ISO writer Romany Tasker-Poland talks to ALRANZ co-President Alma de Anda about the misleading anti-abortion organisations springing up around the country.
Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand was founded in 1973 to advocate for the decriminalisation of abortion. Since this goal was achieved in 2020, ALRANZ has continued to act as a watch-dog, advocating for increased access while keeping an eye on anti-abortion forces in Aotearoa. Alma de Anda is the current co-president of ALRANZ, along with Ella Shepherd. She spoke to me about one concerning trend in anti-abortion agitation: the proliferation of “Crisis Pregnancy Centres”. Alma has a lot to say about CPCs. Long story short: they are dangerous, misleading, and have flown under the radar for too long.
What are Crisis Pregnancy Centres? Essentially, they are anti-choice organisations that masquerade as sources of information and support for pregnant people. They are usually Fundamentalist Christian or Catholic and operate as charities, offering some form of charitable assistance. “They are maybe giving them some nappies and baby stuff,” Alma says. “On the face of it that’s great, but when you actually check out their websites and look at their views, they are anti-abortion”. Rather than simply offering neutral, practical advice, Alma says, these centres “use lies and coercion tactics to basically convince people not to have an abortion.” CPCs are connected to broader anti-abortion groups in New Zealand, such as Family First New Zealand and Voice for Life, which in turn have connections to (and receive funding from) international anti-abortion organisations such as Heartbeat International.
The first danger of CPCs is that they spread lies, the second is that they spread shame. “Anti-abortion groups really are the original disinformation groups,” Alma says. CPCs spread disinformation about the nature, side-effects, and long-term impacts of abortion. As well as being misled, if you disclose you are seeking an abortion at a CPC you risk being shamed: told that you are “already a mum” and urged not to “kill your baby”.
Even the “support” offered is not necessarily as benevolent as it first appears. Alma explains that CPCs target young people and people in low socio-economic areas with vague and coercive promises of financial support.
CPCs engage in a wide range of dubious behaviour. Gianna’s Choice, a CPC based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, has at least two ultrasound machines (machines which, Alma notes, many GPs’ offices would be jealous of). “The problem,” says Alma, “is you’re not guaranteed that a trained sonographer will give you that scan”. In their own newsletter, Gianna’s Choice has advertised ultrasound training sessions run by midwives. Appropriately trained midwives can do scans, but they are not supposed to train others.
According to Alma:
The risk is not only that you have someone unqualified giving you the scan, it is that they are possibly going to lie to you and say that you are further along than you are, or shame you – calling [the embryo or foetus] a “baby” and making you listen to the “heartbeat” (which is not really a heartbeat).
Among the most dangerous lies potentially being spread through Crisis Pregnancy Centres is “abortion reversal”. This concept originated in San Diego, where a doctor began claiming that a medical abortion could be “reversed” with a large dose of progesterone. “He was forced to stop,” explains Alma “because one: it’s unethical, and two: pregnant people were haemorrhaging and having to go to hospital.” The Academy of Gynecologists and Obstetrics in the USA has issued a statement against this practice and, at the prompting of ALRANZ, so has the New Zealand Ministry of Health Te Whatu Ora. Concerningly, at least two CPCs are claiming that they know a GP who will prescribe this progesterone. ALRANZ has already identified one doctor who claimed to provide this treatment, which has been reported to the Medical Council.
Countering CPCs is difficult: “they are set up as charities, and they are doing charitable things, so it is hard for us to do anything about it unless we can prove that they’ve harmed or deceived someone.” A crucial first step is identifying these centres and calling them out for the insidious anti-abortion spaces they really are. According to Alma, there is room for grassroots organising to do just that, so WATCH THIS SPACE.
Need an abortion?
Talk to your GP, or visit decide.org.nz for information and services, including early medical abortion by phone service.
Banner image: Protest in defence of abortion rights; Te Whanganui-a-Tara, 2023.
