Interview with Liz Gustafson: Crisis Pregnancy Centers
By Alexis Sher ‘21
Brief background on Liz Gustafson: Liz Gustafson is the Organizer & Volunteer Coordinator at NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut. As a MSW from the area, Liz initially began her involvement as clinic escort due to her passion to protect the constitutional right to choose. Now, Liz engages and trains new clinic escorts, and provides support to the volunteers as needed. As an organizer, Liz engages community stakeholders, individuals, organizations, and other interest groups on the topic of protecting reproductive freedom in the form of grassroots political advocacy.
What is a crisis pregnancy center (CPC)?
Crisis pregnancy centers are anti-choice counseling centers that are located throughout the country. Recently, NARAL has started using the term fake women’s health centers. They don’t actually offer medical services, except some of them will offer or push ultrasounds on women. All they really do is give deceiving counseling regarding a woman’s choice. They also use deceptive marketing practices. Growing up in Connecticut, something I am used to is seeing ‘Pregnant? Need help?’ advertisements. I specifically remember thinking to myself “If I’m in this situation, I feel like that’s somewhere I could go,” which is their goal. CPCs don’t really want to help women and provide them all of their options. They want to give them their options that include everything but abortion: that’s carrying a pregnancy to term and having a child, regardless of that woman’s situation or what she may or may not want. They are great at positioning themselves right near actual women’s health care clinics. For example, in Hartford there is a CPC ten feet away from us at the Hartford GYN Center, and there is even a bus in Connecticut that travels around to places where people are seeking other services. They’ve been known to position themselves outside of food pantries and places where people are getting the resources they need, so obviously they are going to think that the bus is there to help them, when it’s not. CPCs are all rooted in archaic, ideologic, outdated religious theory and practice and are misogynistic too.
The ABC Women’s Center is located just outside Wesleyan’s campus, and most students are unaware that they are a CPC. How can people distinguish a CPC from an abortion clinic? What are the tell-tale signs of a CPC?
There are some telltale signs. If you do a quick web search it’s typically hard to find whether or not they will provide abortion services. With some of them, it’s so deeply hidden in fine print text. If you are looking for abortion services or if you’re just curious, you can call them. For example, if you call and ask “How much does an abortion cost?” and they won’t tell you over the phone, that is a red flag because their goal is to get you to come in and then convince you not to seek an abortion. They will give you the least amount of information just so you go there and then convince you to not get one. They’ll give you false medical information. If you ask to see any kind of medical accreditation, they may say they don’t have medical personnel on site but they have one on call, which is not comforting. Just do your research and be vigilant. They’re everywhere and unfortunately, clinics are not.
Why are so many Americans unaware of CPC’s growing presence in the United States, and the fact they they outnumber abortion clinics in some parts of the country?
Connecticut is super interesting because it’s understood that we are a progressive, blue, wonderful state. You’ve seen our senators; they’re very much champions of women and actually take the time to listen to what women want and need. CPCs can keep growing because they’re not under any regulation, so the small win that we had [with the Hartford ‘Pregnancy Information and Disclosure Protection Ordinance’] was regulating one crisis pregnancy center out of the thirty-two that are in the state. Another reason why CPCs keep growing is because of the growing amount of power that anti-choice people have and the amount of funding that is in the movement, which is terrifying. The Hartford GYN Center is the last independent clinic in Hartford. They are the only clinic in the state besides hospitals that will do a late-term abortion.
What has allowed the rapid growth of CPCs in the United States?
It’s the lack of regulation of CPCs and the strict regulations and restrictions that are placed on clinics and women. The Hyde Amendment was another factor in the rise in CPCs and the decline in real women’s health centers. The Hyde Amendment does not permit the use of federal monies towards covering abortion, except in the case of rape or incest. That also includes our armed services healthcare. That means every woman that is serving our country cannot get her abortion covered by her health insurance, and every single person that is dependent on someone that is serving our country cannot get their abortion covered. Even in Connecticut, CPCs outnumber the amount of actual clinics we have here. We think we’re safe.
On October 1st, 2018, a Hartford city ordinance that regulates CPCs was put into effect. What is the ordinance and was at stake in enacting it?
