NYC Passes Bill to Regulate Crisis Pregnancy Centers!

As part of a new national trend, states are attempting to expose the deception of Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) and New York has taken the lead and passed a historic city ordinance (Bill 371) that will regulate fake clinics in being truthful on what types of services they do and do not provide. This news is a bright spot during these current chaotic times where women's access to comprehensive reproductive health services are being put on the chopping block.

It is shocking that CPCs overwhelm and outnumber comprehensive women's health clinics with a 3,500 CPCs listed nationwide. The New York City council stated that, "The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges that comprehensive prenatal care begin as soon as a woman decides to become pregnant. Similar to prenatal care, delayed access to abortion and emergency contraception poses a threat to public health. Delay in accessing abortion or emergency contraception creates increased health risks and financial burdens, and may eliminate a womens ability to obtain these services altogether, severely limiting her reproductive health options". The bill regulates CPCs by requiring them to:

• Disclose to a client that the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene encourages women to consult with a licensed medical provider.
• Disclose if there is no licensed medical provider on staff.
• Disclose if it does or does not provide referrals for abortion, emergency contraception, or prenatal care.
• Post disclosures at the entrance and waiting room (in both English and Spanish).
• Disclosures are required to be given over the phone.

New York is not the first state to pressure CPCs to provide honest and comprehensive health care, Maryland and Texas have passed similar bills to regulate CPCs. The state of Washington has also tried to pass a similar bill, the "Limited Service Pregnancy Center Accountability Act".

As people all over the country fight for reproductive rights and access to comprehensive women's health clinics, there is a presence of deceptive "clinics" that offer limited resources to those in need. Access to family planning and basic medical care has become a dire task with the presence of fake clinics. Crisis Pregnancy Center's (CPCs) are clinics that pose to be clinics under names like "Pregnancy Aid", "Open Door", and "Pregnancy Counseling Center". CPCs target young, poor, and minority women who have limited resources to family planning and contraceptives. These clinics use misleading advertisements to delay, persuade, and intimidate women from receiving the health care they need. Many of these clinics are affiliated with anti-choice organizations and do not perform abortions or give referrals to clinics that do. What's even more ridiculous is the fact that many of these "clinics" do not have staff that are medically trained-lacking licensed doctors, nurses, and nurse practitioners.

The Feminist Majority Foundation has been a part of a large movement to stop CPCs from providing false and misleading information. Our Choices Campus Leadership Program has organized and mobilized with students all over the country to expose fake clinics and promote truth in advertising. This is a victory and stride towards reproductive rights.

If you want to expose fake clinics and give people access to comprehensive health care, please join the Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics and get involved in FMF's National "Don't Be Fooled by Fake Clinics" Week of Action happening the week leading up to April Fool's Day from March 28th- April 1st!

Some other ideas to take action on exposing CPCs:

• Make CPC exposure a priority in your campus feminist club.
• Talk to student government about promoting truth in advertising on campus.
• Go to the health center at your school to see what kinds of clinics they refer and find out if CPCs are on that list.
• Check out our action kit to find videos, petitions, flyers, and other great resources!
• Sign the petition to Stop funding for Fake Clinics and Abstinence-Only Education! Stop Deceptive Advertising Practices!

Most importantly, educate yourself on the issue and make sure that those around you know that the presence of these fake clinics pose serious risks and should not be relied on as primary healthcare. The best thing you can do as an activist is to be VOCAL on the issue and don't be afraid to get LOUD about it!

photo credit to: www.flickr.com/mysticchildz

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series! Step 2: Get the Word Out!

Welcome to another installment of Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series!

In Allie's last post, we talked about finding out whether or not CPCs were targeting your campus.

In this installment, I'm going to talk about how you can get the word out and create visibility for exposing fake clinics.

Here are some ideas:

1. Create educational flyers letting people know what CPCs are and where the nearest one to your campus is. Distribute them widely and educate your student body about the deceptive practices of crisis pregnancy centers.

2. Circulate the petition. Not only will you be getting signatures of supporters, you will also be educating people who may not have already known about CPCs. Be sure to email (campusteam@feminist.org) the information from the petition to us in an excel sheet or fax in your petitions. This will ensure that these signatures get sent out to congressional leaders, but it will also connect our supporters to the largest pro-choice student network in the world. Don't deprive our supporters from action alerts as well as conference, campaign and event news!

3. Distribute our caution flyer to warn people about CPCs near your campus!

4. Hand out pieces of candy, each with a informational tag. They can include information about what a CPC is, how to discern a CPCs from legitimate clinics, or where the CPCs in your area are.

