NARAL Pro-Choice America Endorses "Stop Deceptive Advertising in Women's Services Act"

Washington, DC - NARAL Pro-Choice America today announced its support for new legislation introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) that would grant the Federal Trade Commission the authority to protect women from anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) that use deceptive practices and mislead women into believing they offer comprehensive reproductive healthcare.  Many of these “clinics” are not regulated and falsely advertise that they offer abortion services or counseling, when in fact they are centers created to dissuade women from exercising their right to choose.

Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, urged Congress to pass the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act.  Maloney’s bill would allow the FTC to penalize organizations that falsely advertise as resources for abortion care services or counseling, when they in fact do not offer such services.

"We applaud Rep. Maloney’s leadership in support of unbiased, medically accurate information. The CPCs use deceptive and manipulative tactics that prevent women from making fully informed choices about their reproductive health,” Keenan said. “They are putting political propaganda before women’s health. It’s time for Congress to step in and hold these fake ‘clinics’ accountable and protect women from false advertising.  Americans value honesty in advertising and these anti-choice operations should not be exempt from living up to this basic principle.”

Keenan said the centers received renewed attention when the Washington Post reported last week that the Bush administration had given these fake clinics well over $60 million in taxpayer dollars.
“Hardworking Americans should not have to foot the bill for anti-choice groups that pose as health clinics, misrepresent the services they provide, and in some cases even harass and intimidate the unsuspecting women they lure into their centers ” Keenan said.

NARAL Pro-Choice America and its affiliate network have long worked to expose the deceptive practices by these establishments.   Many CPCs list themselves in the yellow pages of phone directories under the headings “abortion,” “abortion alternatives,” “abortion services,” “family planning information centers” or “women’s organizations” even though the only “abortion service” they provide is to dissuade women from exercising their right to choose by using anti-choice propaganda.

These unregulated facilities reflect the anti-choice movement’s efforts to restrict, control, and manipulate the information given to women facing unintended pregnancies.  The Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act allows the Federal Trade Commission to establish regulations to stop CPCs from using deceptive and intimidating practices to prevent women from accessing the full range of reproductive-health options.

Contact:
Ted Miller, 202.973.3032