Washington, DC – Last week, U.S. House Oversight Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Oversight Committee Member Maxwell Frost (D-FL) sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office calling on the agency to conduct a study on “how much federal money [unregulated pregnancy clinics, also known as crisis pregnancy centers or CPCs] have received annually and from which federal accounts.”
The members wrote, “Given the concerns from medical professionals and reproductive health experts that [UPCs] are not bound by medical and ethical practice standards and often do not provide medically accurate information or health care, and the resources they do provide are tied to undermining maternal health and access to abortion, we have serious concerns that [UPCs] continue to receive millions in federal aid with little transparency and accountability to the public.”
In response, Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch Senior Advisor Jenifer McKenna said the following:
“Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch applauds Congressmembers Raskin and Frost for calling for an investigation into federal funding allocated to the unregulated pregnancy clinic industry. These clinics have access to hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars, and billions in private donations. Despite this, there is minimal oversight for these organizations, which often target vulnerable women and teens seeking reproductive or maternal health care, and operate free of health and safety oversight, privacy protections, or impact analysis. They must be held accountable for how they spend taxpayer dollars, and we commend these members of Congress for taking this critical step.”
A July 2024 ProPublica investigation revealed that the Texas UPC program’s lack of accountability and oversight led to multiple instances of funding mismanagement. And, earlier this year, polling from Global Strategy Group revealed that 96% of voters across the country believe “any organization that receives tax dollars must be able to account for how it spends them.” The same poll found voters overwhelmingly support elected officials taking action to hold UPCs accountable for misconduct.
Representative Raskin and Frost’s call for this investigation follows a recent appeal by the watchdog group Campaign for Accountability, which urged five state attorneys general to investigate the privacy practices of unregulated pregnancy clinics. Unlike regulated doctors’ offices or medical facilities, UPCs are not legally required to comply with HIPAA privacy rules and regulations. Heartbeat International, the country’s largest network of UPCs, recently faced scrutiny for a data breach in which one of their publicly available online videos revealed the names of real women seeking care at one of their Louisiana affiliates.
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