5. Get news coverage from your campus newspaper! Call your newspaper editor and pitch them the story about CPCs. FMF has just released a new press release about CPCs that you should send to the editor as well. In your pitch, include info about the deceptive practices of CPCs, where the closest CPC is to your campus, whether your health center refers women to CPCs, and let them know what actions your feminist group is taking to expose them, and what you plan to do for the national Week of Action October 25th-31st!


Don't forget about our video contest. Do you have a great idea to get to word out? Personal experiences? Want to share how you feel about CPCs? We want to see it! The winner will have their video screened at the Western Regional Feminist Campus Leadership Conference as well as the National Conference in the Spring, and be presented by feminist actor, Amy Brenneman! Deadline to submit videos is November 1st. Please send your submissions to me, Jacqueline Sun, jsun@feminist.org. And remember to keep your videos less than 10 minutes long!


Keep checking up on the blog for more in our action series!

photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/alanchan/2500293355/

Contacting Campus Newpapers about CPCs

We are sending this press release to campus newspapers across the country in hopes of exposing CPCs near you! If you want to ensure that your campus newspaper covers this story, be sure to get this press release to your campus newspaper editor.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
Contact: Allie McDonald
September 21, 2009
310.556.2500
amcdonald@feminist.org

“Crisis Pregnancy Centers” Target College Women

Deceptive ads and misinformation about abortion and birth control
endanger women’s health

“Crisis Pregnancy Center” (CPC) ads, “Pregnant? Scared? Need Help?
Call 1-800-XXX-XXXX!” are a common sight around college campuses and young women across the country who are in search of information about their pregnancy options are ending up in these fake clinics.

Posing as comprehensive women’s health clinics, CPCs use misinformation, fear and shame tactics to coerce and intimidate women out of considering abortion as an option. Many CPCs go further – discouraging the use of contraception, even claiming that “condoms are a ‘con’ job.”

The Feminist Majority Foundation, in conjunction with Stuart Productions, has released two investigative videos featuring college women’s first-hand accounts of experiences in CPCs.

The videos highlight CPC misinformation and fear tactics. A CPC volunteer in Oklahoma proclaims, “Your risk for breast cancer will go up one hundred percent”, while a volunteer in Louisville, Kentucky, tells a young woman, “No one tells you that you’re going to want to kill yourself after you do an abortion.”

CPCs intentionally locate near college campuses. They advertise their free pregnancy tests and options counseling under “abortion” and “family planning” services on campus bulletin boards and bus stops, in student newspapers, and on Facebook. According to a 2008 survey, 48% of responding campus health centers include CPCs on their referral lists for students facing unintended pregnancies.

The Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics mobilizes college students to take action and expose the deceptive practices and misinformation of CPCs. Jacqueline Sun, National Campus Organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation, explains that “CPCs’ ads aimed at college students appear to be working. CPCs’ tactics delay women from obtaining real medical care and that is a true danger to women’s health.”

Note to editors: For more information on the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics visit: http://feministcampus.org/act/cpc/default.asp. FMF campus organizers are available for interviews.

The investigative videos, “Our Reality: A Look at Crisis Pregnancy Centers” and “Crisis Pregnancy Centers: A Special Report” are available at: http://feministcampus.org/act/cpc/default.asp

Week of Action: Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated.

Campuses across the nation are gearing up for our national week of action to expose Crisis Pregnancy Centers. It is going to be the week of Halloween, October 25-31st,2009 and its called "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated."


Now, as our campus groups are going back to school and mobilizing on exposing fake clinics, they are asking what they can do before and during our week of action. The campus team has come up with great ideas that you may want to take on!

1. Create education flyers and posters identifying comprehensive women's health clinics and waring people are fake clinics in your area.
2. Talk to your Campus Health Center, and ask if they refer students to CPCs. Almost half of 4-year universities in the US do! If your Health Center on campus refers women to CPCs, make them stop!
3. Host a screening of FMF's two videos on the deception of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which can be found here.
4. Stage a protest at your nearest CPC, warning women about their deceptive practices.
5. Host a "haunted clinic" at your school. Instead of ghosts and gouls, emulate what goes on inside a creepy CPC.
6. Photo campaign! Take pictures of people holding up signs with what they want to say about CPCs. This can be easily done when tabling and informing people about CPCs. Some ideas: "I don't want to be lied to." "CPCs deceive women." "Abortions DO NOT cause breast cancer." "My women's health clinic should give accurate information about birth control and abortion." "My body, my choice." You get the idea. Take these photos and post them on campus, in a facebook album, create a photo blog, or send it to your legislators!
7. Burma Shave Signs. These are consecutive signs posted one after another at a visible place on campus. Here is an example:

• You wouldn't want your dentist telling you that brushing your teeth will give you cavities.
• So why would you want (insert name of local CPC) saying that birth control is ineffective?
• or that abortion will give you breast cancer?
• or make you infertile?
• or make you more likely to commit suicide?
• Crisis Pregnancy Centers deceive women!