We have one of the most comprehensive, robust pieces of legislation in Hartford in the entire country. That says a lot about how far we need to go. Only in Hartford, the ordinance mandates fake women’s health centers to post a sign either outside, in their windows, and in their reception area disclaiming that they do not have a medially licensed staff member on site. They also have to put this information on their website and communicate it over the phone. Another interesting and important component is that the sign is in English and in Spanish because we have a large Spanish speaking community in Hartford. The whole basis of this ordinance is transparency, because we are never against someone who wants to seek religious counseling for their pregnancy. They should be allowed to do that, but also women who are looking for their options and towards potentially seeking abortion services should also have this same right and know exactly what they’re going to get. The transparency factor is huge because of the sheer deception that is occurring. We [at Hartford GYN Center] had to paint the ramp a different color so people could understand where to go. They [Hartford Women’s Center, a CPC next to Hartford GYN Center] changed their name to sound exactly like the clinic. The fact that they could get away with not having medically fact information is terrifying.
Have you observed any changes in CPCs’s behavior since the ordinance was enacted?
The timing was hilarious because October 1st was also the 40 Days for Life Campaign, which is an entire month of “prayer and vigil.” I have noticed that ever since Kavanaugh and the Dr. Ford hearings, I have seen and I’ve heard from my volunteers of some emboldened behavior. I think him being confirmed, and the fact that one of the most well known anti-choice people was at his confirmation hearing, shows Kavanaugh is the person for them. Kavanaugh is bringing out people who may have not been trained by the fake women’s health centers themselves, which is very dangerous because they don’t know how they should and shouldn’t act. CPCs have regulations among themselves. For example, you cannot scream in someone’s face, but that has been happening again. They’ve been quiet for a while and now they’re back. They’re being rewarded for their behavior and if you look at their biggest support, the Family Institute of Connecticut, they’re thrilled that he got confirmed. This was their rally call. So as much as we’re mobilizing, they’re excited and also mobilizing themselves.
What about the Crisis Pregnancy Center Law in California that was struck down? Did this have an effect on the success of the Hartford ordinance?
It was very similar to ours. From speaking with everyone that was involved with that, we discussed how we thought our ordinance would be successful because they had the same regulations that the Hartford ordinance had regarding making sure that there are signs up, except further by saying that if someone wants an abortion then they have to provide them with referrals and options. They [CPCs in California] went to their freedom of religion and freedom of speech and really ran with that and it worked. We waited to enact the ordinance in Hartford because we wanted to see what would happen in California. We saw that it was struck down, we came back, and thought about it, but because we didn’t have that extra step added, we think ours is strong enough to uphold if and when we ever go into a lawsuit.
Is NARAL drafting any state-wide legislation to regulate CPCs in Connecticut?
Not right now. Our main focus right now is supporting our pro-choice candidates that we’ve endorsed. We’ve endorsed a lot which is great news both at the House and Senate level. We also have our state-wide candidates like William Tong, Ned Lamont, and Susan Bysiewicz. They all have been super vigilant in ensuring that they do their homework regarding pro-choice stuff. I think November 6th will have a big say in what NARAL is going to do in the future.
What does the future of reproductive rights look like now that Brett Kavanaugh has been appointed to the Supreme Court?
It’s very interesting because every state has different laws that are in place. The provisions of Roe v. Wade are codified in state law, but that doesn’t mean that we’re safe. In every legislative session there’s been bills proposed by anti-choice legislators who are trying to pass mandatory parental notification regulations, mandated ultrasounds, biased counseling, and mandatory wait periods. Because it’s codified, they’re going to try to get creative. In comparison, there’s other states where they have trigger laws in place for if and when Roe is overturned, it automatically outlaws abortion access in that state. Now, more than ever, it’s important to talk about local elections and state-wide elections because they have a big say in reproductive rights. If Roe is overturned, it goes to the states, so if we’re electing people that are anti-choice, we’re going to be threatened in Connecticut.
Many pro-choice people want to make an impact in the sphere of reproductive rights, but do not know how. In what ways can ‘pro-choicers’ actively denounce CPCs and advocate for reproductive freedom?
One way is get your boots on the ground: canvas, phone bank, and register people to vote. If people feel really passionate about exposing fake clinics, when the legislative session starts, get involved with NARAL in your home state. Do your research. It’s such a crucial time where we can’t sleep on the movement. Go to D.C. and march or get comfortable writing Letters to the Editor for your local newspaper. Contact your local legislators. This movement is rooted in a very patriarchal, archaic view because it’s punishing women and their being sexual beings. If you care about reproductive freedom, then you care about our immigrant brothers and sisters. You also care about gun reform and protecting the environment because those things are affecting families. If anti-choice people say that they really care about protecting the woman, the child, and the family unit, they would be for gun reform and they would be against separating children at the border. Look into the hypocrisy of it. In the advocacy world we can align ourselves together and make ourselves stronger with a collective coalition of great organizations that all have the same enemy.