By Dave Andrusko
The recent study that appeared in the January issue of the journal Contraception was a huge surprise to pro-lifers for two reasons.
First, Contraception always seems to come down on the side of the abortion industry. Second, “Early pregnancy confirmation availability at crisis pregnancy centers and abortion facilities in the United States”—read carefully speaks volumes about CPCs and the philanthropic assistance they offer to women in crisis pregnancies.
Prof. Michael New analyzed the findings in National Review Online. His summary is spot-on. “Overall, a liberal academic journal published an analytically rigorous study showing that pregnancy centers offer better and less costly services to women.” To all the CPC haters, this must make their teeth grind.
But there is more!
It provides very strong statistical evidence that pro-life pregnancy help centers offer better and less expensive services than abortion facilities. In particular, it found that pregnancy centers had shorter appointment wait times than abortion facilities and were considerably more likely to offer same-day appointments. Even more important, it found that abortion facilities frequently charge for pregnancy tests and ultrasounds whereas pregnancy help centers almost never charge for these services.
And CPCs do more with far less which means that those state governments which directly or indirectly assist CPCs get real bang for their buck:
Interestingly, the authors furthered their analysis by separately analyzing abortion facilities in 25 states with policy environments they deemed supportive of pregnancy help centers. Specifically, these 25 states provided either direct or indirect funding to pregnancy help centers or had legislation in place that required referrals to pregnancy help centers. In these states, abortion facilities had shorter wait times for pregnancy tests. They also, on average, charged less for both pregnancy tests and ultrasounds. Overall, it appears that competition from pregnancy help centers has an impact on abortion facilities.
An important sign, hopefully. of things to come. Just last Monday, in his State of the State address, Tennessee’s pro-life Gov. Bill Lee boldly announced that his administration seeks to establish a $100 million grant program to assist crisis pregnancy centers.
“We can have a healthy debate about the policy specifics, but we can also agree that America is rooted in a commitment to human dignity,” Lee, who cruised to winning a second term, said. “There was a significant shift in this country last year when it comes to protecting the lives of the unborn. We now all have an opportunity and a moral obligation to support strong Tennessee families.”
Gov. Lee added, “This is not a matter of politics. This is about human dignity.”
Last point. The authors of the study end with this startling conclusion [underlining added]:
Implications
Our findings demonstrating that pregnancy confirmation is more accessible at crisis pregnancy centers than at abortion facilities are predicted to be exacerbated in the wake of abortion clinic closures following the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision. This highlights the need for improved funding and support for pregnancy confirmation service delivery in medical settings, including abortion facilities.