Federally Funded Pregnancy Resource Centers Provide Women With Incorrect Information On Abortion, Report Says

Some federally funded pregnancy resource centers are incorrectly telling women that abortion results in an increased risk of infertility, breast cancer and psychological trauma, according to a minority congressional report requested by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and conducted by the Democratic staff of the House Government Reform Committee, the Washington Post reports (Kaufman, Washington Post, 7/18). For the report, released Monday, congressional aides posed as pregnant women who were age 17 and requested information about unintended pregnancies from 25 pregnancy resource centers that have received federal funding in the last five years, the AP/Forbes reports (Freking, AP/Forbes, 7/17). The report finds that 20 out of the 23 centers that could be reached provided the aides with misleading or incorrect information concerning the potential risks of abortion. According to the report, counselors at eight of the centers said that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. However, a 2003 National Cancer Institute panel concluded that abortion is not associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer, the Post reports (Washington Post, 7/18). Investigators found that centers gave misleading or false information about abortion 87% of the time, CQ HealthBeat reports (Agnes Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 7/18). The incorrect information "may be effective in frightening pregnant teenagers and women and discouraging abortion," the report said, adding, "[I]t denies the teenagers and women vital health information, prevents them from making an informed decision, and is not an accepted public health practice." According to Molly Ford of Sterling, Va.-based Care Net, which supports pregnancy resource centers nationwide, there are "many studies that show significant medical problems associated with abortion." According to Ford, the centers the report criticizes receive federal funds for abstinence-only programs but not for pregnancy counseling. "The funds are kept entirely separate," she added (Washington Post, 7/18). According to the AP/Forbes, a fraction of more than 4,000 pregnancy resource centers nationwide receive federal funding and most receive funds for abstinence programs (AP/Forbes, 7/17). HHS spokesperson Christina Pearson said that officials at the department, which distributes funding to pregnancy resource centers, still are reviewing the Waxman report and have no comment on its findings (CQ HealthBeat, 7/18).

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