Dear Editor:
We should not welcome The Centre Wellington Pregnancy Centre to our community (Wellington Advertiser, Sept.1, 2017).
“Crisis Pregnancy Centres (CPCs) are anti-choice agencies that present themselves as unbiased medical clinics or counselling centres…whose ostensible purpose is to provide women with non-judgemental information on all their options when faced with an unintended pregnancy. However, CPCs are not medical facilities, most are Christian ministries, they generally will not refer clients for abortion or contraception, and many promote misinformation such as the existence of “Post-abortion Syndrome,” which is not a medically recognized condition.”
Furthermore, CPCs “do not provide professional, unbiased counselling services;…their counsellors are not properly trained or registered;…[they] spread misleading or inaccurate information about abortion, contraception, sexually transmitted infections, sexual activity or adoption…[and] present themselves deceptively, such as by not disclosing that they won’t refer for abortion, or hiding their religious stance from prospective clients.” (Review of “Crisis Pregnancy Centre” Websites in Canada, Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, May 2016)
Those who oppose abortion have the right to express their opinion. But CPCs are nothing but fronts for religious bigotry that would deny Canadian women their hard-won, legal right to control their own reproduction. Let them be honest, call themselves “Anti-Abortion Counselling Centres.” (By the way, there is no demonstrable need for additional “pregnancy counselling.” Abundant, impartial information can be obtained easily online or from your doctor.)
Jim Zimmerman
Inverhaugh
Jim Zimmerman