City Council Hearing On Tuesday, November 16th, advocates on both sides of the abortion debate are expected to turn out in force for a New York City Council hearing on a bill that would regulate Crisis Pregnancy Centers.
The hearing will take place at 1:00 PM at 250 Broadway, 16th floor, in Manhattan.
If you or anyone you know has had an experience at a CPC in New York City and is willing to testify about this important issue, please email the City Council today at: rcordero@council.nyc.gov.
Telling your story is important to other women.
Because Crisis Pregnancy Centers like the one above, on 5th Avenue in Bay Ridge, have an anti-abortion agenda, they intentionally mislead and misinform pregnant women in crisis about the full range of reproductive health options available to them, in order to prevent women from choosing abortion and other legal birth control methods.
The bill introduced in the New York City Council would regulate the CPCs' anti-choice tactics.
The anti-abortion ("pro-life" in doublespeak) lobby is organizing the opposition to this bill. Planned Parenthood of New York is organizing to counter the "pro-life" spin.
The anti-abortion ("pro-life" in doublespeak) lobby is organizing the opposition to this bill. Planned Parenthood of New York is organizing to counter the "pro-life" spin.
RSVP to Planned Parenthood of New York activists@ppnyc.org if you would like to attend this hearing as an advocate of reproductive choice.
Twelfth and Delaware
On Tuesday evening, the powerful documentary film 12th and Delaware, by Oscar-nominated directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady,will be screened at the IFC Center.
The film is an in-depth look at a Florida CPC operating directly across the street from an abortion clinic.
More from Alternet.
The following is an excerpt from the testimony of Balin Anderson, Director of Social Services for Planned Parenthood's Bronx Center, at the City Council hearing on November 16:
More from Alternet.
Excerpt from Transcript of Hearing
The following is an excerpt from the testimony of Balin Anderson, Director of Social Services for Planned Parenthood's Bronx Center, at the City Council hearing on November 16:
My job is to inform, counsel, and provide support to women seeking reproductive health care services. All too often I see women who have been misled, misinformed, and manipulated by Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which prey on our patients by setting up shop near our health centers and luring women in with deceptive tactics. I am here today to give voice to the women that these centers have abused, manipulated and deceived.
Last week, I met with a 32-year-old mother of two young children. She had recently cut back her work hours because her three-year-old is autistic and requires special services and care. After a missed period, she was concerned that she might be pregnant. She mistook the CPC across the street for the Planned Parenthood health center. When she asked for a pregnancy test, she was told she would also have a “consultation.”
The “consultation” began with personal questions, including the name and occupation of her partner. She began to feel uncomfortable. Something felt “weird” about the clinic.
After providing a urine sample, she was told she would have to watch graphic videos of abortion procedures in order to see the results of her pregnancy test. This, despite the fact that the patient had expressed no interest in or intention to have an abortion.
The patient was surprised to find out that she had to administer the pregnancy test herself, using an over-the-counter test from the pharmacy.
This woman, who only wanted a pregnancy test, was subjected to coercive practices and anti-abortion rhetoric and propaganda.
This patient ultimately got the care she needed at PPNYC, but only after the staff at the CPC had deceived and emotionally traumatized her.Click here for a list of known CPCs in New York State.
