"Once while working as an HCA at Planned Parenthood, I had an interesting experience with a patient. I remember looking at her ultrasound before I went into the exam room. She was around 19 weeks pregnant, so I prepared to do a standard mid-trimester abortion counseling session. When I walked in though, I saw a young girl in stunned silence in her chair. Soon she started to cry and told me that “the people at the other clinic I went to last week said I was only 12 weeks pregnant.” She went on to say that the staff at this “other clinic” told her that getting an abortion could increase her risk for breast cancer, give her post-traumatic stress disorder, and make her infertile. She was clearly very scared.
The moment she said all of this, I knew what exactly what had happened: she visited a crisis pregnancy center. I told her that although ultrasounds can be an approximation (possibly a few days off), there was no way that she was in her first trimester. I talked about the people who work at these centers, most posing as doctors or nurses, who date ultrasounds earlier to trick unsuspecting patients into thinking their pregnancy is earlier than it really is. By manipulating the pregnancy dating, it makes women think they have more time to decide about what to do about a pregnancy. These centers hope that these women will then run out of time and be unable to get a legal abortion in their state. After explaining all of this to my patient, she asked me when the “real doctor” was going to see her. I told her she just saw the real doctor.
I wish I could tell you that this is a rare story I hear, but it isn’t. CPCs are places that exist solely for the purpose of deterring women from pursuing abortion procedures. Many are affiliated with religious organizations, few disclosing their relation, and they often lure women in with free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and counseling. They usually place themselves near college campuses, lower income areas, and near abortion providers. Sometimes the staff makes the girls and women watch graphic videos depicting abortion procedures while waiting for the pregnancy test results, giving her brochures and pamphlets with false information about fetal development, birth control and abortion procedure side effects. They do not have to adhere to HIPAA compliant laws as medical offices do, so your contact information may be used as they wish. I once started the medication abortion video in a counseling room before I went over a patient’s paper work, and she started to scream: “Please don’t make me watch this! I don’t want to watch the video about Jesus and hell again!”"
more at:
http://plannedpcnc.org/blog/2011/02/patients/pregnant-imagine-your-next-surprise/There must be some kind of regulation even on private clinics/centres that offer medical tests and it must be illegal to impersonate a doctor or nurse. Don't these places have to be licensed? Is there any kind of action that can be taken to stop them spreading false information and shoving their hurtful opinions down the throats of vulnerable women?