A new study of crisis pregnancy centres in Canada has found they have hidden anti-abortion agendas.
The study was created by the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC) and the BC Humanist Association (BCHA). The Canada-wide study looked at the websites of nearly 150 crisis pregnancy centres (CPC) and looked for misleading information.
A pervious study from 2016, conducted by ARCC, was used to understand the changes to CPC’s over time. Since the original study, 10% of these centres have started to offer services like STI testing and ultrasounds. CPC’s are unregulated in Canada and therefore not required to follow medical standards.
The study found when pregnant clients visit a CPC they are often receiving medical misinformation.
“Even though these agencies present themselves as unbiased counselling centres, most are anti-abortion and religiously affiliated. A key goal for them is to dissuade clients from having an abortion,” says Joyce Arthur, executive director of ARCC.
Vernon, Penticton and Kamloops all have CPC’s that have received funding from either the provincial or federal government through grants, aids, or wage subsidies.
According to the study, this includes St. Ann’s Parish in Penticton which meets the criteria to be considered a CPC. The parish runs a pregnancy support program through the resource centre Onesky. Government funding is trickling down to the program through funding to Onesky. The study, however, notes that the support for the program by "may be largely due to their wide variety of non-abortion related services."
“The biased nature of crisis pregnancy centres and the motivated counselling that they offer can cause a variety of harms to pregnant people,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, research coordinator for BCHA. “A visit to a CPC may delay access to essential healthcare services such as prenatal care, not just abortion care.”
The ARCC believes CPC’s are trying to change their messaging to appear more legitimate and to hide their anti-abortion agenda.
“Since 93% of CPCs are registered charities, they are likely afraid of losing their charitable status due to the Liberal Party promise in 2021 to no longer allow anti-choice groups to be charities,” says Arthur.
Even with this change in messaging, the study found most CPC websites still contain misinformation about abortion.
The study recommends CPC’s be stopped from giving unregulated medical services, disclose their anti-choice agendas, have their charitable tax statuses revoked and should stop receiving public funding.
