ICYMI: New Report Reveals Crisis Pregnancy Centers Received Nearly $430M in Federal Funding, House Members Call For Investigation 

WASHINGTON, DC  — A new report shows that over the last five years nearly $430 million in federal funding went to crisis pregnancy centers — organizations that spread misinformation about abortion and attempt to coerce people into carrying their pregnancies to term. In response to the report, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10) called on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate this funding. 

“Given the concerns from medical professionals and reproductive health experts that CPCs are not bound by medical and ethical practice standards and often do not provide medically accurate information or health care…we have serious concerns that CPCs continue to receive millions in federal aid with little transparency and accountability to the public,” Reps. Raskin and Frost wrote in a letter to the GAO. 

In the letter, Reps. Raskin and Frost specifically called on the GAO to investigate the  organizations Heartbeat International, Care Net, and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, which support most of the CPCs in the country. 

Topline findings of the report from Health Management Associates (HMA) include: 

• Nearly $430 million in federal funding went to more than 650 CPCs in 49 states and Washington, D.C. between 2017-2023. 
• The funding came from a wide variety of programs, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Food and Shelter Program, the Title X Federal Family Planning Program, the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program, the Title V General Department (GD) Sexual Risk Avoidance Education (SRAE) Program, and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program. 
• The TANF program funding represented 24% ($102,670,000) of all the federal funding received by CPCs between 2017-2023.
• This funding has largely been distributed without transparency or accountability. 

Additional Background on CPCs: 

• CPCs are not health care providers and often trick pregnant people into thinking they received health care and medically accurate information, when in fact CPCs provide biased “counseling” that endangers people’s health. 
• These organizations do not follow scientifically accurate or evidence-based standards and push unproven, potentially dangerous practices including abortion “reversal.” 

• CPCs are part of a well-funded national network of anti-abortion organizations and outnumber abortion clinics more than 3:1. 
• Giving money to CPCs funnels funds away from real reproductive health care and into the already deep pockets of anti-abortion groups. 
• Many CPCs collect personal health information about their clients as if they were truly health care providers. But since CPCs are not providing medical care, they are not bound by state and federal privacy laws, and their information is vulnerable to disclosure and misuse to intimidate individuals seeking care. 
• A recent ProPublica investigation revealed Texas sends millions to crisis pregnancy centers. 

If you are interested in learning more or interviewing a Planned Parenthood Action Fund expert about federal funding for CPCs, please email [email protected].

Read the report here and the letter to the GAO here. 

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Planned Parenthood Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The Action Fund engages in educational, advocacy, and limited electoral activity, including grassroots organizing, legislative advocacy, and voter education