How to ID a Fake Clinic

What they do
Fake clinics, or "crisis pregnancy centres," exist to dissuade pregnant people from having abortions. They pretend to be medial clinics or helpful advice agencies.

They are not. They are the front line of anti-choice. Too often they are literal Christian missions out to deny pregnant people's rights, and ultimately to ban abortion.

They lie. About the stage of pregnancy ("too late to have an abortion"). About the risks of abortion. The consequences of abortion. They promise help that doesn't materialize. There have been many undercover exposés of what they do.

Because of their deception, they can be hard to spot -- which is part of their plan.

Name
The term "crisis pregnancy centre" has acquired quite a stink. So now they call themselves "pregnancy care centres," "pregnancy support services," or "pregnancy resource centres." They often use the words "choice" and "options."

Umbrella Group
In Canada, many belong to an umbrella group, Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services (CAPSS). (The "C" used to be "Christian.") CAPSS lists its members here.

Location/Signage
One of their tactics is to "co-locate" near real reproductive health clinics, sometimes using similar names. The hope here is that distraught "clients" might mistake the fake clinic for the real one. And people do.

Advertising
Real clinics rarely advertise. Transit ads saying "Pregnant? Confused?" are from fake clinics. Ads also target men as "victims of abortion."

Website
Check "services." The tell here is "post-abortion trauma counselling." Another tell is "self-administered pregnancy tests." Yes, the pee-on-a-stick kind because these are not medical clinics; they have no medical staff.

There may be a disclaimer. (You'll have to look hard for it.) It may say: "We do not refer for abortion or contraception." Or not.

There may be a statement about its mission: "We are a Christian organization..." Or not.

What to do
People have been known to carry sticky notes with "FAKE CLINIC" on them to slap on deceitful advertising. Similarly, "FAKE CLINIC" warning signs have been posted near their locations.

Inform your friends and colleagues. If you are at school, use handouts or bulletin boards. These outfits often target college and university students.

Check out local businesses' "partnerships." If you find a business or communal charity supporting a fake clinic, find out if the sponsor knows the real purpose of the seemingly innocuous "charity."

A US group called Expose Fake Clinics has other actions you can take. It is quite an activist group. You may not want to get so involved, but you can "like" honest reviews and report false advertising.

In Canada, Advertising Standards has an
on-line complaint submission process.

Fake clinics are deliberately deceptive rights-denying, discriminatory outfits. They need to be identified and called out for what they are.

Small Mercy: There Could Be More Fake Clinics in Canada

According to Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), there are about 180 fake clinics, aka crisis pregnancy centres, in Canada.

DJ! is committed to exposing them as liars, manipulators, and cheats.

They exist solely to dissuade Canadians from excercising their constitutional right to bodily autonomy. They are discriminatory and seek to limit and stigmatize our legal right to abortion.

We will do everything we can to deny them public money and to force them to adhere to regulations on truth and confidentiality.

A sample of recent posts:

Yet again, we have proof that they lie about their services and about the risks of abortion.

We found evidence that they breach "client" confidentiality.

We've uncovered the fact that they apply for and receive public money from provincial gaming foundations in at least three provinces: Alberta, BC, and previously did in Ontario as well (snerk).

Most recently, we've been delving into government grants and found that several fake clinics get federal funding to train apprentice liars under the Canada Summer Jobs program.

Well, I suppose we should be grateful that we have only 180 of these outfits in Canada. There are more than 4,000 of them in the US. And yesterday, it was reported that in Texas a fake clinic will be getting state funds intended for women's health programs!!!!

The anti-abortion nonprofit set to receive a $1.6 million grant through the state’s new women’s health program plans to dole out funds to an anti-abortion pregnancy counseling center that currently offers no medical services.

As Canada is about one-tenth the size of the US, using the usual math, we should have one-tenth the number of fake clinics, or about 400 of them.

I was curious about the ratio of fake clinics to population and so had another look at ARCC's PDF of its recent study of their websites.

