Advocates for abortion access protest the annual fundraiser for unregulated pregnancy centers that target abortion seekers in Chicago

“Anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, or CPCs, are taking over Chicago and we created The Worst Festival of All Time summer campaign to call attention to this problem,” explained Lisa Battisfore, founder and president of Reproductive Transparency Now. “Two new anti-abortion CPCs have opened in the past year alone, bringing the total number within Chicago city limits to five. Two of those five centers belong to Aid for Women, the anti-abortion organization hosting its annual fundraiser on September 26th.”

 

Aid for Women has been growing its anti-abortion presence outside of Chicago as well. According to its client-facing website, Aid for Women now operates six additional unregulated pregnancy centers in Carbondale, Cicero, Flossmoor, Rockford, Waukegan, and Wheeling.

 

Illinois is often portrayed as a “safe haven” for abortion access due in large part to crucial reproductive healthcare legislation that made Illinois top the list of states with the largest increase in abortions since the Dobbs decision. Although the legal right to abortion is currently protected in Illinois, most people do not realize that anti-choice groups create major barriers to abortion care through anti-abortion CPCs. There are around 100 CPCs in the state of Illinois, outnumbering abortion providers by 3 to 1.

 

Crisis pregnancy centers’ goal is to lure clients whom they consider to be “abortion-vulnerable” or “abortion-minded” with limited medical services and insincere promises of unbiased pregnancy options counseling. But what these centers do not openly advertise is that they are staunchly anti-choice and have already decided that abortion is always the wrong decision. CPCs are intentional and meticulous in their efforts to conceal their anti-abortion agenda, which is a violation of their clients’ trust and personal autonomy.

 

Aid for Women’s two separate websites offer a case-in-point for how CPCs strategically communicate using pro-choice messaging to potential clients and anti-abortion messaging to potential donors (accessed 9/22/2024):

• On the client-facing site: “We are here to provide you with a free medical verification of pregnancy, answer your questions, and support you throughout your pregnancy decision.”

• On the donor-facing site: “Aid for Women’s pregnancy centers are on the front line of the abortion battle — from our Downtown center at ‘ground zero’ in the Chicago Loop, to our satellite centers in suburban Cicero, Wheeling, Edgewater, Flossmoor and Waukegan.”

 

State legislatures across the country, including in Illinois, have struggled to find ways to hold anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers accountable for their misleading messaging, harmful medical disinformation, and disregard for protected health information. In the absence of much-needed regulation and accountability legislation, it is up to grassroots organizations and community groups to keep the public informed.

 

All Illinoisans who believe in abortion access and full bodily autonomy must educate themselves and others about CPCs. “The only way to prevent the harm that anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers cause is to make sure all members of our community, especially those who are most often marginalized, know the truth about how they operate. That’s what The Worst Festival of All Time campaign is all about,” Battisfore concluded.

 

Thursday’s action will bring attention to the growing threat to bodily autonomy that is powered by anti-abortion CPCs and their hidden agenda. The 5:00 PM picket line is co-sponsored by Chicago Abortion Fund, Chicago for Abortion Rights, ICAN!, Illinois Choice Action Team, Illinois National Organization for Women, Indivisible Evanston, Indivisible Illinois, Midwest Access Coalition, Reproductive Transparency Now, She Votes Illinois, and Stop Trans Genocide - Chicago.

 

 

ABOUT THE WORST FESTIVAL OF ALL TIME

The Worst Festival of All Time is a public education and awareness campaign drawing attention to the 24/7/365 threat to bodily autonomy being orchestrated by anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) and the powerful anti-choice groups that operate and resource them. There are more than 2,500 anti-abortion CPCs, located across all 50 states, pretending to be reproductive healthcare facilities in order to intercept and deter pregnant people who may be considering abortion. Learn more about this Illinois-based initiative led by Reproductive Transparency Now at www.WorstFestival.com.

 

ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE TRANSPARENCY NOW

Reproductive Transparency Now (RTN) is a Chicago-based grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing reproductive justice by raising public awareness about anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) through direct action, education, and advocacy. Learn more about RTN at www.ReproTransparency.org.

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For media inquiries, contact: info@reprotransparency.org.

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