FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
07.12.19
Contact: Alexa Barrett, Communications Assistant
Email: alexa@equityfwd.org
Phone: (914) 602 - 3147
Equity Forward Takes on Anti-Abortion Centers at Netroots
New York, NY – Today, senior advisor to Equity Forward Mary Alice Carter spoke on the dangers of anti-abortion centers, which manipulate and lie to people seeking care, at this year’s Netroots Convention in Philadelphia.
The panel of reproductive health experts discussed the importance of calling anti-abortion centers what they are: fake clinics that deceive people and peddle false narratives. Carter also called attention to the dubious tactics of Real Alternatives, a Pennsylvania-based anti-abortion state contractor with a well-documented history of siphoning taxpayer money for personal gain (expanding its operations out of state and lining its executives’ pockets).
“We are set up to be a thorn in Real Alternatives’ side until we get its records,” Carter said at the event. “Anti-abortion centers lie to and manipulate patients — and in Real Alternatives’ case, do so with taxypayer dollars. These groups must be held accountable for the harm they cause people seeking care and taxpayers alike.”
Alongside Carter this afternoon were panelists Seneca Joyner, manager of community organizing for Women’s Medical Fund, and Abigail McElroy, comprehensive sex education advocate. Jen Moore Conrow, consultant for health care systems, moderated the conversation.
Joyner remarked, “It's important for people to understand how these organizations are a key component in white supremacist efforts to obstruct abortion access — not just locally but across the state, nation, and globe... Women's Medical Fund's aim in organizing this anti-CPC [crisis pregnancy center] campaign is to not only bring light to this fight but also help those most directly impacted by this violence to organize against it.”
“Because crisis pregnancy centers present such a large threat to women's right to choose, few people know about another very problematic side of them: abstinence-only sex education,” McElroy added. “When a CPC came into my school, they spread lies and dehumanized students, all the while encouraging us to visit their center should we ever become pregnant... People don't want CPCs in their schools or communities, but the first step is letting them know that they are there.
FROM LEFT: Mary Alice Carter, Abigail McElroy, Seneca Joyner and Jen Moore Conrow
For more information on Real Alternatives, visit RealWaste.org.
###
Equity Forward is a watchdog organization that works to ensure transparency and accountability among anti-reproductive health groups and individuals.