants to Crisis Pregnancy Centers across the nation. TANF grants are meant for work programs, childcare, and pre-kindergarten programs for America’s neediest families, not anti-choice clinics. These clinics fail to support the objectives of these grants.
As recently as 2022, eight states bankrolled crisis pregnancy centers with TANF funds. There were even reports that in 2017 a Pennsylvania crisis pregnancy center received a TANF grant and was using hundreds of thousands of dollars “to fund its activities in other states.” That’s unacceptable.
Today’s announcement follows Gottheimer calling for his colleagues in Congress to vote against far-right extremist legislation that supports taxpayer dollars going to anti-choice Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
Gottheimer launched his tour of dangerous and manipulative Crisis Pregnancy Centers in October.
“Women go to these so-called ‘pregnancy centers’ thinking they will get real medical help, real healthcare support, but instead, they manipulate women in a vulnerable situation, and push their own ideological agenda. Even in cases of rape, incest, or when the life of the mother is at risk, these centers have admitted they will never offer the choice of an abortion,” Gottheimer said. “It’s plain and simple, these anti-choice centers must be shut down. These phony healthcare centers push an extreme, dangerous, and anti-choice agenda.”
“Every piece of anti-choice legislation the GOP passes is a step toward their ultimate goal of a federal abortion ban – we’ve got to fight back every single time,” said Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-2). “Taxpayer dollars must not be used for medical misinformation. I applaud the Administration’s leadership on this issue and urge the swift adoption of this rule.”
“NCJW Bergen County Section was pleased to stand with Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Assemblywoman Lisa Swain as they spoke out against the deceptive practices of Crisis Pregnancy Centers. NCJW believes that every individual has the right to bodily autonomy and privacy. NCJW advocates for the protection of EVERY person’s right to reproductive freedom, including safe and legal abortion, medically accurate information, access to contraception, fertility treatments, gender affirming care and adoption and the elimination of ALL obstacles that limit reproductive justice,” said National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County in a statement.
The dangers of crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs):
- CPCs pose as a healthcare clinic with doctors and nurses, but are not staffed by licensed medical professionals.
- CPCs regularly ignore medical ethics and are staffed by people with no medical background whose goal is to manipulate women with their own ideological agenda.
- 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 lie 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.
