I once had a patient who was a mother of two children, ages three and one. Shortly after her baby turned one, she found herself pregnant but did not know how far along she was, because she had just stopped breastfeeding and had not yet resumed her periods. She knew that having a third child would place insurmountable stress on her family, and she would not be able to provide for her two children the way she felt they deserved. So, she went online and searched for abortion services.

She came across a clinic called “Real Options” within an hour from her home, and called to make an appointment. She said they performed an ultrasound and told her she was nine weeks along. When she inquired about abortion options, she was told that it would be too dangerous for her to undergo an abortion because of how far along she was in her pregnancy. She was told an abortion would be harmful to her health and if she ever decided to become pregnant again, she would be unable to do so. When she told her husband about the visit, he looked up the clinic. Fortunately, he had learned on NPR about the existence of these fake women’s health centers, or crisis pregnancy centers, and that they do not provide full spectrum options counseling and instead often relay false information.

Together, they eventually they found their way to my clinic, where I repeated the ultrasound to confirm that she was actually a few weeks earlier in her pregnancy. After receiving counseling about all of her options, she decided to proceed with an abortion, which she received on the same day, followed by insertion of a long acting reversible contraceptive so that she can rest assured she has a reliable method of preventing pregnancy. This patient’s story taught me that even women with good social and family support can fall prey to crisis pregnancy centers. She was one of the fortunate ones who was able to sort through the lies and falsehoods in order to get the care she needed.