These are just some ideas. Feel free to come up with your own. We'd love to hear about it! Share your ideas and actions with us. Email the campus team at campusteam@feminist.org

Lastly! Let me announce that FMF is having a video contest! Make a video showing us what your campus is doing to expose fake clinics. Do you have a great idea to get to word out? Personal experiences? Want to share how you feel about CPCs? We want to see it. The winner will have their video screened at the Western Regional Feminist Campus Leadership Conference as well as the National Conference in the Spring, and be presented by feminst actor, Amy Brenneman! Deadline to submit videos is November 1st. Please send your submissions to me, Jacqueline Sun, jsun@feminist.org. And remember to keep your videos less than 10 minutes long!

Now just because Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated isn't until Halloween doesn't mean you shouldn't be taking action before and after this week of action on exposing fake clinics! The more visibility you create, the more success we have at exposing fake clinics.

photo courtesy of flickr.com/ereneta.

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series! Step 1: Are fake clinics targeting your campus?

Fake clinics, often referred to as "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" (CPCs), pose as comprehensive women's health clinics and lure young women into their centers with offers of "free" pregnancy tests and "counseling".

But, beware! These fake clinics propel false information about abortion and birth control and use fear and shame tactics to deter women from choosing abortion as an option. Their most common claims include, "abortion causes breast cancer", "abortion causes infertility" and "abortion causes mental illness and suicide". The studies CPCs use to back up these claims are a thing of the past...too bad CPCs aren't!

What makes them even worse? They specifically target young women on college campuses, or what they deem the "at-risk for abortion" population. They run their deceptive ads on campus bulletin boards and bus stops, in campus newspapers and on Facebook. Additionally, a 2008 survey found that nearly HALF of all responding campus health centers at 4-year colleges and universities refer students facing unintended pregnancies to CPCs.

So what can you do??

Find out if there is a CPC near your campus! Visit www.optionline.org or www.lifecall.org and punch in your zip code (note: these are anti-choice websites with directories of CPCs).

Find out if CPCs are advertising on or around your campus! Check the newspaper, bulletin boards, bus stops, etc. Do they table on campus? Talk to the newspaper editor, student government, student activities, or whoever has the power to stop this, and tell them these fake clinics endanger women's health!

Lastly, find out if your campus health center is referring students to CPCs. If they are, work with the health center director to get them to stop. If you have a hard time, garner support from other progressive student groups, the women's center, multicultural center, women's issues representative in the student body, or student senators.

Check out the FMF's Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics for more information and check out Jacqueline's recent post for more action ideas and information about the "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated" Week of Action taking place Oct. 25 - 31!

Stay tuned for more to come in the Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series!

Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated - A Musical Interlude!

The east coast campus organizers are really excited about the Exposing Fake Clinics Week of Action VIDEO CONTEST! So, we decided to compose a little ditty and put together a video - we can't wait to see what you've come up with!

Check out our amusing attempt below:


They’re creepy and they’re kooky, CPCs are spooky
They’re all together ooky, they lie to you and me

Their clinic’s a museum, where women go to see em
They really make you scream, they lie to you and me

But we believe in choices, so raise up your voices
You need to come and join us, we’re exposing CPCs

Happy Halloween from the Feminist Majority Foundation!

Click here to send an e-card to your friends about CPCs!

Click here for information about our video contest!

National Week of Action: Don't get Tricked by CPCs!

It's our CPC week of action! "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated" starts today! What are you doing for it?

Crisis Pregnancy Centers pose as comprehensive women’s health clinics and advertise under “abortion” and “family planning” services, but do not offer abortion services, contraception, or referrals. Instead, they have an anti-choice agenda and tell women misinformation about the affects of abortion in attempts to dissuade women away from all of their choices.

Here are some cool ideas of how your campus group can get the word out and take action this week:

1. Host a Screening of 12th and Delaware or of FMF's two videos on the deception of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which can be found here, followed by a discussion.
2. Create education flyers and posters identifying comprehensive women's health clinics and warning people are fake clinics in your area. Here's a template from our action kit.
   
