Richmond – Delegate David Englin (D-45) joined Senator Ralph Northam (D-6) and Delegate Charniele Herring (D-46) today at a Capitol press conference announcing legislation in response to the findings of a year-long undercover investigation of the 52 so-called “crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs)” in Virginia. The investigation, conducted by NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, reveals a disturbing pattern of how these unregulated centers mislead women about their health-care options, posing a public health threat
“It is vitally important that pregnant women seeking care and counseling receive medically accurate information, especially when the groups presenting that information are funded by money collected by the state,” said Englin, who is chief who-patron of the legislation in House of Delegates, with Herring as chief patron.
CPCs are operated by anti-choice organizations. In many cases, as the report confirms, they use deceptive and intimidating practices to prevent women from accessing the full range of reproductive-health options. Last year, Gov. Tim Kaine signed a bill into law that established a “Choose Life” license plate that makes most of these 52 centers eligible to receive state regulated money every time one of these license plates is purchased.
“No matter how a person feels about the question of legal abortion, everyone can agree that women should never be misled when seeking information about pregnancy, birth control, abortion, or sexually transmitted infections — yet it is happening across the Commonwealth,” said Tarina Keene, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia. “Our investigation of CPCs in Virginia is the largest of its kind in the nation. It’s clear that the Commonwealth’s leaders cannot ignore how these centers intentionally mislead and misinform women, including those facing an unintended pregnancy. We are committed to working with lawmakers to ensure that Virginians have access to factually accurate information when making decisions about their health—and that begins with ending the deceptive practices uncovered in our report.”
Legislators, health-care advocates, and faith leaders joined NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia to introduce legislation that would ensure that women who walk one of the centers receiving funding are aware that they won’t receive referrals for all health services and that, in most cases, the CPCs are not licensed, regulated medical facilities, and do not have to comply with federal laws protecting patient privacy.
Northam, chief patron in the Senate and a pediatric neurologist, said, “As a doctor, I feel that this legislation is an important public health measure. Ensuring that a pregnant woman receives only medically accurate information is vital to protecting her health, and that of her fetus, should she choose to carry the pregnancy to term.”
The legislation addresses many of the key findings from NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia’s investigation, which was conducted by staff and volunteers between February and December, 2009. The process included 28 in-person visits and 51 phone calls to all 52 CPCs in the Commonwealth. The following highlights the report’s key findings:
More than two-thirds of all Virginia CPCs (67 percent) were found to provide medically inaccurate information. 26 centers sharing factually erroneous information receive funding through the “Choose Life” license-plate program.
Investigators were told medical inaccuracies including, “Because the doctor can’t see what he’s doing [during an abortion], he could accidentally suck out your bowels,” “The AIDS virus is smaller than the holes in condoms,” and “28% of women attempt suicide after an abortion.”
In total, 38 of these facilities did not report any medically trained or medically supervised personnel on staff to investigators.
Even in the rare cases of centers that are overseen by medical professionals, there are no regulations in place to ensure that women will receive medically accurate information and services that meet an appropriate standard of care with respect to all reproductive health options.
Click here to view the report.
Media Contact: Emily Polak (703) 868-0066
