Va. NARAL Probe Casts Doubt On Va. Pregnancy Centers That Receive 'Choose Life' License Plate Money

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Sexual Health / STDs;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 21 Jan 2010 - 4:00 PDT

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NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia officials on Wednesday plan to unveil the results of a year-long investigation into antiabortion crisis pregnancy centers and the misleading literature they distribute to women with unintended pregnancies, the Washington Post reports. The 39-page report, titled "Crisis Pregnancy Centers Revealed," shows that 38 of 52 CPCs visited by NARAL investigators lacked medically trained or supervised personnel. Two-thirds of the centers gave women "some degree of medically erroneous information."

According to Emily Polak, deputy director of NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, 16 trained volunteers visited more than 24 pregnancy centers posing as women who were concerned they might be pregnant. Many of the women were told that abortion increases the risk of suicide or cancer, the report states. "When you're telling women who are scared about unintended pregnancies that condoms have holes and abortions cause cancer, it's a public health threat," Polak said.

The report is drawing fresh attention to the distribution of revenue to CPCs through the sale of "Choose Life" specialty license plates in Virginia. The license plates cost $25 each, and Virginia retains the first $15,000 in revenue. After that, $15 of every sale goes to Heartbeat International, a Christian group that gives the money to CPCs across the state. Virginia is one of 24 states to offer drivers "Choose Life" plates.

Critics contend that the program does not do enough to ensure that CPCs are qualified to receive the money. One center identified in the NARAL report -- the Mattingly Test Center in Loudoun County, Va. -- is listed by several antiabortion-rights groups as a certified clinic. Mattingly also is listed on Heartbeat's Web site as a clinic in good standing. According to the Post, the center is a two-story house that has no signs labeling it a clinic, lacks designation with the Internal Revenue Service as a 503 (c) nonprofit organization and is not registered with Virginia's secretary of state as a corporation. Nonetheless, the Richmond Coalition for Life says that Mattingly is eligible to receive funds through the license plate program.

Peggy Hartshorn, Heartbeat's president, said that the focus should be on the "incredible work" performed by the centers but added that the organization will examine Virginia pregnancy centers as the license plate program distributes money. As of Tuesday, 1,678 Choose Life license plates had been sold, and $10,170 had been earmarked for Heartbeat, according to a DMV spokesperson and Heartbeat officials.

Another pregnancy center mentioned in the NARAL report, Assist Pregnancy Center, has admitted that some of the fliers it distributed in the past included misleading and outdated information. Jane Fuller, the center's executive director, said that the erroneous pamphlets have been removed and emphasized that the center never marketed itself as a medical facility. Antiabortion-rights groups dismiss NARAL's efforts as part of a political agenda to discredit church-affiliated pregnancy centers, which they say offer counseling and support services at no cost to the public (Kravitz, Washington Post, 1/20).

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