NC bills target state-funded anti-abortion clinics
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Two bills in the North Carolina legislature aim to cut millions in state funding that's going toward crisis pregnancy centers, often described as anti-abortion clinics.
Why it matters: Over the past decade, taxpayer money going to crisis pregnancy centers in North Carolina has surged from $300,000 a year to more than $12 million, an investigation by The Assembly found.
- These clinics are often criticized for sharing misleading information, being exempt from privacy rules and lacking government oversight.
Context: Crisis pregnancy centers are known to use targeted advertising, like offering free ultrasounds online, to draw in pregnant women considering abortion. Many patients have recounted experiences where staff asked about religion and attempted to convince them to carry out their pregnancies by showing sonograms or using other guilt tactics.
- The New York Times reported that one Charlotte clinic goes by three different names. One woman told The Times she was falsely told at the clinic that she was beyond the legal limit for an abortion when she was still eligible for the abortion pill.
The Senate bill, if passed, would reroute the money sent to crisis pregnancy centers to organizations helping pregnant women in crisis instead.
- For example, Rep. Sophia Chitlik says Durham organization Equity Before Birth would be an ideal candidate for the redirected funding. The organization supports pregnant women with cash payments for work leave, doula care, diapers and clothing.
- The money could also go toward Department of Health and Human Services programs or extending postpartum Medicaid coverage.
- "If they want to force people to have children, then they should not be supporting entities that are not giving them sound medical advice," Rep. Natalie Murdock says.
- The Senate bill also calls for a state audit of Carolina Pregnancy Care Fellowship, the umbrella organization overseeing many crisis pregnancy centers. Democrats argue this would align with Republicans' growing focus on government efficiency. "If these are high-performing centers, I challenge folks to prove it," Chitlik says.
The House bill would empower the state attorney general to investigate complaints of deceptive practices, such as a center presenting itself as if it provides abortions and emergency contraception when it does not.
- Yes, but: One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Julie von Haefen, expects the legislation to "just end up in the trash pile." Over the years, the Wake County representative has filed multiple bills regarding crisis pregnancy centers and budget amendments to redirect funding, to no avail.
Zoom out: North Carolina has the eighth highest number of CPCs of all states in the U.S., according to the University of Georgia's College of Public Health.
- For every two "brick-and-mortar" abortion facilities, there are six crisis pregnancy centers.
The bottom line: Both bills face long odds in the Republican-dominant legislature.