By province, here's where they are:
Alberta 20
British Columbia 27
Manitoba 6
New Brunswick 10
Newfoundland 1
Nova Scotia 4
Ontario 85
Quebec 17
Saskatchewan 6

What jumps out is that little New Brunswick, with a 2011 census population of just over 750,000 people, has TEN.

Guess what? If all of Canada had that ratio of lying liars to population, we'd have 446 fake clinics.

So, while there have been recent victories in New Brunswick, there's obviusly a lot more to do there.

And, as we work to make sure that Canada NEVER goes down the path of significant public funding for fake clinics, we can be quietly, Canadianly glad that we don't have nearly the number of nutters the US does.

Fake Clinics Now Breaching Confidentiality to Nutbar Stalkers

We've all the seen the ads. Variants on the one above, used on the recent Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada report on the lies told by crisis pregnancy centres, aka fake clinics.

Our pal, Cliff at Rusty Idols spotted one in Calgary for the subsequent phase of the slut-shaming process, the "post-abortion trauma" counselling.

Fake clinics claim to offer "non-judgmental options" and "non-biased" information. (Which of course we know is really lies, manipulation, and shaming.) But guess what else they do?

They provide confidential client information to a new and creepy "mission" called "No, Not This One," run by a fave here at DJ! Faytene Grasseschi.

Here's a still from the video at their website, called The Justice Wall (reasons for name are not entirely clear).

As Faytene enthusiastically explains, they get "tips" from fake clinics (CPCs in the graphic) and individuals about women considering (perfectly legal and moral) abortion. They then "shoot" (her rather unfortunate choice of word) alerts out to "intercessors" (those kneeling stick figures) who then "rumble" (her word again) with prayer.

And mirabile dictu! These prayer targets turn on their heels and leave the clinics.

I suppose we should be grateful that they're sticking with old skule techniques. In the US, women actually inside clinics are now subject to fetus fetishist propaganda thanks to a technology called geo-fencing.

Women who have visited almost any abortion clinic in the United States have seen anti-choice protesters outside, wielding placards and chanting abuse. A Boston advertiser's technology, when deployed by anti-choice groups, allows those groups to send propaganda directly to a woman’s phone while she is in a clinic waiting room.

But look what Faytene is doing. Here's the alerts page with details about specific women who need prayer bombardment.

The alerts give a name, often in quotation marks or with the parenthetical remark "not her real name," so we are assured that confidentiality is being observed. But a location is often given too, and in one case the uncommon first name of the "grandma-to-be." For dedicated panty-sniffers, identities would not be terribly difficult to suss out.

Then there's this. A student was ratted out by her fucking teacher! The update reveals rather more than Faytene intends, I think.

We just received this update and request to keep praying:
The girl has not had the abortion yet. The pregnant girl's name starts with J, so now we sort of have a name. (We called her 'Tanya' in the first alert.)

Doesn't that kind of indicate they're really really like to have a name?

This is a HUGE ethical no-no. A teacher is revealing details of a student's situation to a bunch of nutbars, who then put it on a website?????

Intercessors sign up for specific times to pray, Gord apparently requiring constant nagging.

This Canadian scam is, as usual, an offshoot of a USian one of the same name. Its avowed purpose is to connect fake clinics prepared to disclose confidential information to the "house of prayer movement." (This site also has an inspirational story of Gord communicating with a wayward soul via Chinese fortune cookie. No, I'm not making this shit up.)

We need to do something about this, friends of privacy and decency. Just what, I dunno. I spent some time yesterday on one of the schedule pages. It lists preyers, oops, prayers' names and locations. I thought I could find Twitter accounts for some of the more uncommonly named ones and follow them.

Just follow them on Twitter, no interaction, just creeping behind them. You know, stalking the stalkers, see how they like it.

But no joy. I couldn't find any Twitter accounts.

However there's @Faytene herself to follow and the "mission" @NoNotThisOneCAN, both of which I'm now following.

