Students Fight CPC on Public Campus
April 9, 2010 by Alexandra Tweten · 6 Comments
A religious, anti-choice crisis pregnancy center (CPC) has set up shop on the publicly-owned property of Cal Poly Pomona university in California, directly across from a student apartment building. Misleadingly named the “Women’s Pregnancy Center,” the CPC has been there since November, says Jaclyn Lara of student feminist group Female Sexuality Society (FSS), which has pledged to evict the CPC.
According to Lara, the CPC is extremely deceptive about its services, failing to advertise that they do not offer or refer for abortion or birth control, and promoting itself as being aligned with the campus’ student health services when it is not.
“We have students saying it’s confusing. They say, ‘What’s the difference?’” Lara said. “I just tell them, ‘usually they’re run by religious anti-choice organizations, but they won’t tell you.’”
Lara became aware of the CPC when one of its representatives came to an event where FSS was tabling. “[She told me] the ‘truth’ about abortion and the various complications which are ‘always’ associated with them,” Lara said. “I am horrified at how intent this woman was at insisting abortion was one of the most dangerous procedures a woman can get and how her views are biased based on her moral beliefs.”
FSS sent a member to the CPC to find out how they deal with students seeking an abortion. Before ascertaining whether or not the FSS member was pregnant, the woman at the CPC began referring to “your baby” and predicting an October due date. The FSS member said she couldn’t have a baby and the worker replied, “If not now, when?”
“I don’t know if I ever want to have a baby,” replied the FSS member, and the worker told her she should consider sterilization.
“A student who went in seeking an abortion would leave covered in guilt and shame,” says Lara. “The women of Cal Poly are really important…I take it very personally that they’re lying to my sisters.”
FSS is planning to lobby the university to evict the CPC, but Lara is concerned that the university won’t listen if they are receiving rental money from the CPC at a time when money is tight. “I’m hoping that they’ll see that money is not worth the harm to our students,” says Lara.
You can help by writing messages to the university and sending them to femalesexualitysociety@gmail.com. The group will deliver them to the administration.
NARAL Virginia video: What I learned at a crisis pregnancy center.
ABOVE: Members of the FSS demonstrating on their campus.
Austin Texas unanimously now requires these centers to visibly identify outside of their doors (in English and Spanish) that they do not provide abortion and/or birth control outside of their door. Failing to do this is a $450 fine.
Although the centers operating within city limits claimed they do not ‘mislead’ women, several were testifying against passage of the city ordinace.
So I do not believe these centers are accurate or honest with the ‘choices’ which they claim to provide to women.
They know that they previously had been pulling one over on women who were looking for a ‘health clinic’ and that this ordinance will stop future efforts.
What a great article. Thanks. Pioneer Grrl has a great suggestion too.
I hope Cal Poly is successful in booting these idiots off their campus!
Austin was inspired by the previous action of Baltimore MD, the first city to require this action.
But it is inspiring that in the middle of Rick Perry’s backyard, that the women-haters (as I call them) can’t hide their intentions any longer.
Since they deceive women about what services/resources they actually provide, they aren’t interested in providing choices. It’s only about judging women according to dogma.
Having been brought up in a home with anti-abortion parents, exposure to arguments in favor of permitting abortion was hard to come by. I’d like to thank Ms Magazine for showing me some of the “other side”. My perspectives and opinions have been altered a bit as a result of some of the articles. However, I do want to comment on the video above. Though there may be some militantly misled workers on occasion in Crisis Pregnancy Centers, the people inside are, like Ms. Tweten, usually just trying to save lives and help people. (I know, I know; it’s hard to believe they care about anyone.) The results of statistics can be misapplied and twisted by many parties. In the video above, not all of the things claimed by the CPC (according to the video; I obviously wasn’t there) were entirely untrue. For example, a quote from Wikipedia:
“According to a 2000 report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), correct and consistent use of latex condoms reduces the risk of HIV/AIDS transmission by approximately 85% relative to risk when unprotected, putting the seroconversion rate (infection rate) at 0.9 per 100 person-years with condom, down from 6.7 per 100 person-years.[47] Analysis published in 2007 from the University of Texas Medical Branch [48] and the World Health Organization[49] found similar risk reductions of 80–95%.”
So, yes, condoms lessen the chance of HIV virus transmission. But no, they do not always prevent it. It is indeed possible for a virus to get through one of the millions of microscopic pores in condoms, especially older or abused condoms (in a pocket, in a purse in a hot car, etc). Waterproof does not equal impervious.
Also, there have been studies that suggest suicide rates may be higher for women who have had abortions than for those who have not. Granted, studies usually examine a select group of people, and are not completely applicable to the population at large. But to suggest that abortion does not ever increase suicide rates is wrong. The reference for one such study: Garfinkel, et al., Stress, Depression and Suicide: A Study of Adolescents in Minnesota, (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Extension Service, 1986).
Again, thank you for the information and perspectives – without Ms Magazine, I wouldn’t have known that Gardasil was approved for use in males. If only it weren’t so freakin’ expensive…
Suicide rates are much, MUCH higher for birth mothers (women who give their babies up for adoption) than women who have abortions, though, which seems to refute the idea that abortion is the most traumatizing option. I'm sure there are women who have negative reactions to abortion, but there are also many who do not regret it or are even relieved by it. I know a few. And it's frustrating that their stories are always erased to promote the message of abortion as something which is awful for women.
I'm not going to debate that a lot of CPC people may be going into it with the best of intentions, or that *some* of the info they repeat might be accurate. But a few hits does not make up for a lot of misses. Also, even if they are motivated by a desire to save lives (which, you might be surprised, a lot of people are motivated to help women who want abortions get them for the SAME reason) – well, as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. It doesn't mean their actions are without negative consequences just because they might think they are doing the right thing.
I'm from Baltimore, the city where the first bill limiting CPC advertising ability was passed. I see ads for them on my way to work. I've never seen one explicitly lie about offering abortions or birth control. The fact of the matter is, when they advertise themselves as "women's health" and "pregnancy" centers, it's inferred that women there will encounter those services or, at least, referral for them. Birth control, especially, is something that wouldn't be absent from any "women's health" clinic without an ideological agenda. It's a trick a lot of advertisers play; we didn't MENTION IT so we didn't EXACTLY "lie." But when that's something which is expected of whatever service you're offering, it *is* lying to not say you won't be providing that. It's like if your friend threw a party which was BYOB, but didn't mention that on the invitation, people would be pissed if they arrived at the party and there were no drinks. The same is true here.
Were CPC’s trying to ‘help’, they would never be trying to pass themselves off as licensed medical facilities, which can and do provide the full range of health care services.
This is why reproductive health clinics have a health care license from the state and the CPCs can never ever obtain one. They are amateur hour when compared against the real thing.
We don’t go to immitation dentists, or immitation opthamologists—so why settle for immitation obgyns?
And the directions on condoms do say how to properly use the device. This will affect not just HIV/STDs–but also teen pregnancy rates too!
Increasing comprehensive sex education provided in the nation’s schools will finally reduce America’s teen pregnancy rate. We are the only westernized democracy to not offer comprehensive sex ed in American schools–and the only one to have high teen pregnancy rates. There is a direct correlation between the two.
Those ‘studies’ re: Abortion and suicide are innacurate. They were performed on people who had other pre-existing conditions–and the pre-existing conditions was why they had the suicide. Abortion does not cause the suicide. It is the pre-existing health condition.
It is always important to be open with a health practioner when you do go to a health care clinic (not a CPC) the practioner is not mind reader. Do you have a fever…etc?