The weekly report on research and demographics of the secular movement
by Julie Esris
Last week, lawmakers in California introduced a bill that would require Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) to inform pregnant women about abortion services as an option. The measureÔÇö dubbed the Reproductive Freedom, Accountability, Comprehensive Care and Transparency (FACT) ActÔÇö is long overdue. CPCs are notorious for strategically setting themselves up near abortion clinics in order to deter women from terminating their pregnancies. Largely motivated by a religious agenda, which they employ alongside inaccurate information about pregnancy and reproductive healthcare services, many CPCs do not have medical licenses and do not even have licensed medical professionals on staff. The FACT Act would require these CPCs to post notices to inform women about this reality.
The FACT Act is a positive step. A research report newly released by The Secular Policy Institute reveals some disturbing information about Crisis Pregnancy Centers and what appears to be a government bias against abortion as an option. Many states have cut funding to Planned Parenthood while explicitly funneling money toward alternatives to abortion, which include CPCs. Texas, for example, allots $9 million per year on its Alternatives to Abortion program, 41% of which goes to CPCs. Another disturbing fact is that CPCs vastly outnumber abortion clinics, limiting the options of sometimes desperate and economically disadvantaged women with unwanted pregnancies. Using scare tactics, CPCs often give pregnant women inaccurate information, such as that abortion causes breast cancer, infertility, and miscarriage of future pregnancies.
It is also worth nothing that 49% of American pregnancies are unintentional. This is unsurprising when one considers the state of sex education in America, on which the Secular Policy Institute also reported. Millions of federal dollars per year are allotted toward abstinence-only education; in December 2014, $15 million was budgeted for this. Abstinence-only education does not provide information about contraception and instead implores teenagers to remain cellibate until marriage in order to avoid pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). This type of education is largely religiously motivated, and research has repeatedly shown that abstinence-only education is not only ineffective but also dangerous. Teens receiving abstinence-only education are actually more likely to contract STDs and conceive a child. New Mexico, which is severely lacking in comprehensive sex education, has the highest teen pregnancy rate in America at 8%. Teen condom use in New Mexico is only 60%, below the 75% national average. Conversely, declines in pregnancy are largely attributed to increased contraceptive use. New Hampshire, which has a more comprehensive sex education curriculum that encourages condom use, has the lowest teen pregnancy rate (2.8%) in America.
It is clear that federal and state funding decisions are heavily influenced by religious belief, with idealism trumping reality. This is unacceptable in a country that was specifically founded on the separation of church and state. Between the prevalence of federal funds for abstinence-only sex education instead of sex education that teaches about contraception use, and for Crisis Pregnancy Centers instead of Planned Parenthood, girls and women are left with very few options. It is very easy to imagine the limited choices available for a teenage girl in New Mexico, for example, where there are only 12 abortion clinics but 18 Crisis Pregnancy Centers. If she is one of the 8% of teen girls who become pregnant, she will have an (admittedly only slightly) easier time finding a Crisis Pregnancy Center, which will give her inaccurate information. The FACT Act is an excellent idea for California, and an imperative for American society as a whole.