BOSTON — Beacon Hill leaders have rolled out a new public education campaign taking aim at pregnancy crisis centers, which have emerged as the latest battleground in abortion access following the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling overturning federal protections.
The state Department of Public Health said Monday that it has partnered with the advocacy group Reproductive Equity Now Foundation on a new campaign to educate the public about the “dangers and potential harm” of anti-abortion centers that advocates say are providing misleading information to women.
The campaign, which is funded by $1 million carved out in a fiscal 2023 supplemental budget, will appear on social media platforms, billboards, radio and transit, officials said.
Gov. Maura Healey, who approved the funding, said the goal is to help protect access to “safe and legal” abortions. She said crisis pregnancy centers outnumber women’s reproductive health clinics by more than 2-1 and use “deceptive and dangerous tactics.”
“This campaign is an important way to provide accurate information so residents can make informed decisions about reproductive care that are right for them,” Healey said in remarks Monday.
The centers, which advertise free services and counseling for women struggling with unplanned pregnancies, have proliferated in the wake of the high court’s 2022 decision overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.
But women’s reproductive rights groups argue the facilities are funded by anti-abortion groups with the sole intention of blocking women from getting abortions.
Some communities have moved to limit or ban the centers amid complaints that they are using deceptive advertising and providing misinformation.
“Information is power, and today, Massachusetts is putting power in the hands of our communities by alerting them to the dangers of deceptive anti-abortion centers,” Rebecca Hart Holder, the foundation’s president, said in a statement. “Together, we can combat anti-abortion centers’ predatory practices and ensure every person in Massachusetts has access to the health care they want and need, without deception or delay.”
Despite the claims by Healey and other state leaders, anti-abortion groups say the centers are providing options to women other than abortions and being unfairly targeted by a “smear campaign” by proponents of the procedure.
The conservative Massachusetts Family institute says it has documented acts of vandalism and intimidation at pregnancy centers across the state.
The Pregnancy Care Alliance of Massachusetts said the network of pregnancy care centers in the state “provides millions of dollars in no-cost support and care for thousands of women annually who face planned and unplanned pregnancies, with services ranging from pregnancy confirmation services, parenting education, and community referrals to material goods like diapers and formula.”
The group accused Healey and other state leaders of “furthering their extreme abortion agenda by using a taxpayer-funded campaign to discredit our centers.”
“This politically motivated campaign will negatively impact women the most, specifically the many women who want to parent and rely on the free assistance we provide,” the group said in a statement.
Abortion is legal in Massachusetts under a 2020 law, but advocates say the state has become a destination for women coming from other states that banned the procedure or tightened their laws following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
State leaders took steps to shield providers and patients from potential lawsuits filed by groups of other states where abortion is now restricted.
But advocates are pressuring the state to intervene to prevent crisis pregnancy centers from proliferating as more women come to Massachusetts seeking abortions. They’ve been pushing for funding for the public education campaign for several years.
In 2022, then-Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed $1 million for the campaign from the economic development bill shortly before he left office. Baker said the spending was unnecessary because the state already posts public information about legitimate family planning services operating in the state.
His rejection of the proposal prompted terse statements from women’s reproductive advocacy groups, which accused the pro-choice Republican of being “wildly out of touch” with his constituents, while it was praised by anti-abortion groups, which say the pregnancy centers are being unfairly targeted.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.