The GOP is Betting on Crisis Pregnancy Centers

The anti-abortion movement's 2024 plan depends on CPC funding

This is a special edition/addition to the 1.22.24 issue of Abortion, Every Day. Be on the lookout for the regular daily report later today.

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This weekend, anti-abortion speakers at the March for Life were all in on anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). House Speaker Mike Johnson, for example, called it “a critical time” to “assist our vital pregnancy resource centers and our maternity homes.” And House Pro-Life Caucus Chair Chris Smith touted their “noble” work, calling them “an oasis of love, compassion, empathy, respect, and care.”

As The 19th reports, this focus on CPCs is in part because of how poorly the anti-abortion movement is doing in the polls. Lets be real, “helping women” sounds a lot better than talking about incredibly unpopular abortion bans.

But it’s important to remind people that the GOP isn’t supporting these overfunded religious groups out of a desire to help women and families—nor is the anti-abortion movement ‘softening’ their message by talking about CPCs. The truth is that these groups are central to some of the biggest projects the anti-abortion movement has happening in 2024, and every piece of legislation supporting them—and every positive mention of the organizations—is in service of that broader goal.

Right now, for example, Republicans are pushing millions of dollars in funding for these groups under the auspices of creating “support” for women and families. It’s a way for them to pretend as if they’re doing something to help the post-Roe care crisis. (Never mind that these aren’t medical clinics.)

The total lack of regulation around funding also means Republicans can funnel this money where ever and however they want. Remember this speech from North Carolina Sen. Natasha Marcus breaking down the $20 million in state funding that was being sent to people’s homes and empty lots?

CPCs are also a huge part of the GOP’s anti-birth control plan. As I outlined in September, Republicans are stripping their states of real OBGYNs and clinics and replacing them with CPCs—groups that aren’t just unable and unwilling to prescribe birth control, but that proactively spread misinformation about contraception! In short, they create reproductive and maternal health deserts, and then populate desperate communities with fake clinics that tell them birth control is bad for them.

CPCs are also behind the rise of ‘maternity’ homes. (Please note that Speaker Johnson mentioned those homes in his comments.) These are essentially residential crisis pregnancy centers that target vulnerable women who have nowhere else to go—and they’re run by the same large umbrella organizations that run CPCs. These groups often control women’s movements, their phones, and make them ‘earn’ things like diapers by going to Bible classes. This past June, I warned you that the anti-abortion movement was working to create a “national network of maternity homes”—we’re starting to see that in effect now.

CPCs will enact the anti-abortion movement’s plan to pressure and force women to carry doomed pregnancies to term. You know this is something I’ve been tracking closely. When Republicans pass legislation that forces doctors to give women ‘prenatal counseling’ resources, these are the groups they’re being sent to. And because they’re pushing these programs using language like ‘perinatal hospice care’ and ‘prenatal counseling’, the GOP believes that Democrats will have a hard time opposing funding from a PR perspective.

As Johnson said at this address about funding for CPCs, “Our bill would…ensure that the states can utilize these centers to help people in need. Who could be opposed to that?”

And that leads to the last thing to watch out for: The anti-abortion movement thinks CPCs will fix their PR problem. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed anti-choice activists and groups making a huge push on crisis pregnancy centers, specifically putting out ‘studies’ showing their positive impact. The hope is that they can change Americans’ perception of CPCs (which people largely know lie to women) and how they feel about the anti-abortion movement.

All of which is to say: The work of CPCs goes far beyond convincing individual women not to have abortions. They are a key part of the anti-abortion movement’s strategy on all sorts of different projects. And if conservatives are focusing more heavily on the groups—we have to, as well.