Let's think about what to do about this.

In the meantime, Faytene wants us to know that the Justice Wall is not officially launched yet. They need $10,900 more, for which you will receive a tax receipt. Yes, friends of decency, WE are subsidizing this bullshit.

Reverse SLAPP!

While Canadian fetus fetishists are desperately trying to replicate the admitted successes of their USian co-religionists, the truth is they're losing.

And the most recent loss is significant.

A couple of BC fake clinics Crisis Pregnancy Centres took Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada Executive Director, Joyce Arthur, to court alleging defamation in a 2009 report she wrote for the Pro-Choice Action Network.

Titled 'Exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centres in British Columbia', the report documents the deceptions and manipulations regularly practiced by these outfits.

To make a long story short, the fake clinics were butthurt* and wanted a public forum to whine in. And maybe make a little cash.

The judge was having none of it and tossed the suit. (Read Joyce's account for details and links.)

(Delish sidelight: losing side must pay costs. We're hoping for a maybe-think-twice-next-time sort of amount.)

When the suit was brought, many observers thought it smelled suspiciously SLAPPy. A SLAPP case, or strategic lawsuit against public participation, is 'intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.'

That kinda backfired, didn't it?

Here's Joyce on why they failed.

The defamation lawsuit backfired on the Christian Advocacy Society because, in my view, the anti-choice movement doesn't always have a firm grasp on reality. They tend to be quite insular, and so become convinced their position is far more reasonable and defensible than it actually is.

(That's Joyce being polite. Not to put too fine a point on it, fetus fetishists are delusional.)

Of course, the fake clinics spun it as a partial victory, claiming that while they didn't get to sue, the court ruled that Joyce didn't actually say anything bad about them specifically.

They have until September 25 to file an appeal. Ya think?

Two main takeaways.

One, this is just the latest in a string of defeats for the forced pregnancy mob in Canada. They've been losing legislatively at every turn, as Joyce lists in her article and as regular DJ! readers know and revel in. They're losing the public opinion war, most recently with the Fetal Gore Pron Gang's failed summer offensive -- and we mean OFFENSIVE -- postcard campaign targetting insufficiently 'pro-life' MPs.

Most importantly, while they occasionally grab the media spotlight in creepy and off-putting ways, as when Dr Morgentaler died a few months ago, polls consistently show that a majority of Canadians want everyone to shut the fuck up about abortion.

Second takeaway: The public spanking and (we hope) MASSIVE kick in the pocketbook for costs may deter other members of the Butthurt Band.

Such as Alyssa Golob, whose knickers got twisted when yelled at by an exasperated pub owner.

Third takeaway (OK, I lied): Isn't it grand to live in Canada?

Congrats, Joyce. And thanks. You've done a service for all of us mouthy sane people who call these lying liars out for fun and profit.


*LATER: I've been informed that 'butthurt' is a homophobic slur used by gamers when they have 'raped' an opponent. Well, I couldn't find documentation on that. Which is good, because it's a great phrase for exactly what it sounds like.

All shrieeekkk!!! - no substance.

"Dr" Melissa Clouthier - neither medical doctor nor physician but someone with a chiropractic degree from a US institution - leads with her blogpost headline:

Pregnancy Center Burned: Domestic Abortion-Rights Terrorists Suspected?

When you read the mostly cut'n'paste text, nothing in the reported facts supports Clouthier's claim.

From the original story at Lifeshite:

[...]whoever started the fire vandalized televisions, VCRs and other equipment before setting the blaze in the back of the building[...]

That suggests someone with a specific gripe against that particular CPC. Or perhaps the arson is a cover for some crooked insurance claim - since The Fetus©™ fetishists opened the door to wild, unfounded accusations.

It's not as though operators of US-based CPCs are known for rigorously upholding ethical standards. Their flim-flam techniques have been well-documented.

Update: Go read what JJ's investigative skills dug up: How anti-choice propaganda works.

