It Was Only A Matter of Time

Given the attacks on Crisis Pregnancy Centers by the abortion industry, you had to know it would only be a matter of time before the attack moved to Congress. The problem with CPCs isn't that they mislead. The problem is that they show how abortion providers lie about what is really going on in a pregnancy & how abortion providers don't provide any choice but abortion. But most importantly, when women go to CPCs & find out there are alternatives, abortionists lose business. CPCs affect the bottom line & cut into their profits.

To put it in free market terms, CPCs provide competition. & when allowed to freely compete with abortion clinics, most women will choose the alternatives to that offered by abortion clinics. & the abortion industry hates that. So, they are going to Congress to get them to do what they can't do, shut down the CPCs. & they are doing so by hypocritcally claiming the CPCs need regulation. Remember these are the same people that howl at the slightest hint of any common sense regulations being imposed on them. They reject regulations like parental permission for minors or basic informed consent by adults, that any other medical proceedure would require. Ultimately, the abortion industry's goal is to eliminate the competition so that they have a monopoly that gives women no choice but abortion.

This also hilites the biggest difference between the abortion industry & CPCs. The abortion industry is just that, a business. It doesn't care about the women or the unborn children, just how to make the most money they can with the least overhead. (That is the big reason telemed abortions are seen by the industry as the wave of the future for them. It lowers costs & raises profits.) CPCs on the other hand are a ministry of love & caring for the woman as well as the child. They know the damage that abortion does & provide true choices other than murdering the unborn child.

As the article points out, another proof that this isn't about stopping "deceptive" advertising by CPCs but shutting them down is the fact that they are tring to get the various versions of the Yellow Pages to stop selling advertising space to CPCs. I highly foubt they will do so since that would cut down on their profits. & the only threat the abortion providers have is to withdraw their advertising, something it is highly unlikely that they will do because it would make it harder for people to find them.

The problem for the abortion industry & Yellow Pages is twofold. The 1st is that CPCs are listed as "Abortion Alternatives". This means they are listed before the abortionist since they are listed under "Abortion Providers". The heading alone shows that CPCs are not misrepresenting themselves. & beyond that under the heading there is an additional statement to ensure people understand the difference. & that is the 2nd problem. That additional info makes it absolutely clear that the CPCs really do provide real choices other than abortion.

Here in DBQ the Yellow Book description for the alternatives listing says "Businesses appearing at this heading provide assistance and/or information on abortion alternatives. They do not provide abortion services or information on btaining an abortion." Dex puts it a little more succinctly. They say "For businesses that provide alternatives to abortion and primarily engage in counseling against abortion." Both of them sound pretty clear about what CPCs really do. Both directories also have additional info under the heading for providers that makes it clear they perform abortions.

The facts make it clear that this whole push isn't about getting the truth out there, it is because the truth is out there & the abortion industry isn't happy that it is.

Federal Bill Puts Crisis Pregnancy Centers in the Crosshairs

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 9, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pro-life pregnancy centers, which focus on providing free resources and information to women in crisis pregnancies to allow them to keep their babies, are facing a new attack from pro-abortion groups, and this time through Congress.
U.S. Rep. Maloney (D-NY) and Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) are sponsoring a bill that would demand the Federal Trade Commission to develop advertising rules that would restrict the ability of pro-life pregnancy centers to reach out to women with crisis pregnancies. Maloney’s "Stop Deceptive Advertising in Women's Services Act" (H.R. 2478) purports to stop “any person from advertising with the intent to deceptively create the impression that such person is a provider of abortion services if such person does not provide abortion services.”
"This bill is not at all what it sounds like," said Joe Young, President of Heartbeat International, which is an association of more than 1100 pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, non-profit adoption agencies, pregnancy help medical clinics and abortion recovery programs in 50 countries.
"Pregnancy centers are reducing the number of abortion sales and this aggravates the abortion industry. A more accurate name for this bill might be 'Stop Alternatives to Abortion Advertising to Pay Back the Abortion Industry Act.' This is an attempt to prevent women who deserve choices from connecting with pregnancy help centers."
Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF) charged that most CPCs “do not offer comprehensive reproductive health care options or medically accurate information.”
But Heartbeat International says that its affiliates have pledged to uphold the "Commitment of Care and Competence," which is the set of operating principles CPCs abide by. This commitment requires that all advertising and client communications be truthful and accurately describe the services offered – namely, providing accurate information about pregnancy, fetal development, abortion procedures and risks, lifestyle issues, and related concerns.
Based upon the recent actions of NARAL, it would appear that the abortion group is much more interested in shutting CPCs down, period, than simply stopping what they call "deceptive" advertising. NARAL recently sent a letter to YellowPages.com and SuperPages.com, asking the phone directories to remove all advertisements for CPCs.
Heartbeat pointed out that one of the “deceptive” practices that NARAL Virginia has accused CPCs of using was a roadside billboard reading "Pregnant? Need help? Call 800-395-HELP." This was deemed deceptive because the women answering the phone for the helpline do not recommend abortion.
Crisis pregnancy centers have been under vigorous sustained assault in recent years for providing women alternatives to abortion. Abortion advocates have been especially furious that CPCs would install themselves in the same neighborhoods as abortion clinics, or even right across from them.
Joan Malin, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood of New York City, emphasized this point when she complained that CPCs were “deliberately confus[ing] women by establishing themselves near legitimate reproductive health care centers. These fake clinics have opened in close proximity to our Brooklyn and Bronx centers, misleading clients seeking the unbiased care that Planned Parenthood provides.”
“Planned Parenthood knows that women are completely capable of making the best decision for themselves and their families - without coercion, intimidation or lies,” she added.
Pro-lifers, however, have pointed out the irony of Planned Parenthood charging CPC’s with not providing “accurate” information. “Coercion, intimidation, and lies” (in the words of PP New York CEO Malin) are at the very heart of a crisis of credibility that Planned Parenthood has experienced in recent years.
A series of sting operations conducted by pro-life journalists with a group called Live Action have revealed that on numerous occasions Planned Parenthood employees have engaged in grossly unethical practices such as giving clients medically inaccurate information about fetal development, advising minors how to bypass the state’s parental consent laws, or even assisting minors in obtaining an illegal abortion that would cover up statutory rape.
CPCs, on the other hand, have had to deal with the problem of abortion clinics posing as places that offer “abortion alternatives.” In 2006, Expectant Mother Care-EMC FrontLine Pregnancy Centers filed suit against "Dr. Emily's" abortion facilities with sites in the Bronx and downtown Brooklyn, because it was using "Abortion Alternatives" advertising to bring women into their abortuaries.

See related stories on LifeSiteNews.com:
Suit Challenges Regulations Hitting Crisis Pregnancy Centers

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/may/10052105.html
Archdiocese Fights Baltimore Over City’s Pregnancy Center Restrictions

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/mar/10033005.html
Planned Parenthood Caught on Tape Lying about Pre-Natal Development

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/dec/09120906.html
Fate of Washington Bill to Hobble Pregnancy Centers Remains Uncertain

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2010/feb/10020107.html
Abortion Clinic Sued for Posing as a Pro-Life Crisis Pregnancy Center

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06092109.html