(This article courtesy of the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
Sterling, VA — Eleven national pro-life organizations have joined to
denounce a new attack by the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights
Action League (NARAL) against pregnancy centers, according to Lynn Bisbee,
vice-president of Care Net. In a recently published guide, NARAL, the
leading pro-abortion advocacy group in the United States, directs
activists to pose as fake clients and to secretly record conversations
inside pregnancy centers that promote positive alternative to abortion.
In the United States, there are nearly 2500 pregnancy centers that offer
free pregnancy services to women facing unplanned pregnancies, says
Bisbee. NARAL's new campaign aims to weaken pregnancy centers by creating
negative publicity and laying the groundwork for lawsuits and restrictive
legislation.
“As pregnancy centers increasingly empower women to choose positive
options, it is not surprising that those who promote abortion as an easy
solution become more opposed to our work,” says Bisbee. Care Net, an
organization with over 600 affiliated pregnancy centers, is one of eleven
organizations that has joined to publish a booklet exposing NARAL's newly
orchestrated campaign against pregnancy centers.
NARAL's new guide admits that pregnancy centers are growing in strength
and are enjoying increased national credibility. A 1998 marketing study
supported by the Family Research Council found that a substantial majority
of respondents believed that pregnancy centers had a positive impact on
the women they served. Even 86% of respondents who described themselves as pro-choice agreed that pregnancy centers had a positive impact on clients.
To counter this trend, NARAL seeks to expose instances of improper client
treatment and possible racial discrimination. NARAL urges activists to
conduct undercover investigations “posing as women who fear unintended
pregnancies.” NARAL also encourages activists to equip “volunteer
investigators with tape recorders so that they can secretly tape”
interactions inside the center. Secretly recording private conversations
is illegal in several states.
As NARAL's campaign unfolds, many Care Net centers are reporting suspected
encounters with fake clients, according to Bisbee. NARAL reports that
orchestrated undercover investigations have begun in at least two states.
In Maryland, NARAL has joined forces with Planned Parenthood in an effort
known as “The Clarity Campaign.” This direct mail campaign is designed to
mobilize up to 10,000 new activists and to expose the “anti-choice” agenda
of pregnancy centers, according to Planned Parenthood of Maryland's
website.
NARAL also urges activists to post negative flyers near pregnancy centers
or at nearby campuses. The sample flyers in NARAL's guide include blanket
accusations that pregnancy centers deceive, mislead and pressure women.
NARAL, however, does not advise activists to verify the truth of any of
these accusations before posting flyers near a particular center. These
tactics, according to Bisbee, have unfairly slandered at least two Care
Net centers. In Cleveland, Ohio, a NARAL poster was found in front of a
Care Net center stating that the center used deceptive tactics and false
information to frighten women. In Tacoma, Washington, NARAL posters were
taped over a Care Net center's paid advertisement at a local campus. These
posters stated that the Tacoma pregnancy center gave “medically false
information” and was “not safe.” Kim Triller, Executive Director of the
Tacoma center, responds, “Our pregnancy center offers safe medical
services and provides accurate information. It is sad and ironic that
NARAL uses such false information to attack our center.”
Bisbee remains encouraged about the work of pregnancy centers, “Pregnancy
centers are making a positive difference in the lives of thousands of
women every day. Our hope is that this situation will only strengthen the
resolve of every center to continue serving clients with excellence.”
Click here for a list of pregnancy care centers around the country.
