Missouri Governor Matt Blunt (R) signed a bill into law on Tuesday that will allow donors to crisis pregnancy centers to receive a tax credit over the next six years on up to half of their donations, up to $50,000. Gov. Blunt signed the bill at a crisis pregnancy center, saying that these centers “help [women] make a choice and to choose life,” according to the Columbian Daily Tribune.
However, many crisis pregnancy centers use deceptive advertising offering help to pregnant women or free pregnancy tests to lure women in, especially young and low-income women. Rather than offering a full range of reproductive health services, workers at these “clinics” use scare tactics and misinformation to convince women not to consider the option of abortion.
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced a bill in Congress to address false advertising by crisis pregnancy centers. The bill, “Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services” Act, directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a rule prohibiting these so-called clinics from trying to deceive women into believing they provide abortion services or referrals.
