Hidden Agendas: Unveiling the Tactics of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Charlotte

By: Charlotte Isenberg

Driving into the heart of Charlotte, it’s impossible to avoid the mass of signs, advertisements, and billboards posted along the roadsides. Along Wilkinson Boulevard, one such billboard stands out from the others. A stark sky blue, it bears a simple message: the questions “Pregnant?” and “Scared?” line the top edge, with “HOPE” filling the remaining space, set behind a stock photo of a pensive-looking woman. In the bottom right corner sits an unassuming little phone number, seemingly inviting onlookers to call if they believe any of the above applies to them.

This billboard is owned by Birthright of Charlotte; a crisis pregnancy center that, according to their website, hopes to “assist women in the Charlotte metro area who are experiencing unplanned pregnancies.” They claim to offer information about pregnancy, childbirth and adoption, and refer out to other organizations for material support like financial, housing, and medical assistance. The only resources they claim to offer on-site are free pregnancy tests, maternity and baby items, and “friendship, love and hope.”

The first crisis pregnancy center was established by anti-abortion activist Robert Pearson shortly after Hawaii legalized abortion in 1967. The site was an orphanage in Kalihi Valley originally owned by the Catholic Church. Since then, several national chains of crisis pregnancy centers have manifested, separated into the three main organizations of Heartbeat International, Care Net, and Birthright International, who own a majority of the centers in the United States.

The goal of these centers, according to the anti-abortion think tank Charlotte Lozier Institute, is to present “alternatives to abortion.” They also claim that “pregnancy centers provide an expanded range of essential and professional care encompassing support services, medical care, and resources.” However, according to the Guttmacher Institute, crisis pregnancy centers often pose as abortion providers and disseminate misinformation about abortion, contraception, and pregnancy. This misinformation, they posit, can have serious health consequences for the people who go to pregnancy centers seeking accurate information and reproductive care.

If one searches the phrase “abortion Charlotte NC” on Google, the results are filled with websites from crisis pregnancy centers in the area. One such result from Queen City Pregnancy Resource Center appears before Planned Parenthood’s Charlotte location and the website for A Preferred Women’s Health Center-both verified abortion providers. Though Google attempts to note “does not provide abortions” in bold above the center’s website, the tagline just under it reads “You Are Required To Receive An Ultrasound Before An Abortion In North Carolina. Get The Care And Support You Deserve At Queen City Pregnancy Resource Center.”

One might read that tagline, not knowing that abortion providers themselves perform the legally required ultrasound, and assume you must visit a separate clinic that offers ultrasounds before making an appointment for a termination procedure. Thus, confusion arises.

I decided to call three pregnancy centers in the Charlotte area posing as someone seeking an abortion. I wanted to see how long it would take for the centers to clarify that they do not aid in any part of the abortion process while listening for any misinformation about reproductive health.

My first call was to Queen City Pregnancy Resource Center. I started each call by saying I was looking online for information about getting an abortion in Charlotte and found their website. None of the centers immediately corrected me to clarify that they do not offer abortions but rather asked when my last menstrual cycle was and whether or not my pregnancy had been confirmed. I told the Queen City volunteer that my pregnancy had been confirmed at urgent care. On each call, to see if they would offer false information about contraceptives, I stated that I did not know the date of my last menstrual cycle because I use the hormonal birth control pill.

After receiving this information, the volunteer finally told me they don’t offer abortion procedures in their center but that they do pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, which she said that I would need. She elaborated, remarking that “the fact that you’re on birth control…you need to have that ultrasound done first just to make sure it’s a viable pregnancy.”

Taken aback, I asked if birth control can harm a pregnancy. The volunteer then told me “it could (because) you’re taking hormones, so definitely it could.”

She then advised, “until you know if it’s a viable pregnancy I wouldn’t even look into termination options right now.”

According to the FDA, there is no evidence that hormonal birth control pills cause any pregnancy complications or birth defects, which makes sense considering that birth control pills work by mimicking natural pregnancy hormones to prevent ovulation.

The volunteer directed me to their clinic for an ultrasound and to “explain the options available.” The conversation took another turn as she told me “you could be in the process of a miscarriage.” Seeing as there was no reason to assume I was miscarrying my hypothetical pregnancy based on the information I gave, I wanted to explore this further. I asked if they would refer me to another center for an abortion if they found my pregnancy was not viable.

She paused for a moment, then continued: “If you had a non-viable pregnancy you wouldn’t get an abortion. You would go to the emergency room, (and) they would determine if you need a D&C.” I asked what a D&C was, knowing this is not a term most people are familiar with, and also knowing that a D&C to remove a non-viable pregnancy, according to the National Abortion Federation, is an abortion.

