Thread by @NBG64016933

Imagine: you wake up tomorrow, pregnant, and you don't want to be. You google something like, "women's health clinic" and make an appointment w/ the first option you see. Right now, you just want some info on your options. You're feeling anxious. #ph260720 #CPCs

You reasonably assume that the place called something like "Women's Center" that advertises free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds is a medically licensed health center that can provide you factually accurate info about your pregnancy and options. Right? #ph260720 #CPCs

Wrong. You've just entered the domain of a Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC), aka a fake clinic. CPCs are purposefully deceptive, non-medical places that attempt to lure pregnant people and dissuade them from getting abortions #ph260720 #ExposeFakeClinics

https://twitter.com/clozilly/status/1021931987857276928

So what does it mean when an organization is not in fact medically licensed? In addition to @hchdiz's points, it means it can legally make up how many weeks pregnant you are during an ultrasound or lie about the dangers of abortion #ph260720 #ExposeCPCs

https://twitter.com/hchdiz/status/1218537314269396992

Disturbing stuff, but you're probably thinking, "Well, how many places like this can there really be? Surely this is a pretty rare occurrence in the grand scheme of things?" Let's take a guess: the ratio of CPCs to abortion clinics in the US is __ #ph260720 #ExposeFakeClinics

According to @Guttmacher: as of 2014, there are about 2500 CPCs (low estimate) and 839 abortion clinics, a ratio of about 3:1. In many states, CPCs can outnumber abortion clinics by as many as 10:1 (i.e. Ohio). So what does this mean for ppl who end up at CPCs? #ph260720 #CPCs

Visiting a CPC can be traumatizing and can result in someone missing their window of time to seek abortion care if they are told they are more (or less) weeks along in their pregnancy than in reality #ph260720 #NotCounseling #ExposeCPCs

https://twitter.com/AmyAddante/status/1379253637705261056

Please read through the thread cited in my last tweet to understand the effect this trauma can have on a person who is simply seeking healthcare and accurate info. You may also be surprised to learn that the government not only allows this, but in fact funds it! #ph260720 #CPCs

It's true--CPCs have received tens of millions of taxpayer money to provide "abstinence education," which has been proven to not only be ineffective, but can be actively harmful and withhold life-saving health information #ph260720 #NotCounseling

guttmacher.org/gpr/2018/02/ne…

With more restrictions on abortion passing than ever before, it's crucial that we continue to #ExposeFakeClinics, demand better from our government, and fight for accessible abortion care. Why? Because abortion is good, necessary, and life-saving. Period. #ph260720