Pennsylvania plans to end on Dec. 31 its longstanding contract with the nonprofit Real Alternatives, the first organization in the nation to secure significant state and federal subsidies to support anti-abortion counseling centers. Under the program, Real Alternatives distributed the state and federal funds to dozens of Pennsylvania centers, including Catholic Charities, anti-abortion counseling centers and maternity homes, which provide support and housing for pregnant women.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said in a statement his administration would not “continue that pattern” of subsidizing the organization, saying he was steadfast in defending abortion access.
Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars across the U.S. have been sent to such organizations, which are typically religiously affiliated. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion last year, Republican-led states have sent more tax dollars to what are sometimes called “crisis pregnancy centers,” while Democratic-leaning states apply more scrutiny to them.
I’m not as offended at the mere existence of these places as many of you are. There are people whose religious beliefs are that life begins at conception. We keep complaining that these people don’t value people post-birth enough, yet here they are helping mothers who want to keep their babies. These people who are backing up those beliefs with their own money and effort. As long as they’re being honest in what they do and not deceptive, what’s wrong with that?
I don’t even have an issue with government money going to it, but it has been proven that some in Government can’t resist the urge to play favorites. Any arguments that apply to Planned Parenthood’s government funding also apply to these places. I’m my view, they are doing the same work, and should be dealt with the same way.
Supporting a woman’s right to choose should also include supporting her right to keep her pregnancy. Of course, Planned Parenthood supports that, too. But there’s no reason to dismiss these other organizations out of hand because they won’t help women who want to end their pregnancy, due to their religious beliefs – as long as those women still have accessible choices.
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No, they’re not. But if these people are willing to help (and still get the mom access to medical care, even if the doctor isn’t on staff), what’s the harm in letting them? I’m all for anything that helps pregnant women, as long as they want the help from that place, and are aware of what they are getting into.
These organizations exist to actively deny women the ability to choose by (1) not making it crystal clear that they do not provide abortion services, (2) surreptitiously eating up the time a woman is legally allowed to get an abortion. They are designed to fool unsophisticated women into NOT HAVING A CHOICE, and purposefully increasing the emotional toll of the decision to have an abortion. Fuck them all. EDIT: I’m an attorney. When I use the word “unsophisticated” in this context, I mean “unfamiliar with the phenomenon of religious organizations pretending to be pregnancy centers, that are designed to run out the clock from having an abortion.” If you’ve got limited time to make a decision, and you make an appointment with one of these places saying you need an abortion, they will tell you to come in, and will not volunteer that they don’t offer abortions. It is well documented that women have run out of time to have an abortion because of these asshats. But go ahead, fuckface, be a disingenuous shill.
You don’t find that attitude to be just a bit insulting to women? Like they don’t know what abortion is, and need it properly mansplained to them?
There are women who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant, and decide out of their own free will to keep their baby, in spite of the huge financial burden. That’s a choice, that’s just as valid as the choice to have an abortion. If these places can help, why not let them?
If we’re going to respect women’s choices, we need to respect all of them, and not dismiss women who choose to keep their pregnancy as “unsophisticated”.
You cherry-picked one word out of their comment and discarded the rest without addressing it at all.
No, what I see here is a bunch of people thinking these places deprive pregnant women of their free will once they walk into the place, or something. I think women, in general, are smart enough to realize what these places offer, and what they can and can’t get there.
I keep asking, if a woman wants to have a child, and these people want help, why not let them help? And all I get are response questioning their motives.
Yes, many of these places do it for religious reasons. The same places may also run soup kitchens. Would you tell a hungry person to not accept free food because they might get preached at?
I have no problem with these places existing, as long as women still have access to everything else they need for health care, including abortions, in the area.
Gee, maybe because of our abysmal health and sex education. The fact that there are all ages of people who can visit these clinics and teenagers who think you can’t get pregnant standing up. Maybe because women are lied to about abortion risks, gestational age until it’s too late to get an abortion, and lied to about pregnancy risks they may have or risks that could go unnoticed because the staff dresses up like medical professionals even though they aren’t. Women could easily not see an actual doctor because of insurance or cost. Seems like you have zero idea what you’re talking about.
These people are not medical professionals. To be as you describe, they would have to make it abundantly clear that they are not a medical clinic, they do not provide medical advise, but religious counseling. They don’t. They cosplay as medical personnel and lie to vulnerable women. It doesn’t matter if most people wouldn’t be taken in by it. Some are. The lies work.
Just to give you some reading on it. Also comparing these centers to a food kitchen is a gross misstatement. Food kitchens aren’t lying to people about what food is or intentionally serving them food that will harm them.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-are-crisis-pregnancy-centers#are-they-unethical
https://msmagazine.com/2022/12/15/crisis-pregnancy-center-undercover/
https://msmagazine.com/2022/05/04/fake-abortion-clinics-crisis-pregnancy-center-cheap-abortion/
https://legalvoice.org/know-before-you-go/
LOL, it’s funny you trying to mansplain someplace you’ve never had to deal with
You keep repeating the lie that these places help women when they’re designed to push women away from medical care.
Taxpayer money shouldn’t be spent on religious counseling.
Aside from what others have said, part of what these places do is delay the woman’s choice, make her second guess herself/feel unnecessarily guilty, long enough that an abortion is no longer a viable option the state they’re in.
They trick the women into unknowingly waiting too long
In your most sick, please stop going to doctors.
Instead, go to cocaine Steve behind the McDonald’s. He’s coming from a place of help… As he can help you resolve your pain with his life long experience and cocaine.
I mean, what’s the harm? It’s just information and anything that helps people who are sick and aware of what they’re getting into.
The tiniest bit of research would have revealed to you that they are not some innocent lambs and it isn’t a case that they simply “won’t provide abortions”, they are actively anti choice disguising themselves as “crisis centres” where people who are actively looking for an abortion go only to end up pressured and manipulated in to changing their mind by any means necessary, including impersonating medical staff. I’ve read cases where these “crisis centres” will make appointments for an “abortion” which they will then keep postponing until it’s too late to do it.
There is absolutely nothing pro choice about this organisation, it’s just another way in which patriarchy religion and capitalism combine to keep women “producing”, and you could have easily found this out with a 2 second search before ignorantly jumping to their defence:
https://www.prochoiceamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cpc-report-2015.pdf
https://www.salon.com/2017/03/21/deceptive-anti-abortion-group-under-investigation-for-skimming-state-funds-in-pennsylvania/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/crisis-pregancy-centers-supreme-court_us_5a09f40ae4b0bc648a0d13a2
That “religious belief” was created by the Republican Party in the 70s to distract from their terrible policies.