Verify before you visit

If a clinic is free, religious, and won't say if they do abortions — it's fake.

Crisis pregnancy centers outnumber real clinics 3:1 in many ban states. ACOG documents 71% use deceptive practices. They exist to delay you past gestational limits.

Reviewed 2026-04-25 Sources: ACOG · NAF · PLOS One 2025

The 60-second test

Before you walk in, before you book, before you call back, ask the clinic this one question. Their answer tells you everything.

  • "Do you provide abortion or refer for abortion?" A real clinic answers "Yes, here's what we offer" or "No, but we'll refer you to one that does." A CPC answers with options-language: "We help with all your options," "We don't provide abortion, but we have information," or "Let's talk about that when you come in." If the answer isn't a clear yes-or-referral, hang up.

When in doubt, cross-check the clinic name on the AbortionFinder.org directory (NAF + Power to Decide, verified providers only) or call NAF 1-800-772-9100.

What a crisis pregnancy center actually is

Anti-abortion ministries that present as medical clinics. Most aren't licensed. Many have no clinical staff at all.

The numbers

  • ~2,500 CPCs operate in the U.S. — outnumbering legitimate abortion providers 3 to 1 in many states (Crisis Pregnancy Center Map dataset, 2024).
  • A 2025 PLOS One study of 600 CPC websites found 71% used deceptive practices — including ambiguous medical language, fake "doctor" titles, and false claims about abortion harms.
  • Federal taxpayers fund them. CPCs have received over $100M in state grants since 2019. Some receive Medicaid reimbursement for ultrasounds.
  • They are exempt from HIPAA in many states because they're not licensed medical facilities. What you tell them is not legally protected.

What they actually do

  • Free pregnancy tests (urine — same as drugstore).
  • Free "limited" ultrasounds — often by untrained volunteers, with no diagnostic value.
  • Anti-abortion counseling, framed as "all options" support.
  • Promotion of debunked treatments like "abortion pill reversal" — which ACOG says has "no scientific evidence" and is actively dangerous (it has caused life-threatening hemorrhage in trials).
  • Diapers, baby clothes, and parenting classes — used to keep clients tethered through pregnancy and beyond.

Eight red flags

If three or more apply, it's almost certainly a CPC. Look for these in the website, the search ad, the phone call, and the lobby.

1. Free is the headline

"Free pregnancy test" or "free ultrasound" is the dominant message. Real clinics charge sliding-scale fees and accept insurance — they advertise care, not free things.

2. No staff named

The website has photos but no licensed-medical staff names with credentials. No M.D., no D.O., no NP, no RN. "Volunteer counselors" or "client advocates" are non-medical roles.

3. Religious affiliation buried

The "About" page mentions a church, ministry, or faith-based mission — but the homepage doesn't. Real medical clinics aren't shy about who they are.

4. "All options" language

"Pregnancy options counseling," "consider all your options," "abortion information." A clinic that does abortions just says they do abortions.

5. Long waits, urgent intake

Same-day appointments are pushed for the consultation, but ultrasound results are slow-walked. The pattern: get you in, then delay you. Time is what they're trying to consume.

6. Pressure on a "decision"

You feel pressure to come back, to bring a partner or parent, to view ultrasound images, to watch a video. Real clinics tell you the medical facts and respect your decision.

7. "Abortion pill reversal" mentioned

Mentioned anywhere — site, brochure, phone call, lobby — without warning that ACOG calls it unproven and dangerous. This is the single clearest CPC tell.

8. Located right next to a real clinic

Many CPCs deliberately rent space next door to verified clinics, sharing a parking lot, with similar names. Confirm the address against AbortionFinder before you walk in.

Three verified directories

Use these instead of Google. Google ads often place CPCs above real clinics.

AbortionFinder.org

Run by Power to Decide. Aggregates 750+ verified providers. ZIP-search, filters by gestational stage, includes telehealth. The single most-used U.S. directory.

abortionfinder.org →

NAF Find a Provider

National Abortion Federation directory — every member is a verified, licensed clinic that meets NAF clinical standards. Strictest vetting in the U.S.

prochoice.org/find-a-provider →

I Need an A

Plain-text, low-bandwidth, ZIP-driven, no analytics. The accessibility-first option, especially for older devices and slow connections in rural ban states.

ineedana.com →

Or just call NAF 1-800-772-9100. Multilingual, confidential, takes 5 minutes.

If you already visited a CPC

It's not your fault. Here's what to do now.

  • Don't trust the ultrasound result they gave you. Get a real ultrasound at a Title X clinic, Planned Parenthood, or hospital. CPC ultrasounds frequently misdate by 1–3 weeks (often deliberately, to push you past the legal limit).
  • Don't trust their gestational age estimate if they didn't do a transvaginal ultrasound at 6+ weeks LMP. Surface ultrasounds are unreliable early.
  • Assume nothing you said is private. Many CPCs share data with affiliate organizations and political groups. If you gave a phone number or email, expect follow-up.
  • If they prescribed "progesterone for abortion pill reversal" after you took mifepristone — stop taking it. ACOG and the New England Journal of Medicine both document harm from this protocol. Call the M+A Hotline 1-833-246-2632 immediately.
  • Time matters. Move to a real provider today. Every day past the CPC visit narrows your options.

"Abortion pill reversal" — what to know

Promoted heavily by CPCs. Debunked by every U.S. medical body.

What's claimed

That high doses of progesterone, taken after mifepristone but before misoprostol, can "reverse" a medication abortion. Promoted as a way to "change your mind."

The evidence

The only randomized trial (UC Davis, 2019) was halted early due to severe hemorrhage in the participants — 3 of 12 went to the ER with life-threatening bleeding. ACOG states there is "no scientific evidence" that abortion pill reversal works, and that it carries serious safety risks. NEJM published the trial results.

If you took mifepristone and changed your mind, that's a conversation for a real clinician — not a CPC. Call M+A Hotline 1-833-246-2632. About 30% of pregnancies continue without intervention if mifepristone is taken alone (without misoprostol). The decision can be made calmly, with real information, and without the dangerous "reversal" protocol.

Sources

  1. ACOG. Crisis Pregnancy Centers issue brief. acog.org
  2. ACOG Practice Bulletin 225. Medication abortion up to 70 days of gestation. acog.org
  3. Creinin et al., Mifepristone Antagonization with Progesterone to Prevent Medical Abortion. NEJM 2020. nejm.org
  4. Swartzendruber et al. An analysis of crisis pregnancy center websites. PLOS One 2025. journals.plos.org
  5. National Abortion Federation. prochoice.org/find-a-provider
  6. Crisis Pregnancy Center Map. crisispregnancycentermap.com

Information, not legal or medical advice. CPC tactics evolve — verify any clinic against an authoritative directory before you commit time. Last reviewed 2026-04-25.