'Resource centers' found to mislead about abortion
By MARC KAUFMAN
Washington Post
July 23, 2006, 9:42AM WASHINGTON - Federally funded "pregnancy resource centers" are incorrectly telling women that abortion results in an increased risk of breast cancer, infertility and deep psychological trauma, a minority congressional report has charged. The report said 20 out of 23 federally funded centers contacted by staff investigators requesting information about an unintended pregnancy told false or misleading information about the potential risks of an abortion. The pregnancy resource centers, which are often affiliated with anti-abortion religious groups, have received about $30 million in federal funds since 2001, according to the report, requested by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. The report concluded the exaggerations "may be effective in frightening pregnant teen-agers and women and discouraging abortion. But it denies the teen-agers and women vital health information, prevents them from making an informed decision, and is not an accepted public health practice."
'Routine attack' on centers
A spokeswoman for one of the two large networks of pregnancy resource centers, Care-Net, based in Sterling, Va., said the report was "a routine attack on us that's nothing new." Care-Net's Molly Ford said the centers criticized by Waxman received federal grants for abstinence-only programs they conduct, but not for pregnancy counseling. "The funds are kept entirely separate," she said. However, Ford said she agreed with pregnancy counselors who tell women that abortion may increase the risk of breast cancer, infertility and a condition described by anti-abortion groups as "post-abortion syndrome."
At odds with mainstream
"We have many studies that show significant medical problems associated with abortion," Ford said. Those studies are at odds with mainstream medical opinion. An expert panel of the National Cancer Institute, for instance, concluded in 2003 that an "abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer." The experts said their conclusion was "well established" by the evidence. The report, from the Democratic staff of the House Committee on Government Reform, found that counselors at eight of the centers told callers that abortion substantially increases the risk of later developing breast cancer. Some counselors also said the psychological effects of abortion are severe and long-lasting, while research generally has found that severe stress reactions are no more common after an abortion than after giving birth. President Bush has been an advocate for pregnancy resource centers and for abstinence-only sex education. Few of the pregnancy resource centers — formerly called pregnancy crisis centers — got any federal funds before 2001. Care-Net's Ford said there are about 2,000 centers in the United States and Canada.
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