Pro-abortion group targets crisis pregnancy centres
A pro-abortion group is beating the bushes to find disgruntled clients of crisis pregnancy centres in order to discredit the centres. The U.S.-based National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League is distributing a survey form in the U.S. and Canada that asks women who have used the services of a crisis pregnancy centre to describe their experience.
The introduction to the survey says the centres "lure women in" by offering free pregnancy tests and reproductive health services, but do not provide abortion referrals.
The surveys will be collected "in order to expose the true nature and tactics of deceptive crisis pregnancy centres."
JŸrgen Severloh, director of a CPC in Winnipeg, questions the intent of the survey. "Some of their motives may be genuinely good...women getting good care. But I'm not sure the intentions are always so good."
Severloh says that while the CPC does not provide referrals for abortion, the client is told that up front. However, the clinic does provide information on abortion, as well as adoption and parenthood. "You build trust with a client by providing accurate information."
Severloh refers to a similar survey launched by a local pro-choice group a few years ago. When he found out about it, he wrote all the pro-choice centres, inviting them to tour his Crisis Pregnancy Centre to ask any questions and view any resource materials he provides. Only three made appointments; none showed up.
Severloh is forwarding a newsletter from a pro-life website in the U.S. that encourages CPC clients to fill out the survey, confident that CPC clients will present a more positive impression than NARAL is expecting.
The Winnipeg CPC does exit interviews with all clients who have used its services. "In the 13 years I've been around, only a handful of people have ever complained." He says virtually all of the clients have said they appreciated the information and felt loved and accepted by the staff. "We keep those exit interviews just for times like this."
Care paramount
Bern Currie is director of Christian Association of Pregnancy Support Services, a network of 50 Christian crisis pregnancy centres, maternity homes and adoption agencies across Canada. He is not surprised by NARAL's attempt to discredit the centres. Though he says clients should feel free to respond to the survey, he is not advising member centres to solicit their clients to fill out the survey.
"We need to decide whether we're in this to fight an abortion war or to help our clients," says Currie, emphasizing that caring for pregnant women, not fighting pro-choice advocates, should be the focus. "Our directors have enough to do."
Besides, says Currie, even without a concerted effort to rally positive feedback, NARAL will be hard pressed to find clients who came away dissastisfied from crisis pregnancy centres.
"We have strict guidelines, standards and codes of ethics in our centres and they treat their clients accordingly," he says. "I expect our clients would have very little to say of a negative nature."
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