Trick or Treat: Expose Fake Clinics on Campus This Halloween

It’s funny how men don’t have fake health centers. Why is it that they don’t have people telling them how being treated for prostate cancer can increase their risk of infertility, or that by having a tumor removed, they might develop breast cancer? Really, fair is far, and if women are going to be told that they’re entering a full-service clinic when the real agenda is to give them misinformation and dissuade them from medical services, by all means, shouldn’t men have the same thing?

Actually, I wouldn’t call this a sexist issue. I’d call it a loony issue. It’s bad enough that we have hospitals-in my case, all of the nearest ones!—that are religiously operated and deny women contraceptive services; but we also have “pregnancy crisis centers,” these fake “medical” centers that offer “counseling” as well as free pregnancy testing and a crapload of other bulls***. Tired of the quotation marks? So am I—but they’re well deserved!

So-called crisis pregnancy centers deceptively lure women in with ads like, “Pregnant? Afraid? Need Help?” and similar language. A lot of these ads target college women in particular. And though they pose as friendly, confidential, nonjudgmental places for aid, what they really are is an intimidation tactic to keep women from having abortions—or even using condoms.

From spreading lies (“Abortion causes a 100% risk of breast cancer and will make you want to kill yourself!”) to falsifying documents and other information to even listing their services under “family planning” and “abortion” ads in campus bulletins and newspapers, they will stop at nothing in their cause—which is not women’s health, but the anti-choice movement.

And almost half of campuses refer students to these centers.

To combat this spread of misinformation that’s ironically plaguing the country’s universities, the Feminist Majority Foundation’s Choices Campus Leadership Program is sponsoring a Don’t Get Tricked, Get Treated Week of Action.

Their website contains much more information, including flyers to download, a press release, a petition to circulate, and even steps to hold a “Haunted Clinic.” And why not? Religious centers all over the country are hosting scare tactic events that include gays, AIDS victims and women who’ve had abortions all burning in Hell for their “sins;” why not fight fire with fire—or, in this case, humor—and show what a fake clinic is like on your campus?

For more information on crisis pregnancy centers or to watch video exposes of some of them, click here.