3. Talk to your Campus Health Center, and ask if they refer students to CPCs. Almost half of 4-year universities in the US do! If your Health Center on campus refers women to CPCs, make them stop, or in the very least have them put a disclaimer!
4. Hand out "Trick of Truth Treats" with candy and facts about CPCs. The truth is delicious!
   
5. Stage a protest at your nearest CPC, warning women about their deceptive practices. Or have a speak out/rally at your school!
   
6. Host a "haunted clinic" at your school. Instead of ghosts and ghouls, emulate what goes on inside a creepy CPC.
7. Photo campaign! Take pictures of people holding up signs with what they want to say about CPCs. Take photos and post them on campus, in a Facebook album, create a photo blog, or send it to your legislators!
8. Propose a "Truth in Advertising" disclaimer on campus if your campus health center refers to CPCs, or campus newspaper accepts ads from CPCs
9. Burma Shave Signs. These are consecutive signs posted one after another at a visible place on campus. Here is an example:

• You wouldn't want your dentist telling you that brushing your teeth will give you cavities.
• So why would you want (insert name of local CPC) saying that birth control is ineffective?
• or that abortion will give you breast cancer?
• or make you infertile?
• or make you more likely to commit suicide?
• Crisis Pregnancy Centers deceive women!

Have more ideas? We'd like to know what you are planning! Contact us at campusteam@feminist.org or call 866-444-3652 Happy exposing!

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series: Trick or TRUTH!

Over at FMLA of the Claremont Colleges, we’re gearing up for the Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated week of action to try and get the word out to students about CPCs—and we’ve engaged chocolate to help us out.

In my opinion, no one can resist free candy. So in keeping with the “Don’t Get Tricked, Get Treated!” Halloween theme, we decided to set up our own version of “trick or treat.” We’re calling it “Trick or Truth.” On slips of paper, we wrote examples of the kinds of falsehoods that CPCs perpetuate, and then wrote the TRUTH about those false claims. We came up with several of these, and are stapling them to Halloween candy we bought in bulk at Costco.

Here's what we wrote on our "Trick or Truth" treats:

TRICK: CPCs say that abortion causes breast cancer.

TRUTH: Scientists disagree. Organizations such as the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the American Cancer Society ALL say that no such link exists.

TRICK: CPCs say that abortion leads to suicide.

TRUTH: An eleven-year longitudinal study of 13,000 women found that women who give birth have the same rate of need for psychological treatment as women who have abortions.

We’re hoping that these little snapshots of CPC scare tactics make students as angry as they make us, and that they help get the word out about the dangers of CPCs. And since we’re pretty strapped for funds at the moment, we needed a way to attract students to the tables we will be setting up in front of dining halls. Chocolate is a pretty powerful (and cheap!) tool.

In addition to using chocolate to get the word out, we also made handy (and informative!) table tents (pictured here) to place on all of the dining hall tables. The table tents identify the CPCs near our campus and warn students about what types of so-called "services" they might receive there.

Lastly, we'll be holding two screenings of the FMF's Investigative Videos, followed by discussion sessions.

I hope you've got a lot of cool plans in store! If you don't, grab some candy, paper and a stapler and get the word out!

Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated!

As we get our costumes ready for Halloween, don't forget about what's really deceptive: Crisis Pregnancy Centers! Crisis Pregnancy Centers pose as comprehensive women’s health clinics and advertise under “abortion” and “family planning” services, but do not offer abortion services, contraception, or referrals. Instead, they have an anti-choice agenda and tell women misinformation about the affects of abortion in attempts to dissuade women away from all of their choices. We wanted to make sure that our campus groups plan ahead to participate in our National Week of Action, called "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated," taking place the week leading up to Halloween, starting October 25th. Here are some cool ideas of how your campus group can get the word out and take action this Halloween:

1. Host a Screening of 12th and Delaware or of FMF's two videos on the deception of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which can be found here, followed by a discussion.
2. Create education flyers and posters identifying comprehensive women's health clinics and warning people are fake clinics in your area. Here's a template from our action kit.
   
3. Talk to your Campus Health Center, and ask if they refer students to CPCs. Almost half of 4-year universities in the US do! If your Health Center on campus refers women to CPCs, make them stop, or in the very least have them put a disclaimer!
4. Hand out "Trick of Truth Treats" with candy and facts about CPCs. The truth is delicious!
   
