
Photo Courtesy of Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee
Protestors of CPCs
With the ongoing attacks on reproductive rights in Wisconsin and the U.S. at large, it is important for communities to be aware not only of how and where to access safe, reliable access to reproductive care like abortion procedures and contraception, but also the issue of crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs).
Characterized by Planned Parenthood as “fake clinics”, CPCs typically look like real health centers but are actually religiously-affiliated nonprofit organizations run by anti-abortion activists for the sole purpose of trying to dissuade pregnant people from having abortions. They are often located near Planned Parenthood clinics or similar health facilities offering access to abortion. CPCs generally outnumber abortion clinics in given areas; they are usually brick-and-mortar, but there are mobile CPCs too.
Local grassroots group Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee (RJAM) is bringing attention to the presence of CPCs in Milwaukee, noting that there are over 70 such centers statewide.
“They are harmful to our community,” RJAM member Blake Jones says regarding CPCs. “There’s currently a fake clinic van parked outside of Planned Parenthood in Walkers Point.”
“Protesters are there too, to intimidate and confuse people that are going to the clinic for abortion care,” RJAM member Nia Smith adds.
Misleading Information
Despite their names and exterior appearances, most CPCs are not legitimate health clinics or run by licensed medical professionals. While they may offer some medical or sexual health services like ultrasounds and STI testing, CPCs attempt to influence pregnant people by giving misleading information about their pregnancies and deceptive claims about birth control, or by disseminating anti-abortion propaganda.
In fact, their lack of medical credentials means that they do not need to follow HIPAA laws, and therefore they may collect and share patients’ personal information with other anti-abortion organizations or for their own marketing purposes.
RJAM member KJ Johnson elaborates, “They usually name themselves something very believable, like “the women’s care clinic” where I as a woman could get care. When you walk in, there might be some friendly faces and you might feel like you’re getting that support right away, but then you start reading the paperwork.
“You start seeing religious terminology floating in there. Then you notice that there’s no mention of HIPAA or privacy. You’re not getting in-depth consent for services. They will meet your needs in a way, in real-time, whether that’s if you need an ultrasound or a pregnancy confirmation. But what you’re not going to receive is a thorough exam, because there are typically no certified providers in these environments. You’re not going to get counseling options or have someone sit and talk with you about any risks that your pregnancy may have, or be connected with resources for prenatal care.”
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Vulnerable Positions

Photo Courtesy of Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee
"Free Lies Inside" chalk outside a CPC
By way of these tactics, CPCs take advantage of people who are in vulnerable positions, inserting an ideologically driven agenda into their services. Rather than provide quality health advice and resources, they immediately target what a pregnant person should not be doing, which to them means getting an abortion.
“They use abortion as a sort of moral evil, and they’re using their form of care as a form of manipulation,” Johnson continues. “You are utterly shamed with a decision that is not yours.”
Jones notes that the organizations running CPCs are notoriously absent from conversations around maternal health in Wisconsin. “They don’t show up to meetings trying to reopen labor and delivery units, they’re not fighting for paid parental leave …they don’t care about any of that stuff. Their end goal is just to prevent abortion.”
Financial Anxieties
Smith points out that these clinics also prey on financial anxieties around pregnancy by advertising things like free pregnancy testing and consultations, or by positioning themselves in lower-income neighborhoods. “Because access to abortion can be expensive, and there’s gaps in access already, they’re really preying on people economically. They’re just another cog in the machine that makes abortion access harder.”
RJAM cites a 2023 case where a CPC in Worcester, Massachusetts failed to identify a woman’s ectopic pregnancy, putting her life in danger. “This was all at the fault of someone who doesn’t know how to read an ultrasound,” Jones contends. “These people have no idea what they’re doing. They have no certification.”
“They could also have known what they were doing, because the only treatment for ectopic pregnancy is abortion,” Johnson affirms. “That’s the scary part.”
RJAM encourages community members to talk to their legislators about introducing new ordinances regarding CPCs, and of course, the group always welcomes new folks to join their ranks. They have also created a zine containing more information and testimonies about CPCs, as well as listing all known ones in Wisconsin.
Johnson concludes with a rule of thumb for recognizing CPCs, “When in doubt, look for HIPAA. If you’re in a legitimate healthcare center then you will see HIPAA everywhere, so if you don’t, that’s a big red flag.”
To identify CPCs in your area, visit Reproaction or Crisis Pregnancy Center Map. To find abortion providers, visit Abortion Finder. To chat live with a professional health educator, go to Planned Parenthood.
RJAM is also supporting Planned Parenthood and ACLU of Wisconsin in a court case seeking to protect abortion as a fundamental human right in Wisconsin, which would greatly help curb the influence of CPCs on pregnant people statewide.