Crisis Pregnancy Center Map (CPC Map) announces the release of updated data to support the understanding of where and how crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) are operating in the U.S. CPC Map is the most up-to-date and comprehensive directory of CPCs available and now includes data for CPCs that were operating from 2019 to 2021.

CPCs have a primary mission of persuading people to forego seeking abortions. Most CPCs are affiliated with national religious organizations that also oppose contraception. The CPC Map launched in 2018 as a response to growing concern over these centers’ practice of sharing inaccurate health information, including misinformation about pregnancy, abortion and birth control and their use of deceptive tactics and advertising.

“Our data show that CPCs are increasingly becoming medicalized,” said Andrea Swartzendruber, co-developer of CPC Map and researcher at the University of Georgia College of Public Health (CPH).

“In 2018, 66% of CPCs offered free limited ultrasounds, which is often the first service CPCs offer in their attempt to ‘go medical.’ By the end of 2021, 77% offered limited ultrasounds, which was a statistically significant increase.”

View the latest data on CPCs across the U.S. at https://crisispregnancycentermap.com/.

Most CPCs are not licensed medical facilities, are primarily staffed by lay volunteers, and do not adhere to prevailing U.S. medical guidelines, and recently, some centers have begun advertising HIV and STI testing. Swartzendruber and CPC Map co-developer and CPH colleague Danielle Lambert found that their actual testing and referral services also did not follow public health guidelines.

“CPCs operate in every state and are gaining record levels of government funding at the exact time that many states are proposing and implementing severe healthcare restrictions,” said Lambert.

“CPCs pose risk to individual, family, and public health. It will be incredibly important to continue to track how and where CPCs are operating and the services they offer in the coming years, particularly given increasing HIV and STI rates, increasing barriers and obstacles to reproductive healthcare, and increasing rates of maternal mortality in our country.”

Since 2018, CPC Map has been cited by top national and international news media covering the anti-abortion movement, including Reuters, The Guardian, HuffPost, STAT and Vice News.

These new data offer additional insight into where CPCs are opening across the U.S. and underline existing evidence of centers presenting themselves as medical centers. The following are highlights of the publicly available updates:

• The total number of CPCs open and operating in the U.S. is 2,546.
• Currently, 77.2% (n=1,966) of CPCs offer free limited ultrasounds, an increase of 11% from 2018.
• During 2019 to 2021, 97.7% (2,488) of CPCs advertised their services via a website designed to appeal to potential clients and people seeking health services.
• The South has the greatest number of CPCs (994, 39.0%), followed by the Midwest (745, 29.3%), West (432, 17.0%), and Northeast (375, 14.7%).
• By state, the number of CPCs ranged from 198 (Texas) to 2 (Washington, D.C.).
• The states with the most CPCs during this time included: Texas (198), Pennsylvania (160), Florida (151), California (148), and Ohio (124).
• The states with the fewest CPCs during included: D.C (2), Rhode Island (3), Delaware (5), Hawaii (6), and North Dakota, Vermont, and Nevada (7 each).

The CPC Map website also includes an updated collection of infographics for public use: https://crisispregnancycentermap.com/tools-resources-embed/

– Lauren Baggett

Posted on April 7, 2022. Originally published March 29, 2022.

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