Protesters at Clinics

When you arrive at some of the clinics in North Carolina, you may see anti-abortion protestors holding false, inflammatory and/or shaming signs, and sharing misleading or medically inaccurate information. They may be wearing medical scrubs or traffic control vests, and trying to redirect you to the wrong parking lot or building. You are not obligated to speak with them, take any of their materials, or engage with them in any way.

At many clinics, there will be clinic volunteers who are there to escort patients to and from the clinic. They may be wearing vests that say "Clinic Escorts" (usually rainbow-colored) or something else that identifies them as clinic "greeters". They will guide you to the clinic parking lot and escort you into and out of the clinic.

When you make your appointment, be sure to ask clinic staff if there are any signs, landmarks, or issues you need to be aware of when coming to the clinic for your appointment, and also ask them for directions into the parking lot and to the front door.

How to Avoid Fake Clinics

During this time, it is vital that you also know how to avoid anti-abortion centers, also known as crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). These organizations are not abortion or medical providers and do not provide medically accurate information on reproductive healthcare services.

What are anti-abortion centers?

Anti-abortion centers (also known as "crisis pregnancy centers") are anti-abortion organizations that pose as real medical facilities with the intention of shaming, scaring, and deceiving people out of accessing the full range of reproductive healthcare services including abortion care, emergency contraception, and birth control. Anti-abortion centers are notorious for peddling misinformation about reproductive healthcare and often have affiliations to local anti-abortion religious organizations and/or national anti-abortion groups. They are usually not licensed or regulated as medical clinics and are therefore not obligated to provide people with medically accurate information, nor are they required to maintain confidentiality of people's health information.

How do I spot an anti-abortion center?

We know that navigating the world of reproductive healthcare can already be tricky. When time is of the essence and resources may be limited, make sure you’re going to a legitimate, safe, and trusted reproductive healthcare clinic to discuss your options. Here are a few red flags to be on the lookout for:

• Don’t trust the name alone. Anti-abortion centers often purposefully choose names that sound pro-choice or like a reproductive health medical center, like “A Women's Clinic” or “Town Pregnancy Center”.
• Look at any religious affiliations. Many of these anti-abortion centers are funded by or have affiliations with local churches that hold anti-abortion beliefs. You may see references to religion on their website or when speaking with people at the center. While a religious affiliation alone does not mean it is a fake clinic, many anti-abortion centers are connected to a faith community that believes abortion should be illegal, and that access to birth control should be very limited.
• Are they a licensed medical facility? Anti-abortion centers often operate as non-medical non-profits, and are not bound to the same safety or confidentiality standards like your trusted healthcare provider. They are not bound by HIPAA, which protects patient privacy, and often they do not have doctors or nurses on staff. They may use language like “Nurse Manager” or “Patient Advocate” to mislead you into thinking they are medical professionals. Real medical clinics are run by board certified and licensed physicians and staffed by medical professionals. If you are looking for abortion care, a National Abortion Federation (NAF) accreditation is one indication that a clinic is an actual abortion clinic.
• Do they offer "free" supplies or “post-abortion counseling?” Many of these centers will lure in vulnerable people who are considering their options by promising supplies like money, food, and diapers, in an effort to coerce a person into carrying a pregnancy to term even if they don't want to. These products may be free, but they also may require clients to watch religious DVDs/videos, go to a particular church, or participate in a religiously-themed program to obtain the free products. They may also offer “post-abortion support groups,” peddling the disproven myth that many people regret their abortions.
• What medical services do they provide? Because many anti-abortion centers don’t actually have licensed medical staff, they do not offer the full range of reproductive healthcare options. They often will not be able to write prescriptions for things like birth control, they will not be able to provide STI treatment or wellness exams, they promote medically inaccurate abstinence-only methods, and they certainly won’t provide an abortion or refer you to one. They may offer free ultrasounds, but say they are only "limited use" or "non-diagnostic".
• Do they push you to make an appointment? A real medical provider will never pressure you into making an appointment. These centers will often refuse to answer your questions over the phone or disclose any information unless you make an appointment. They may sidestep your questions by saying things like “We can talk about that when you come in,” or “Let’s make an appointment first, and then we’ll review your options.” If you feel like they are being evasive about sharing information over the phone or if you feel like you’re being pressured to come in for an appointment, you’re probably talking to an anti-abortion center.
• Always look at their website. Sometimes anti-abortion centers have two websites. One is for potential “patients,” and one is for their anti-abortion advocacy. On their home page they may talk about providing "non-judgmental health care", but their donation page highlights their efforts to block people from accessing abortion and to spread anti-abortion messages. They may say on their website that they don’t provide abortions, or they may say outright they oppose abortion. If you can’t tell from their website, give them a call. If you think you may want to get an abortion, ask them directly if they provide abortions, refer people for abortion care, or if they are a licensed medical facility.
• The center pushes the dangerous and untrue "abortion reversal pill." This is an unproven practice based on medically insufficient and unethical research that neither the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) nor the American Medical Association (AMA) recommends.

What common inaccurate information do fake clinics spread?

The goal of an anti-abortion center is to coerce and deceive people out of accessing abortion. Investigative research shows that there are a number of common lies told by anti-abortion centers intended to shame and scare people away from all of their options. Some of the most common are:

• Abortion and contraception are linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. FALSE - there is no legitimate medical evidence to support this falsehood.
• Abortion causes infertility. FALSE - there is no medical evidence to support this inaccurate claim.
• Abortion causes mental health issues like PTSD, and many women are traumatized and regret their abortions. FALSE - actual studies show that the majority of women do not regret their abortions.
• Birth control is not effective against protecting against an unintended pregnancy. FALSE - this is not true.
• Condoms are not effective against protecting users from STIs. FALSE - when used correctly, condoms are a very effective barrier against STI transmission.

Read more about fake clinics in North Carolina.