In orange, the 34 states that fund pregnancy propaganda centers.
As Katie McDonough
notes at Salon, more and more Americans have become familiar with the forced-birther operations known as pregnancy crisis centers. In fact, they are pregnancy propaganda centers. The people who run these storefront centers brazenly lie to the women who show up at their doors. These
lies endanger women's lives. But lying doesn't matter to them because in their minds any method is okay if it serves their immoral crusade to hamstring women's reproductive rights.
Their very existence is bad enough. But guess what? If you pay taxes in one of those 34 states, you're keeping their doors open.
While some states funnel family planning funds directly to these centers, others require women to seek counseling and mandatory ultrasounds at these facilities before obtaining an abortion. Some states, like Virginia, sell “Choose Life” license plates and send the proceeds directly to these anti-choice groups.
Yes, you read that correctly. Some states require that, before getting an abortion, a woman must be "counseled" about it, and not just by anyone, but by these liars in particular.
It's all part of the war on women, and specifically, the war on a woman's right to decide for herself about birth control, abortion and other reproductive health matters, taking the advice of whomever she wants: physicians, parents, siblings, spouse, lover, friend or professional counselor...or nobody at all.
A dozen states have sought to defund Planned Parenthood, which not only tells women the truth about their health needs—including though not limited to birth control, pregnancy and abortion—but also provides actual services. The Supreme Court has put obstacles in the way of the defunders but not ended their assault.
Meanwhile, there is no campaign to defund these woman-hating pregnancy propaganda centers. There needs to be. The reproductive rights movement should go on the offensive over this even while continuing its defense of rights we once thought had been permanently won.