Last week, Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch hosted a virtual briefing featuring Executive Director Debra Rosen, Senior Advisor Jenifer McKenna, Director of Research and Strategy Mika Matsuno, and Gloria Totten, Founder and President of the Public Leadership Institute. The briefing presented critical research on Unregulated Pregnancy Clinics (UPCs), also known as crisis pregnancy centers, and provided analysis of the broader reproductive health landscape nearly three years after the Dobbs v. Jackson decision stripped federal protections for abortion care.
Today, a NBC News investigation revealed that the largest UPC affiliate networks and medical curriculum leaders in the United States are advising member clinics to avoid performing ultrasounds on women suspected of having ectopic pregnancies, further validating research on the dangerous gaps in oversight and accountability within this industry.
The briefing revealed how the UPC industry is operating with limited oversight and transparency while positioning themselves as key providers for women across the country, a sentiment echoed at the highest levels of government.
“As we approach the third anniversary of Dobbs and confront an expanding wave of reproductive health restrictions, a concerning pattern is coming into focus. The same lawmakers working to dismantle access to abortion, birth control, and even evidence-based maternal health care are elevating UPCs as a health care alternative while systematically dismantling access to qualified reproductive and maternal health care,” said Debra Rosen, Executive Director of Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch. “At a moment when extremist lawmakers are systematically dismantling access to qualified reproductive and maternal health care, understanding the unregulated industry they’re increasingly promoting as a model for healthcare is not just urgent, it’s essential.”
If you’re interested in speaking with Reproductive Health and Freedom Watch Executive Director Debra Rosen about our research on unregulated pregnancy clinics, please email Rodericka Applewhaite at ro@focalpointstrategygroup.com.
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