She stuttered a bit, then told me “when girls do have a miscarriage they’ll do a D&C (...) (a surgeon will) go in…I don't know the medical terminology but they’re just making sure there’s nothing left that could cause you to get an infection.” I asked if this wouldn’t be the same as having an abortion. She told me that it is “absolutely not the same thing.”

The volunteer redirected me, saying they would perform a pregnancy test and ultrasound for me at their clinic, then noting they “just don’t do the termination procedures here at (their) clinic.” I took the opportunity to pursue this further, wondering if she would clarify that the center was an anti-abortion organization, or if she would, like the websites, imply they were some precursor to the abortion process. I asked “you just don’t have the doctor?” to inquire if they could not, rather than would not, perform abortions.

She seemed to imply the former, telling me “no, no, we have the nurses here,” then pausing before redirecting with “you’re kinda thinking ahead (...) just take a step back before you start walking down that path because you need to confirm it’s a viable pregnancy first.” She again elaborated with the contraception narrative, saying “my main concern is that you are on birth control (...) the fact that you are on birth control, those are hormones in your body…you just want to have that ultrasound done just to make sure everything is progressing like it should.”

Trying to move back towards their status as an anti-abortion group, I pressed to ask if the nurse would talk to me about termination procedures after they determined my pregnancy was viable.She skirted the issue once more, saying “we don’t refer out here, but what we can do is (...) our nurse can go though, based on how far along you are, and tell you what type of procedure you would be looking at.” Audibly impatient, she continued: “you’re obviously very inquisitive, so we can answer those questions.”

I tried to clarify once more, asking “so you just give information about abortion?” to which she affirmed “yes, yes, we will answer any of those questions.”

From my conversation, it was easy to see how someone could be led into thinking this anti-abortion crisis pregnancy center was somehow a part of the abortion process. Even outside of the blatant misinformation about contraception and abortion, the potential for harm in a situation like this, through delaying legitimate, time-sensitive care through that omission, troubled me.

I then called Birthright of Charlotte, who did not answer. Their business information on Google seems to say they are only open until 4pm on weekdays, and they are closed on weekends. I wondered how a young woman like me, with a job and responsibilities during weekdays, could possibly be expected to regularly come into the center as a client. Owner Hank Chardos did call me back and left a voicemail, which he ended with “God bless you”.

I then reached out to UCity Women’s Center. After several rings, the volunteer picked up, asking the same questions about my last menstrual cycle and whether or not my pregnancy had been confirmed. I gave them the same response about my positive pregnancy test and my hormonal birth control. She noted this, then told me their center only provides “pre-abortion screenings” to check if a pregnancy is ectopic.

I had never heard an anti-abortion organization of any type use this term before. I reiterated that I was seeking an abortion, to which she replied that “it is recommended that you talk with a medical staff before taking the abortion pill” before directing me to the pregnancy center.

North Carolina law requires three separate appointments for patients receiving the “abortion pill”, which is two pills: Mifepristone and Misoprostol. All of these appointments, which consist of a consultation and ultrasound, an appointment to administer the pills, and a follow-up to ensure there are no complications, are scheduled with the abortion provider themselves.

Like the previous center, UCity seemed to be implying they were a legitimate part of the abortion process rather than an anti-abortion organization. I then explicitly asked if they provide abortions, to which the volunteer responded “we only do the pre-abortion screening to confirm you are not at risk for miscarriage or ectopic (pregnancy), then just answer any questions you have in regard to abortion procedures.”

After a few minutes of talking about appointment specifics, she summarized: “We will be performing your pre-abortion screening at your appointment, not the abortion. You are free to choose the clinic that best suits your situation as we cannot directly refer you to any particular clinic.”

After these calls, I sat and thought about what those appointments would be like for someone seeking an abortion. Since North Carolina’s restrictive abortion law passed in 2023, abortion is now banned past the 12th week of pregnancy in our state. Taking a day off of work to seek reproductive care, then realizing you were directed to an anti-abortion organization, could mean lost wages and wasted money spent on childcare.

Then there is the issue of lost time, which is arguably the most important factor in receiving abortion care in a banned state. Most people don’t find out they are pregnant until after 6 weeks when they miss their menstrual cycle, and it is very common to find out at 8, 9, or 10 weeks. Since North Carolina is surrounded by states in which abortion is further restricted or entirely banned, abortion providers are struggling to meet the needs of Carolinians as well as people traveling to our state for care. This means appointments are in high demand and often schedule weeks out.

It’s easy to add up these factors and see how wasting a week with an appointment at a pregnancy center could mean going over the 12-week cutoff, and if a patient cannot afford to travel to another state for abortion care, they may be forced to carry their pregnancy to term.

Though pregnancy centers may seem innocuous and even well-intentioned, the deceptive tactics they often use cannot be ignored. Pregnant people everywhere, including in the Charlotte area, deserve to make informed choices about their reproductive care. That begins with organizations respecting their clients enough to be honest about the services they provide and the values they hold.