5. Stage a protest at your nearest CPC, warning women about their deceptive practices. Or have a speak out/rally at your school!
   
6. Host a "haunted clinic" at your school. Instead of ghosts and ghouls, emulate what goes on inside a creepy CPC.
7. Photo campaign! Take pictures of people holding up signs with what they want to say about CPCs. Take photos and post them on campus, in a Facebook album, create a photo blog, or send it to your legislators!
8. Propose a "Truth in Advertising" disclaimer on campus if your campus health center refers to CPCs, or campus newspaper accepts ads from CPCs
9. Burma Shave Signs. These are consecutive signs posted one after another at a visible place on campus. Here is an example:

You wouldn't want your dentist telling you that brushing your teeth will give you cavities.
So why would you want (insert name of local CPC) saying that birth control is ineffective?
or that abortion will give you breast cancer?
or make you infertile?
or make you more likely to commit suicide?
Crisis Pregnancy Centers deceive women!

Have more ideas? We'd like to know what you are planning! Contact us at campusteam@feminist.org or call 866-444-3652 Happy exposing!

This blog post is part of the October eZine. To receive our monthly eZine, click here.

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series! Step 9: GET VOCAL!

Get your voices heard! In order to let people on your campus know about the National week of action to Expose Fake Women's Health Clinics, organize a protest, rally, or speak out!!

Here are some tips on organizing a speak out:

A speak out is a rally event/public demonstration that helps raise awareness about a specific issue by allowing people to "speak out" about a specific topic and have their voices heard. People can share stories, or just speak about how they feel about a certain topic.



1. Find a location on campus where people can gather and speak freely. Make sure its not going to disrupt classes. Some places need reservations, so check with your school asap! Make sure it is a safe space where people's opinions will be respected.

2. Publicize your event ahead of time. Send out emails and post flyers around campus. Let professors know and ask them to let their students know about it. Get it publicized in the school newspaper as well!

3. Have some speakers already planned to speak. This will be helpful in inspiring others to come up to speak out.

4. Have flyers and signs at the event indicating that this is a speak out against CPCs. This will help those passing by understand what the rally is about. Consider having a table with info about CPCs for those who want to learn more about it

5. Having microphones set up would be great! Or a megaphone! Come up with a way to keep track of who wants to speak in the audience. You want to make sure that everyone that wants to say something gets a chance to, but in an orderly fashion

6. Invite the press. Let your campus newspaper know about the event and make sure you get some coverage.

This is an easy and excellent way to get the word out about CPCs. It is especially great because you are giving the students a chance to have their voices heard!


Or consider organizing a protest.
Here are some ideas on how to organize a protest in front of a local CPC.

1. Fist you need to find where your local CPC is. If you haven't done step one, make sure you locate the CPC closest to your campus. Visit www.optionline.org or www.lifecall.org and punch in your zip code (note: these are anti-choice websites with directories of CPCs).

2. Let people know about the event. Publicize by flyering, emailing and calling supporters.

3. Make Pro-Choice signs. Let the people know that CPCs deceive women and give them misinformation about abortion and birth control. Also make signs letting people know where a better alternative for a health clinic is, maybe the local Planned Parenthood.

4. Organize a carpool or establish a meeting time at the CPC.

5. Hold a respectful protest letting women know about the services and information they WON'T receive inside the CPC.

6. Get news coverage for the protest! Contact your campus newspaper and let them know about your event. make sure they cover it!


Be sure to let us know about any rallies, protests or speak outs you host! We want to hear about them! Email us at campusteam@feminist.org

Happy rallying!

P.S. check out all of our action ideas here!
And don't forget the deadline to submit your videos for our video contest is coming soon, Nov 1st!

photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/ooohoooh

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series Step 3: Start Planning Your Week of Action!

Now that you've found out if fake clinics are targeting your campus, and begun getting the word out on campus, it is time to start planning your "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated" Week of Action!

Join feminist groups across the nation and take action to expose fake clinics during the Week of Oct. 25 - 31! Start planning and prepping for your week of action now! "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated" Action ideas include:

- Screen the FMF's investigative videos available at: http://feministcampus.org/act/cpc/default.asp.
- Burma Shave signs around campus
- Photo Campaign
- Haunted Clinic
- Organize a protest outside of the nearest CPC warning women about the CPC's deceptive practices and misinformation
- Hold a rally or speak out on campus exposing fake clinics and demanded truth in advertising for women's health services
-Screen your own "Exposing Fake Clinics" Video and be sure to submit it to the Video Contest to Expose Fake Clinics! Entries are due no later than Nov. 1 to Jacqueline Sun at jsun@feminist.org.

