Pro-life pregnancy centers have been targeted by a rise of vandalism and even violence ever since someone leaked the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson, showing that the U.S. Supreme Court was looking to overturn Roe v. Wade. Despite the Court term having come to a close on Thursday, we still do not know who leaked the draft opinion, which was similar to the final draft.
Democrats have mostly been silent on these attacks, even when they occur in their own states.
A particularly egregious example comes from New York. Earlier this month, the CompassCare Pregnancy Services center in Buffalo was firebombed. In response, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office sent the barest of statements to The Buffalo News, which read that "Governor Hochul condemns violence of any kind, and the State Police stand ready to assist local authorities with the investigation." Attorney General Letitia James' office couldn't be bothered to respond for comment to the outlet.
The treatment of pregnancy centers in New York is back in the news, though, because what the attorney general does find fitting to speak about is to call on Google, "to correct search results that direct individuals seeking abortions to dangerous and misleading anti-abortion clinics in New York." There was no such press release around the time of when CompassCare was targeted.
CompassCare is itself facing a state probe, but vows to reopen, according to The Tablet:
AMHERST, N.Y. — At the same time CompassCare Pregnancy Services CEO Jim Harden works with local and federal authorities to solve a firebombing attack last month against one of the organization’s centers outside of Buffalo, his legal team braces for an investigation into its practices by the New York State Health Commissioner, a move he considers “unethical, very unjust targeting.”
When The Tablet spoke with Harden about both investigations on June 23, he was confident that the people responsible would be brought to justice. As for the state’s probe, however, his only certainty about how it unfolds is that the organization will not comply.
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The impending investigation — which Harden said the organization hasn’t yet been contacted about — stems from new pro-abortion legislation New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed on June 13 that directs the New York State Department of Health’s Commissioner to conduct a study and issue a report examining the unmet health and resource needs facing pregnant people in New York, and the impact of “limited service” pregnancy centers.
In the text of the legislation, limited-service pregnancy centers are, in part, defined as pregnancy centers that fail “to provide the full range of comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care services under the state’s Medicaid program,” including abortion, contraception, testing and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, and prenatal care.
For the study, state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett may request and “shall receive upon request,” a wide range of information from the centers, including financial records, services provided and at what frequency, demographic information of patients, data specific to abortion services, and what information is given to clients.
The New York Times took part in seeking to portray a negative picture about these pregnancy centers. "In New York, Anti-Abortion Centers Outnumber Abortion Clinics," warned the outlet on Saturday. Recently, the outlet published an interactive piece in its opinion section, "Pregnant? Need Help? They Have an Agenda." Another interactive piece read that "They Searched Online for Abortion Clinics. They Found Anti-Abortion Centers."
NBC News, claiming an exclusive, couldn't help itself in showing its agenda of going after pregnancy centers.
EXCLUSIVE: When NBC News producers visited crisis pregnancy centers in Texas, counselors misinformed them saying abortions caused mental illness and implied links to cancer and infertility.https://t.co/qN5b2569As
— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 29, 2022
"In Texas, state-funded crisis pregnancy centers gave medical misinformation to NBC News producers seeking counseling," the headline declared. Wait until they find out about the medical misinformation Planned Parenthood facilities give out, in order to convince women to have abortions.
The information that NBC is claiming is false, citing "experts," specifically the pro-abortion American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is that abortions can cause mental illness, as well as lead to breast cancer and infertility.
It is well documented that women can suffer mentally after their abortions, by the very existence of Silent No More, an organization where women share their stories of post-abortion regret.
There's also a 2018 study, by David C. Reardon, which spoke to how both sides agree that abortion can affect mental health:
...Still, both sides agree that (a) abortion is consistently associated with elevated rates of mental illness compared to women without a history of abortion; (b) the abortion experience directly contributes to mental health problems for at least some women; (c) there are risk factors, such as pre-existing mental illness, that identify women at greatest risk of mental health problems after an abortion; and (d) it is impossible to conduct research in this field in a manner that can definitively identify the extent to which any mental illnesses following abortion can be reliably attributed to abortion in and of itself.
At the very least, one cannot rule out completely that abortion can cause mental illness.
When it comes to a link between abortion and breast cancer, even Punam Kumar Gill, a film director who is not pro-life, has spoken out against those who dismiss it.
While the Mayo Clinic claims in an "Expert Answers" section that "Generally, elective abortion isn't thought to cause fertility issues or complications in future pregnancies," it does acknowledge that surgical abortions can have such effects.
The answer mentions that "a 2015 review of multiple studies suggested a link between prior surgical abortion and a slight increased risk of premature birth and low birth weight. Women who have multiple surgical abortions using a curet are at risk of scarring of the inner lining of the uterus (Asherman syndrome). This condition is associated with difficulty in becoming pregnant in the future."
TIME magazine has similarly targeted such pregnancy centers, claiming "Anti-Abortion Pregnancy Centers Are Collecting Troves of Data That Could Be Weaponized Against Women." Although the piece was published June 22, shortly before the Supreme Court officially released its decision in Dobbs, Twitter promoted the piece after, with 'pregnancy centers' in scare quotes.
.@TIME brings out the worst in the MSM bias against the pro-life movement. First, the fear-mongering about collecting private data and then putting the life-affirming pregnancy centers in scare quotes. Further, there will be no prosecution of women!!!!! @nrlc reminded us of this. pic.twitter.com/tEC0jSVvWn
— Rebecca Downs (@RebeccaRoseGold) June 25, 2022
Beyond referring to these life-affirming centers in such a way, TIME took part in a fear-mongering tactic that the mainstream media and pro-abortion Democrats have engaged in at length recently, claiming that women are at risk when it comes to their private data. Making such a tactic even more misleading is that no state laws criminalize women for their abortions, as the pro-life movement continues to double down on affirming they have no interest in punishing women for their abortions, as they are often seen as second victims.
Pro-abortion Democrats aren't merely looking to go after these pregnancy centers at the state level. The TIME article becomes even more consequential in that it was shared by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
With Roe gone, it’s more important than ever to crack down on so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" that mislead and deceive patients seeking abortion care. My bill with @SenatorMenendez would stop these harmful practices.https://t.co/kOoa9GWLyk
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) June 28, 2022
She also mentioned a bill she has worked on with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), which she claims "would stop these harmful practices" that supposedly occur at pregnancy centers.
The bill, the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act, was introduced on June 23, just before the Court handed down the Dobbs decision. The bill weaponizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against these centers, giving it the authority to collect penalties from such centers, many which get by on private donations.
Pro-abortion organizations, politicians, and the media have gone after these centers for years now, yet they still stick by their mission to help women and their children, including those not yet born.