Anti-choicers who wish to get hold of young women and feed them full of lies about birth control and abortion are getting more clever about hiding their agenda, it looks like. RH Reality Check has an expose by Heather Corinna about the American Pregnancy Association and the American Pregnancy Helpline, linked anti-choice groups dedicated to discouraging unmarried young women from using either contraception or abortion (or keeping babies they do have---everything on the site pushes you towards giving up your child for adoption). The alarming thing about the APA is that an initial review of their materials would lead you to think they're a responsible pro-choice organization, because they admit that abortion is an option. In fact, they resemble a responsible pro-choice organization to the degree that various other pro-choice websites have linked them and provided referrals. It's only if you start digging around that you see that the site intends to point young women who visit the site towards local "crisis pregnancy centers"---anti-choice fake clinics that give you free pregnancy tests and then hit you with guilt trips if you were considering abortion and pamphlets trying to scare you out of using contraception.
They want to direct you into a CPC if you're pregnant or not, it turns out. The Helpline has a fake "quiz" up to determine if you're exhibiting enough pregnancy symptoms to require a test. Surprise surprise, you're probably pregnant, you poor slutty dear. It's not actually a quiz, because no matter what answers you put in, it tells you to go to a crisis pregnancy center for a test. They don't tell you about the lies and the guilt trips you have to endure for the test. I entered that I was not sexually active in the quiz, but that yes, I do have headaches. (Actually, not true. I never have a headache.) And it warned that I may still be pregnant and should be tested to be sure. I wondered how dumb they thought I was, but then remembered in high school how you'd hear rumors about non-sex-based ways to get pregnant, like from pools or toilet seats. I could definitely see someone, especially someone who got the non-education they call "abstinence-only", taking this in a panic and then going to the local CPC to be told (hopefully) that they aren't actually pregnant, but that they should never ever take a birth control pill because they're so dangerous. And don't work. And neither do condoms. And let's hope you're back soon brewing a real baby to give up for adoption.
Anyway, I know it's not much distraction from the Edwards story, but it's still a good expose, and if you know any organization that's giving referrals to this place, contact them and let them know that it's probably best to go with the tried and true: Planned Parenthood.