We, on the other hand, proudly raise money for Crisis Pregnancy Centres

What a waste of time and money.

A new program sponsored by the national Knights of Columbus has helped its first pregnancy center obtain an ultrasound machine. The program is meant to provide pregnancy centers with the tools to help women considering an abortion see their baby and choose pro-life alternatives.

The Supreme Office of the Knights of Columbus and the Florida State Council of the Knights of Columbus yesterday donated $44,050 dollars to the Women's Help Center in Jacksonville, Florida, for the purchase of a new 4-D ultrasound machine.

A pricey piece of medical equipment that will serve no useful medical purpose. Instead, images from it will be misrepresented to women to manipulate and scare them out of choosing an abortion.

Glad to see such righteous priorities.

Poor Little 'Charity' vs. Evul Feminazis, Part 2

Yes indeedy, the story about the poor little 'charity' suing the big evul Planned Parenthood is trying to grow legs. Again, we want to help.

The splendidly named blog, Nexus of Assholery, is fuming.

But before we get to that, a small factual matter. S/He refers to us (without a linky-link, very rude that) and questions our veracity.

Birth Pangs' blogger Fern Hill insists that the links were later removed from the site (something which actually is in the realm of possibility, but hard to accept without proof that they existed in the first place).

Here is the relevant quote from the Communist Broadcasting Corporation (note: this is a news story, not a column by the Devil Incarnate, aka Heather Mallick):

This week, the centre pulled some controversial links about abortion and birth control from its website after articles such as one by CBC.ca columnist Heather Mallick, who reported the links included a story comparing corporations that make birth control drugs to the Jewish Holocaust and a story by an anonymous author with the headline: "One baby in 30 left alive after medical abortion."

Crisis Pregnancy Centre Sues Planned Parenthood

This story -- First Place Pregnancy Centre sues Planned Parenthood of Ottawa -- is trying to grow legs. We at Birth Pangs want to help. (Berlynn and deBeauxOs began our coverage.)

Yesterday LifeShite got into it. Here's its account:

The Crisis Pregnancy Centre of Ottawa, operating under the registered business name First Place Pregnancy Centre, issued a Statement of Claim Tuesday against Planned Parenthood Ottawa and two of its representatives before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. First Place alleges that Planned Parenthood Ottawa interfered with critical funding and defamed their charity putting the charity and the women they serve at risk.

On Monday, November 26th, 2007 the wives and girlfriends of the Ottawa Senators announced the launch of their holiday fundraiser, the "SENSational Tree Raffle", naming First Place as one of three chosen charities. The following day, Planned Parenthood Ottawa issued a press release in which it is alleged that they made false and defamatory statements about First Place. Planned Parenthood's actions caused First Place to withdraw from the fundraiser and forego the thousands of dollars that could have assisted First Place and its clients.

Terri Mazik, Executive Director of First Place Pregnancy Centre asks, "Why did Planned Parenthood Ottawa interfere in this way? While we do not refer for abortion we provide and have always provided nonjudgmental support to women facing an unintended pregnancy in order for them to make an informed decision. We have an obligation to our clients and to the community to realize our mandate and we have therefore decided to take legal action to protect our ability to do so."

Why did Planned Parenthood interfere?

Simple. To let the people buying raffle tickets know where the money was going to go. (The other two recipients were Kids Help Phone and a women's shelter.)

God wants you to carry your kidney stones to term

HOUSTON - Thurston Willaby was on his way to the hospital for surgery when he was approached by a couple who suggested that he had other options. He accompanied them to a ‘health crisis’ center, where he was given an ultrasound exam of his kidneys and promised help if he carried his stones to term.

“Once I saw the ultrasound pictures - I decided to keep them,” said Willaby. His stones were passed 3 months ago and Willaby can’t imagine why his doctor wanted to cut them out. To him the ‘health crisis’ center was a godsend.
“If it wasn’t for them, I’d have had that surgery,” said Willaby, a trucker with a family history of kidney disease. “It hurt like hell and I thought that I was going to die when those stones came out the natural way, but my counselor at the center prayed for me.”