Don't forget to do your homework! Before organizing your week of action, be sure to check out the FMF's Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics kit, find out if CPCs are targeting your campus and start getting the word out!

Stay tuned for more Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series blogs and more info on visibility events for the week of action!

If you have a great action event idea, we want to hear it and share it! Email your campus organizer with your great idea!

Photo courtesy of PumpkinWayne on flikr.com

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series! Step 7: Photo Campaign

Ah the National Week of Action to expose fake clinics is quickly approaching! (October 25th-31st if case you have forgotten!) What do YOU have planned?

So our next idea is to have a photo campaign!

Rally students together! Meet people who want to be involved when you are petitioning for CPCs. Come up with a prompt question that you want to ask everyone. Here are a few suggestions:

1. What do you expect from a women's health clinic?
2.What do you think about CPCs?
3.What services would you like to receive if you were faced with an unintended pregnancy?

Get people to write their answers on a piece of paper and have them tape it to a speech bubble that you've pre-made.

Take their picture!

These photos can be put into a slideshow, or a facebook or flickr album and share it with all of your supporters. Or you can print them out and create a photo collage or feminist quilt that can be displayed on campus or when you are tabling. Or you can also send them to your elected officials urging them to do something about the deceptive advertising practices of CPCs!

Check out the photo blog we at the West Coast office made!

What do you expect from your women's health clinic?

Create a Free Slideshow

Please share your submissions with us! Email them to campusteam@feminist.org.
It would be a great idea as a part of the video you submit for the video contest.
What more great action ideas? Check out our action idea archives!

Exposing Fake Clinics: Making Money Off of Adoption

Hopefully by now, you're well aware of FMF's Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics. (If not, check it out!) We're currently working on updating the campaign tool kit with the most recent legislative information and new ways for you to get involved!

Watch this short video on crisis pregnancy centers to learn more! We worked with RH Reality check to produce the video, and just posted it on our website:

Our Reality: A Look at Crisis Pregnancy Centers from RH Reality Check on Vimeo.

You should also check out The Nation's recent article on CPCs and their shady links to anti-abortion adoption agencies. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Religious women may be particularly susceptible to CPC coercion, argues Mari Gallion, a 39-year-old Alaska mother who founded the support group SinglePregnancy.com after a CPC unsuccessfully pressured her to relinquish her child ten years ago.

Gallion, who has worked with nearly 3,000 women with unplanned pregnancies, calls CPCs "adoption rings" with a multistep agenda: evangelizing; discovering and exploiting women's insecurities about age, finances or parenting; then hard-selling adoption, portraying parenting as a selfish, immature choice.

"The women who are easier to coerce in these situations are those who subscribe to conservative Christian views," says Gallion. "They'll come in and be told that, You've done wrong, but God will forgive you if you do the right thing."

To read the entire article, click here.

To join FMF's Campaign to Expose Fake clinics, email campusteam@feminist.org. For more information on CPCs, visit our website www.feministcampus.org.

April 13th is National Fake Clinic Protest Day! Stand Up and Speak Out!

April 13th is the National Crisis Pregnancy Center Protest Day! Join thousands of feminist students across the nation in the effort to expose fake clinics and demand an end to abstinence-only federal funding! To join the efforts on your campus, contact your Campus Organizer.

CAUTION! Criss Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) pose as comprehensive women's health clinics, position themselves near college campuses, and lure young women in with promises of free pregnancy tests. But beware; CPCs do not offer or provide referrals for birth control or abortion services. In fact, they often use misinformation and lies to deceive women and promote an abstinence-only agenda.

The FMF conducted a nationwide survey of college campus health centers and found that 48% of respondents refer students facing unintended pregnancies to fake clinics! Does yours?

Furthermore, CPCs are receiving MILLIONS of dollars in federal abstinence-only education funding. Study after study has proven that abstinence-only programs simply don't work. With STI rates among college students on the rise, we can't put up with this abstinence-only nonsense any longer!

Fake clinics are a clear and present threat to the health of young women. Stand up, speak out and take action on April 13th!

What you can do:

• PROTEST in front of your local CPC! Warn women that it is not a comprehensive and neutral medical facility.
  
• Collect SIGNATURES to de-fund fake clinics and demand an end to abstinence-only funding.
  
• TABLE, FLYER and CHALK the campus.
  
• Hold a RALLY, SPEAK OUT or TEACH-IN.
• WRITE a letter to the editor of your campus newspaper, exposing fake clinics.
  

