There are many misconceptions about Pregnancy Clinics (AKA Pregnancy Resource Clinics or PRCs). The media wants to portray PRCs as “fake Clinics” that front as real Medical Clinics to lure women to religious nuts who pressure and shame women into keeping their babies. This is simply not the case.
The thousands of PRCs that outnumber Planned Parenthoods and abortion clinics across the nation, provide real care and help to women in crisis.
While abortion clinics are limited to presenting one option (abortion) as it’s their main source of income, PRCs are nonprofits, funded by donors, to provide free or low-cost services to women. PRCs have the capacity to counsel women, present all options, and provide medical care. Let’s jump into a few common misconceptions about PRCs.
“PRCs are Fake Clinics’”
Planned Parenthood’s definition of a PRC states, “Crisis Pregnancy Centers (also called PRCs or fake Clinics’) are Clinics or mobile vans that look like real health centers, but they have a shady, harmful agenda: to scare, shame, or pressure you out of getting an abortion, and to tell lies about abortion, birth control, and sexual health.”
But the real goal of a PRC is to present all options, provide free resources, and empower mothers with truth and love to make a decision they can live with. While many PRCs are affiliated with religious organizations, not all require their counselors to be Christian.
PRCs Provide Real Medical Care
PRCs are real, licensed facilities that provide a variety of free services to pregnant women and their families. They’re not “fake Clinics.” PRCs that provide medical care are medically licensed and abide by the same rules and regulations of any medical facility.
There are also non-medical PRCs that provide free services and resources such as peer counseling, education, parenting classes, and material resources (diapers and baby clothes).
PRCs Offer Free Services to Pregnant Women
PRCs offer a variety of free services to pregnant women and their families, including but not limited to:
- Pregnancy testing
- Consultations (education on parenting, adoption, and abortion)
- Medical services (early obstetrical ultrasounds, medical exams, STD testing and treatment)
- Prenatal and parenting education
- Material assistance (diapers, baby outfits, new car seats and strollers)
- Sexual risk avoidance education
- After-abortion recovery support
- Medical care referrals
- Connections to community and public health resources
PRCs reach thousands of women with assistance, and their reach only continues to grow.
“PRCs are Intentionally Sneaky”
PRCs have been under attack since they opened their doors in response to our nation legalizing abortion in 1973. They have been accused of misleading women or tricking them into thinking PRCs perform abortions.
PRCs provide accurate information about abortion procedures and risks
In 2015, the Reproductive FACT Act was passed as a California law, which forced life-affirming PRCs to display information, including a phone number, on how women could obtain low-cost abortions. This was eventually ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2019 as it went against the free speech rights of nonprofit PRCs.
Many PRCs will advertise that they provide abortion information, as it is an option presented alongside parenting and adoption, and women deserve to know the reality of abortion procedures at every gestational age.
PRCs provide unbiased information about all options
PRCs work with each individual mother to help her look at all of her options so she is empowered to make a choice she can live with. They also offer a variety of services to help women through their pregnancies, whether they choose to carry to term or not.
A major difference between PRCs and abortion clinics is the level of counseling women receive. Many women who ended a pregnancy say they were not sufficiently informed about their options beforehand, and 73.8% felt pressure to abort. PRCs seek to educate and counsel, while abortion clinics profit from quick abortions. Abortion clinics present the biased option: abortion.
“PRCs Only Care About the Baby”
Pro-abortion advocates promote the idea that PRCs are only pro-birth without truly caring for the baby and mother after birth. Many believe that the pro-life movement only cares about controlling women’s choices and once the mother’s decision is made, PRCs abandon her.
PRCs want to empower mothers, during and after pregnancy. While the world views motherhood as a limitation, PRCs help restore confidence that motherhood is a blessing, and women are capable of being all that the Lord calls them to be.
PRCs come alongside women at their most vulnerable times and build them up to care for their emotional and physical needs. This is evident in the multiple resources and services PRCs provide women during pregnancy. Many PRCs also have connections within the community to help women find long-term help and support, whether that is through a friend to lean on, community programs, or even government assistance.
PRCs help mothers access government assistance and community programs
If a mother is facing an unplanned pregnancy and needs help accessing government assistance programs, such as Medicaid or food stamps, PRCs can be of great assistance. They can also provide referrals to other community resources, such as WIC offices or parenting classes.
PRCs do not discriminate against women who choose abortion
While the majority of PRCs are pro-life, they do not discriminate against women who choose abortion. All women are welcome, regardless of their decision about their pregnancy.
For example, Advice and Aid Pregnancy Centers offer mothers follow-through programs regardless of their decision. If the mother chooses to parent, Advice and Aid offers education, support, and material aid for two years after her child is born. If the mother chooses adoption, she is assisted through the entire adoption process. If the mother chooses abortion, she is welcomed back to the Clinic for future services and support.
Care Net, a major PRC network, has a 99.19% overall positive experience rating from clients/patients. Heartbeat International, another major network, has a 99.6% positive rating from clients/patients. This accounts for 2,100 PRCs across the US.
PRCs Do Not Pressure Women
The staff at PRCs are trained to provide accurate information about all available options to women who are facing unplanned pregnancies, including abortion. They will not pressure any woman into making decisions about their pregnancy, but they will provide accurate information, attentive care, and proactive counsel to address any crisis areas in the mother’s life.
Conclusion: PRCs Are Invaluable to Women
Despite the persecution PRCs receive, they will continue to love and empower women and fight for life. PRCs are invaluable to their communities, truly making a difference in families, and providing help and hope in times when there is none.
Thank you for your prayers and support in equipping PRCs to save more babies and souls. Consider sponsoring a life-saving ultrasound today and changing the life of both a mother and a baby.
