Abstract
Background
This study assessed the accuracy of medical information provided by crisis pregnancy
centers in North Carolina.
Study Design
We performed a secondary data analysis of a “secret shopper survey” performed by a
nonprofit organization. Reports from phone calls and visits to crisis pregnancy centers
were analyzed for quality and content of medical information provided. Web sites of
crisis pregnancy centers in the state were also reviewed.
Results
Thirty-two crisis pregnancy centers were contacted. Nineteen of these were visited.
Fourteen centers (44%) offered that they “provide counseling on abortion and its risks.”
Inaccurate information provided included a link between abortion and breast cancer
(16%), infertility (26%) and mental health problems (26%). Of the 36 Web sites identified,
31 (86%) provided false or misleading information, including 26 sites (72%) linking
abortion to “post-abortion stress.”
Conclusions
Many crisis pregnancy centers give inaccurate medical information regarding the risks
of abortion. Overstating risks stigmatizes abortion, seeks to intimidate women and
is unethical.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to ContraceptionAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
United States House of Representatives. Committee on Government Reform-Minority Staff. Special Investigations Division (July 2006). False and misleading health information provided by federally-funded pregnancy resource centers. United States House of Representatives. Available at: http://www.chsourcebook.com/articles/waxman2.pdf.
- Two-sided confidence intervals for the single proportion: comparison of seven methods.Stat Med. 1998; 17: 857-872
- An overview of abortion laws.State Policies in Brief, New York2012
- Breast cancer and abortion: collaborative reanalysis of data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 83,000 women with breast cancer from 16 countries.Lancet. 2004; 363: 1007-1016
- Obstetric performance following an induced abortion.Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2010; 24: 667-682
- The effect of pregnancy termination on future reproduction.Baillieres Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 1990; 4: 391-405
- Misinformation on abortion.Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2011; 16: 233-240
- Induced termination of pregnancy and low birthweight and preterm birth: a systematic review and meta-analyses.BJOG. 2009; 116: 1425-1442
- Abortion and the risk of subsequent preterm birth: a systematic review with meta-analyses.J Reprod Med. 2009; 54: 95-108
- Conception, early pregnancy loss, and time to clinical pregnancy: a population-based prospective study.Fertil Steril. 2003; 79: 577-584
- Spontaneous fetal loss after demonstration of a live fetus in the first trimester.Obstet Gynecol. 1987; 70: 827-830
- Incidence of fetal loss in infertility patients after detection of fetal heart activity with early transvaginal ultrasound.J Reprod Med. 1993; 38: 804-806
- Spontaneous abortion rate in ultrasonographically viable pregnancies.Obstet Gynecol. 1988; 71: 81-83
- Delays in request for pregnancy termination: comparison of patients in the first and second trimesters.Contraception. 2010; 81: 446-451
- Induced abortion and anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders: isolating the effects of abortion in the National Comorbidity Survey.J Psychiatr Res. 2009; 43: 770-776
- Post-abortion syndrome: creating an affliction.Bioethics. 2010; 24: 445-452
- Abortion and mental health: quantitative synthesis and analysis of research published 1995–2009.Br J Psychiatry. 2011; 199: 180-186
- Examining the association of abortion history and current mental health: a reanalysis of the National Comorbidity Survey using a common-risk-factors model.Soc Sci Med. 2011; 72: 72-82
- Abortion and anxiety: what's the relationship?.Soc Sci Med. 2008; 67: 238-252
- Abortion and mental health: evaluating the evidence.Am Psychol. 2009; 64: 863-890
- Abortion stigma: a reconceptualization of constituents, causes, and consequences.Womens Health Issues. 2011; 21: S49-S54
- Conceptualising abortion stigma.Cult Health Sex. 2009; 11: 625-639
- Taking the mystery out of "mystery shopper" studies.N Engl J Med. 2011; 365: 484-486
- On being sane in insane places.Science. 1973; 179: 250-258
- Pharmacy access to emergency hormonal contraception in Jacksonville, FL: a secret shopper survey.Contraception. 2007; 75: 126-130
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 390, December 2007: ethical decision making in obstetrics and gynecology.Obstet Gynecol. 2007; 110: 1479-1487
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 321: maternal decision making, ethics, and the law.Obstet Gynecol. 2005; 106: 1127-1137
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 456: forming a just health care system.Obstet Gynecol. 2010; 115: 672-677
Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 09, 2012
Accepted:
June 4,
2012
Received in revised form:
May 30,
2012
Received:
May 17,
2012
Footnotes
☆No funding was provided for this study.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.