Repro Health Hub

Under the Bush Administration more than $1 billion in federal funds was poured into abstinence-only-until marriage programs. A large portion of these funds have gone towards so-called crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). In a fascinating special report, RH Reality Check, the Feminist Majority Foundation, and Stuart Productions document the deceitful tactics of these fake clinics.

Under the guise of comprehensive women’s health clinics and often with taxpayer dollars, CPCs use shame and misinformation to proselytize against abortion and contraception. After attracting young women—often college students and low-income women—to their facilities with the promise of free pregnancy tests and “accurate information about your pregnancy options,” CPCs use scare tactics, misleading information, and outright lies about the consequences of abortion to dissuade women from seeking one. As the video below shows, the blatant deception is often shocking.

While President Obama has called for an end to federal funding of ineffective abstinence-only programs and a return to scientifically accurate sex education, it is now up to Congress to act. In the next couple weeks the House Appropriations Labor Health and Human Services (HHS) Committee is conducting hearings on its FY 2010 spending bill.

Now is the time to tell House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. David Obey we cannot continue funding failed abstinence-only education programs and fake CPCs that are harming young women and men. Follow the link above to take action now or call Representative Obey’s office directly at 202-225-3365.

To read the whole special report at RH Reality Check, go here.

By Maya Dusenbery

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 3:59 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.