For more information on fake clinics near your campus, for ways to take action, or to join a campaign on your campus, contact your Campus Organizer or call 1-866-471-FMLA (West Coast) or 1-866-444-FMLA (East Coast).

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series! Step 4: Make an Action Video

Are you getting ready for our national week of action to expose fake clinics?

In case you've been in a cave, the campus organizers are giving you action ideas in our Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series. Check out Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3 in case you've missed out!

In this installment, I'll be talking to you about our Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics Video Contest!

Maybe you have a creative way to expose fake clinics that we haven't thought of yet. Perhaps you or someone you know wants to share a personal experiences with a CPC. Maybe you have already done some amazing action on exposing clinics and want to show us. Well, WE WANT TO SEE IT.

Plan a video, script it, find your crew and start filming! We want innovative ideas, powerful interviews, and touching interactions.

Let us know what you are doing to get the word out!

Create a You-tube Style video less than 10 minutes long and email your submissions to jsun@feminist.org by November 1st, 2009.

The winner will get their video featured at our Western Regional Feminist Campus Leadership Conference (register today!!!) as well as our National Young Feminist Leadership Conference, March 20-22 in Washington DC, with an introduction by feminist actor, Amy Brenneman.

So get rolling!

Keep in mind that surreptitious phone and video recordings inside a CPC or of CPC staff are strictly prohibited. Some CPCs will require you to sign a confidentiality agreement which may be enforceable by law. Make sure that no one on your video has signed one.

CA Commission on the Status of Women: Exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centers is a Top Priority on 2009-2010 Legislative Agenda!

The California Commission on the Status of Women (CA-CSW) has recently submitted a public policy agenda for the 2009-2010 session, which proposes legislative action to expose fake clinics! And it was with the diligent research and informed testimony of the Feminist Majority Foundation's summer 2008 intern class this past July that the CA-CSW was presented with the dangers that "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) pose to young women's health.


Over the course of the summer, interns visited several crisis pregnancy centers, many located within miles of their own campuses, in order to learn more about the services offered by CPCs. Many crisis pregnancy centers had no medical personnel on staff and counselors identified themselves as trained volunteers. While in counseling sessions, many of the young women were warned about a false link between abortion and increased negative mental health problems. A study released by the American Pyschological Association in August 2008, found that there is no credible evidence that a single elective abortion of an unwanted pregnancy in and of itself causes mental health problems for adult women. Additional false information presented by CPCs includes false links between abortion and breast cancer and abortion and infertility.


The California Commission on the Status of Women is dedicated to helping "eliminate the distribution of false medical information about abortion and improve young women's access to comprehensive reproductive health care services." And as feminist student activists, who are the mouth peice for what is happening on our campuses and in our communities, we must continue to speak out against the threat that crisis pregnancy centers pose to our health and our choice!


Again, many thanks to our summer intern class for their amazing work in ensuring our voices continue to be heard!

12th and Delaware: An Inside Look at Abortion Clinics and Crisis Pregnancy Centers

Yesterday, I and several other FMF interns and junior staff sat down to watch the new documentary "12th and Delaware" that premiered last night on HBO. You may have heard about the documentary from sites such as Feministing and Democracy Now.

"12th and Delaware" chronicled A Woman's World Medical Center which opened up in 1991 on 12th and Delaware in Fort Pierce, Florida. In 1999 a crisis pregnancy center (CPC) - centers posing as comprehensive health clinics that seek to use pro-life stances to talk women into keeping their unwanted pregnancies—moved across the street from them.

Viewers are introduced to the lies and fear tactics that many CPCs utilise; showing fetus-like dolls to patients displaying fetal development, telling them lies of links between abortion and breast cancer amongst other things. Some of the young women who have come into the CPC have mistaken it for the abortion clinic. Counselors often use these tactics to persuade women that they shouldn't pursue abortions like they had intended to, but should keep the baby.

The CPCs completely disregarded both the realities of women’s lives and patient confidentiality (read: Anne, a CPC counselor, sent a patient's name out in an email to supporters to be prayed for). Clinic protesters (who often held posters showing extremely graphic and obscene pictures of aborted fetuses) had no respect for property lines and could often be seen protesting near the windows of the clinic. One counselor was so devastated by the fact that a young girl had pursued an abortion that she neared the point of breaking in to tears--this is not her child and is not her daughter, yet she is so heavily invested in what this woman chooses to do with her body.

