Crisis Pregnancy Center

A crisis pregnancy center (CPC), sometimes called a pregnancy resource center (PRC), is a non-profit organization established to counsel pregnant women against having an abortion. CPCs generally provide peer counseling related to abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth, and may also offer additional non-medical services such as financial assistance, child-rearing resources, and adoption referrals. CPCs that qualify as medical clinics may also provide pregnancy testing, sonograms, and other services; however, the vast majority are not licensed and provide no medical services. CPCs have been reported to disseminate false medical information, usually but not exclusively about the supposed health risks and mental health risks of abortion.

CPCs are typically run by pro-life Christians according to a conservative Christian philosophy, and they often operate in affiliation with one of three non-profit organizations: Care Net, Heartbeat International, and Birthright International. There are over 4,000 CPCs in the United States, as compared with well under 750 abortion clinics. Canada has roughly 200 CPCs and about 25 abortion clinics. Hundreds more operate outside of the U.S. and Canada. At least 20 U.S. states provide funding for CPCs, and from 2001 to 2005, 50 CPCs received $30 million in funding from the U.S. federal government. By 2006, U.S. CPCs had received more than $60 million dollars of federal funding, including some funding earmarked for abstinence-only programs.

Legal and legislative action regarding CPCs has generally attempted to curb deceptive advertising, targeting those that present themselves as abortion clinics or requiring centers to disclose that they do not offer certain services or possess certain qualifications. In 1993, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) was formed to provide legal advice to CPCs in the U.S.