The Truth About Crisis Pregnancy Centers & How Media Helps Expose Their Danger

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The Truth About Crisis Pregnancy Centers & How Media Helps Expose Their Danger

January 27, 2025
A stylized map of the US with markers places across it. and a warning that reads, "Beware! Crisis Pregnancy Centers outnumber real abortion clinics 3 to 1."

Entertainment and social media are an important way to help young people learn, talk openly, and better understand how to access sexual health information and resources. In an era when mis- and disinformation about sexual and reproductive health runs rampant, helping popular media provide evidence-based sexual health information is critical and urgent. That’s why it’s so important that a video from our Bedsider platform recently went viral. The clip features a scene from ABC’s Station 19 that exposes the dangerous misinformation abortion seekers can face at fake abortion clinics, also known as crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs). After the clip ends, Cat McKay, Power to Decide’s Senior Manager of Social Media and Campaigns, explains in detail how these fake clinics differ from legitimate abortion providers and encourages viewers to turn directly to our AbortionFinder database for vetted and verified support.

 

@bedsider Thank you to @Shondaland for bringing these kinds of stories to life 🙌 Remember, #AbortionFinder will NEVER include fake clinics in their verified database. #talkingispower #abortionrights #fakeabortionclinic #station19 #greysanatomy #crisispregnancycenter #shondaland #abortion ♬ original sound - Bedsider

 

The video went viral overnight gaining nearly 3 million views within a week, garnering hundreds of thousands of engagements, and hundreds of comments — many of which details user’s own real-life experiences of being tricked by CPCs when seeking health care. “This happened to me at 21,” said one commenter, “Traumatic is an understatement.” 

Four speech bubbles each with a real comment left by a person on our TikTok detailing their experience at a crisis pregnancy center.

When TV shows like Station 19 tell abortion stories as part of characters’ lives, they can reach — and educate — a wide and attentive audience. In fact, a 2024 study from USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center and UC San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health program found that accurate portrayals of abortion stories on A Million Little Things, Better Things, and Station 19 promoted a greater understanding of abortion access, prevalence, and safety, among viewers. For some, seeing abortion portrayed on TV even inspired actions in support of reproductive rights.

Since its founding, Power to Decide has collaborated with leaders and creatives in the entertainment industry and popular culture to incorporate sexual health, abortion, and birth control stories in relevant, approachable ways. We work with our media partners to include important information, messages, and resources to reach people where they are from voices they trust. 

Their work matters now more than ever. Other notable portrayals of abortion in scripted and unscripted media include, Crossing the Line podcast, Scandal, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Glow, Grey’s Anatomy, BoJack Horseman, Shrill, Jane the Virgin, and New Amsterdam. Learn more about our work with popular media, our work to improve abortion access across the United States, and how to become an advocate