The documentary did a wonderful job of showing that abortion clinics care about women's lives and health and are invested in making sure that women are making the decision for themselves and are not being forced to do so, but need to do so. Abortion clinics, like A Woman's World Medical Clinic, educate women about abortions and ask why they are seeking to have this procedure performed. The documentary also effectively displayed the dangers abortion providers face. For instance, an anti-choice protester stalked abortion providers attempting to find out their identity and where they lived.

"12^th and Delaware" did a good job of expressing the diversity of conditions that might bring a woman to an abortion clinic: a mother of six walking towards the abortion clinic who is swayed by anti-choice protesters who lie and tell her that they'll pay all of her bills and her food, a young girl who was influenced by Anne, a CPC counselor, to bring her baby to full-term at the young age of 15, telling the audience that she tried everything she could to miscarry, the 46-year-old woman who was diagnosed with rheumatoid who cannot carry a baby to full-term out of fear of not being able to care for it in her sixties.

Women should be able to have control over their own bodies and their reproductive rights. Women should be able to freely walk into abortion clinics without the threat of being harassed. We shouldn't live in a world where abortion providers fear for their lives, where young girls are swayed into carrying pregnancies to full-term and not being able to care for the children that are produced. We must take action in our communities to protect women’s reproductive rights.

To take action in your community or campus by exposing crisis pregnancy centers, check out Feminist Campus' Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics. To protect existing abortion clinics in your area, like A Woman's World Medical Center, check out Feminist Campus' Adopt A Clinic Campaign.

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series! Step 6: Hold a Film Screening

The next step to exposing fake clinics is to hold a film screening!

We have two videos on our website that would teach people who aren't already familiar with CPCs a lot about their deceptive practices. The first is called, "Our Reality: A Look at Crisis Pregnancy Centers" and the second is called, "Crisis Pregnancy Centers: A special Report" Both were produced by FMF in conjunction with Stuart Productions and featured on RH Reality Check.

Our Reality: A Look at Crisis Pregnancy Centers from RH Reality Check on Vimeo.

1. Contact your Student Affairs or Student Activities office and see what the procedures are for screening a film for the public.

2. Reserve a space! Maybe it will be in a classroom, the women's resource center, or an auditorium. See what you need to do to hold the even in this space. Make sure there is a projector that you can hook up to your computer.

3. Make flyers and publicize the event. Make an eye-catching flyer announcing when and where the film screening will be. Post them on campus and hand them out when you tabling. Make announcement in classrooms and ask professors if they will give their students extra credit for attending the screening.

4. Buy some yummy snacks! Popcorn, chips, licorice, ice cream, pizza. Go wild, budget permitting.

5. Screen the films and then hold a discussion about it. How do people feel about about what they have just seen? What are the inital thoughts? Do people want to take some action on the issue?

6. Formulate a plan. Whats next? Have the people at the screening get involved with the campaign to expose fake clinics. What actions do they want to do after seeing those films? Don't know where to start, check out steps 1-5 on our action series!


Don't forget about the Video Contest!

Exposing Fake Clinics Action Series Step 8: Create a Haunted Clinic

Attention feminist art majors, set design gurus, and those with a general love for Halloween: we have got a super creative Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated" Action idea for you!

Create a Haunted Clinic on campus! It's like a haunted house, but with creepy fake doctors and nurses making false medical claims about abortion!

All you need is a classroom, a study lounge, or other space on campus. You can even use a tent or canopy outdoors. If you can't get your hands on any of the above, you can improvise with a table.

Next, you'll need some spooky Halloween decorations (you know, cobwebs, spiders, and the like), some doctor and nurse costumes (like a nurse hat, a stethoscope, a lab coat...whatever is easiest to get a hold of), and lastly, if you're able to round up any supplies to make your haunted house extra spooky, like a fog machine, black lights, strobe lights, or just trash bags to cover the walls, go for it!

Be sure to publicize your haunted clinic, and when students come through, have the fake doctors and nurses make the totally creepy (but all too real) false medical claims made at CPCs.

Our Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics Kit, Investigative Videos, and this Ms. Magazine article should supply you with plenty of material to work with!

Be sure to use your Haunted Clinic as an opportunity to educate students who come through. Consider screening the Investigative Videos inside the haunted "clinic", holding a discussion session, passing out flyers, or even just asking folks to sign the Petition to Stop Deceptive Advertising and Federal Funding of Fake Women's Health Clinics.

Get creative and be sure to share your ideas with us!!

Don't forget about all the other great ideas we've got for the Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated Week of Action. Don't miss the Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics Video Contest Deadline - Nov. 1 is quickly approaching!