WARNING: CPCs do NOT provide comprehensive reproductive healthcare. CPCs are organizations that seek to prevent people from accessing abortion care.
- CPCs may appear to be reproductive health care clinics, but do NOT provide abortion care or abortion referrals, contraception, or other reproductive health care, despite what they may advertise.
- Most CPCs are NOT licensed medical facilities.
- CPCs are NOT typically staffed by licensed doctors or nurses, even though some people who work at CPCs may try to look the part, for example, by wearing a white coat.
- Some CPCs offer ultrasounds performed by unlicensed personnel who are not qualified to provide that service, which may lead to inaccurate or misleading results about a pregnancy.
- CPCs staffed by unlicensed personnel are NOT required to keep your medical records private.
- Unlicensed CPCs are NOT required to follow codes of ethics or standards of care that govern healthcare professions because they are not healthcare providers.
- CPCs often provide inaccurate and misleading information about abortion and the medical and mental health effects of abortion.
- CPCs often mislead people about how far they are into their pregnancy.
- CPCs often try to delay scheduling appointments to push people beyond the point at which they can obtain an abortion.
Do research and ask questions when scheduling an appointment to learn about your abortion options. Be aware of the warning signs.
- Look at the website and online reviews before making an appointment.
- Ask whether the center is licensed and will provide you with an abortion or a referral for abortion before you go to an appointment.
- Watch for these warning signs, including that the center:
- Is listed as a pregnancy resource center, pregnancy help center, pregnancy care center, or women’s resource center on CPC websites such as helpinyourarea.com/massachusetts.
- Advertises free pregnancy tests, abortion counseling, pre-abortion screenings, abortion education, but do not provide abortion or help you access abortion care elsewhere.
- Attempts to delay your appointment.
- Uses tactics to try to pressure you into continuing a pregnancy, for example, by providing small plastic fetus or baby clothes.
- For help finding a licensed reproductive healthcare provider, talk to your doctor or check this list.
- When you arrive for your appointment, make sure you are in the right place. Many CPCs are located near clinics that provide abortion and use similar sounding names.
The Attorney General’s Office is committed to securing the civil rights of all people in Massachusetts or traveling to Massachusetts to access healthcare. If you have concerns about your experience with a crisis pregnancy center, file a complaint with our Civil Rights Division online or at 617-963-2917.
Share this information
We want all pregnant people seeking help to know that CPCs do not provide abortion care, and the information presented to you at these facilities about your options is often misleading and inaccurate. To help friends, family, neighbors, and others in your community recognize the warning signs of CPCs, the guidance above can be downloaded in multiple languages.