Exposing Fake Clinics: Minnesota’s “Crisis Pregnancy Centers”

Crisis pregnancy centers, or “CPCs,” are anti-abortion organizations that target pregnant people with predatory, deceptive marketing. Their main function is to attract and intercept Black, brown, Indigenous, and low-income people before they access abortion care.

Their goal is ideological, not medical: They want to prevent pregnant people from obtaining abortion services using any means necessary, including by using delay tactics, disinformation, and deception. With nearly a hundred CPCs in Minnesota, they outnumber abortion clinics by about 10:1.

This week Special Projects Advisor Erin Maye Quade and Organizer Jay Belsito talk with our guests, Olivia Crull and Carolyn Handke from the grassroots Minnesota Abortion Action Committee, about the harm that CPCs pose to our community. What can be done to expose them, limit their reach, and stop the deception?

If you have been harmed by a CPC, please reach out to Jay Belsito at [email protected].

MNAAC photo credit: Ashley Taylor-Gougé, Minnesota Abortion Action Committee

More information:

• Minnesota Abortion Action Committee – Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
• UnRestrict Minnesota and UnRestrict Minnesota Action
• Designed to Deceive CPC Study
• Attorney General Ellison issues consumer alert about crisis pregnancy centers
• Community demands predatory fake abortion clinic out of North Minneapolis
• Why did the community protest against a new ‘crisis pregnancy center’ in the Phillips area? | MinnPost
• CPC Storytelling Form (MNAAC)
• UnRestrict Minnesota Reproductive Freedom Lobby Day

Timestamps for this episode:

• 00:00 Introduction to the Episode
• 00:09 Meet the Guests: Jay, Caroline, and Olivia
• 00:15 Understanding Crisis Pregnancy Centers
• 06:07 Jay’s Personal Experience with Crisis Pregnancy Centers
• 08:42 The Deceptive Tactics of Crisis Pregnancy Centers
• 09:05 Tell us your story. Contact [email protected]
• 10:56 The Impact of Crisis Pregnancy Centers on Communities
• 24:24 The Need for Real Support and Resources for Pregnant People
• 28:55 Getting Involved in the Fight Against Crisis Pregnancy Centers
• 32:41 Final Thoughts and Next Episode on Monday, February 12

About The Gender Justice Brief

The Gender Justice Brief is produced by Gunther Michael Jahnl of IQONEQ Communications Solutions and Audra Grigus.

Visit Gender Justice and UnRestrict Minnesota.