The facility he visited is part of a burgeoning movement of free ‘health crisis’ centers set up by US Health Management Organizations to dissuade people from receiving expensive health care. The centers usually provide free tests, counseling, peer support and material aid such as hardwood sticks to hold in one’s mouth when passing kidney stones.

To many people, ‘health crisis’ centers, sometimes called “God’s Way” resource centers, provide a valuable service. President Bush is one of their supporters. People such as Willaby praise the emotional and material support they received, saying they are grateful to have avoided having a surgery.

Some agree that reducing surgeries should be a public policy goal but criticize the centers’ tactics. Many of the facilities masquerade as health clinics to pressure vulnerable people into avoiding surgery. In addition, they suggest that surgeries are frivolous and unnecessary, since they are expensive and require a lot of paperwork. William Gordon is among the people who feel that they were misled. The IT technician was headed for an out-patient surgery clinic when he saw an office in the same building that advertised free tests and said “People for Choice Health Care” on the door.

“I thought it was the clinic where I had an appointment,” said Gordon, “and the man behind the counter led me to believe they were expecting me.” The counselor asked intrusive questions about his religious beliefs, he said, and then told Gordon he needed to watch a video while he waited for the results of his test. “It was full of propaganda about the risks of surgery, and showed the instruments they use and body tissue being ripped apart,” said Gordon, who had his eye surgery later at a genuine health clinic. “It was meant to scare and manipulate me.”

Christin Nash of FearNot, an umbrella group that provides resources to ‘health crisis’ centers, contends the centers do not pressure clients; instead, they want to help people to make fully informed choices. “We don’t want them to feel coerced by their spouse or friends, their doctors or the hospitals,” said Nash. “We would like each person to decide, but having received all the necessary information and knowing that if they want to avoid surgery and let God help them deal with their crisis, that they’re not alone.”

Officials at Houston’s Free Health Crisis Care, where Willaby went, say they tell callers up front that they do not perform surgeries. “The counseling relationship has to be based on trust,” said Stan Digby, chairman of the center’s board, which is affiliated with the Green Cross HMO. “Right from the start, we’re going to be truthful.”
Serena Jones, director of client services at Free Health Crisis Care, said her staff is not judgmental and goes over both options with each client: no surgery or surgery.

The main room of the counseling center at Free Health Crisis Care looks a lot like a medical office, with its white cabinets, stainless-steel sink and specimen jars for urine collection. Atop a chest of drawers are four pink-rubber anatomical models (discretely covered with hospital gowns) of a human torso, a brain, an arm and a leg that have several surgical instruments, tubes and clamps inserted into them. Center staff said the models are used to show a client what their surgery could look like, but only if they want to know.

Nash said nearly all health crisis centers are “economics-based” and “pro-nature.” They feel that the ‘wait-and-see’ approach is God’s way. “As a Christian organization, we desire that (the centers’ clients) would come to know Jesus as the personal savior of their health,” Nash said. “Our primary goal is to prevent expensive surgeries and share the love of Jesus Christ.”

The National Hospital Federation issued a report on ‘health crisis’ centers last year. The NHF’s report states that although many centers look like medical facilities, “most volunteers who work directly with clients are not medical professionals. Their main qualifications are a commitment to Christianity and anti-surgery beliefs”. Also, the main source of funding and support for these so-called ‘health crisis’ centers comes from HMO’s and the health insurance industry.

The source of inspiration for this spoof came from a news item about ‘pregnancy crisis’ centers in the US. It concludes with this statement: “Many ‘crisis pregnancy’ centers receive federal support, mainly through programs that fund abstinence-only sex-education programs. According to the report, anti-abortion pregnancy centers have received more than $30 million in federal funding since 2001, when President Bush took office.”
Originally posted at Birth Pangs