Estefana was going to have an abortion.
She went to the first clinic that appeared on the web page after typing "abortion pill near me" into the internet search engine. She found the Keim Centre in Virginia Beach to be too nice and inviting.
She was placed in a consultation room and told not to use her phone after speaking with an employee who asked what search phrase she used to find the clinic. She was sure she'd be having a medical device in the room, but it wasn't one.
Estefana said it looked like they were sitting her down for tea.
Estefana didn't know that she had walked into a crisis pregnancy center in the US.
What is their goal? Women who want abortions will be deterred.
A woman who wasn't a medical professional entered the room and asked Estefana questions about her relationship, such as whether or not she planned to marry her boyfriend. Estefana was told to make a pros and cons list.
The woman was met with resistance when she told the employee that she didn't want a child. The arguments got stronger when Estefana's boyfriend entered the room.
She said that the woman referred to it as a baby. It didn't do anything, but it made me feel worse about myself.
Estefana was pregnant after the nurse reviewed her urine sample. After asking the nurse how she could get an abortion, she was met with resistance. She was told by the nurse that it was too early for her to have an abortion or get a referral.
She asked, what is this then? If you don't tell me how to get an abortion, what am I doing here? Can you give me something?
Every abortion clinic in the United States has at least threeCPCs. CareNET and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates are anti-abortion organizations that support many of them.
Robert Pearson is an anti- abortion activist. Pearson wrote a manual on how pro-life groups could start their own centers when he opened one of the firstCPCs.
There are arguments to be used against women who say "they have the right to control their own body" in the manual.
Pearson suggested thatCPCs establish themselves near abortion clinics. In the US, some CPCs will use nearly identical names and building signs as clinics to confuse people.
Pearson advised centers to identify by two names.
The Keim Centers, which Estefana went to, is run by a nonprofit called the Crisis Pregnancy Center of Tidewater whose website is upfront about the organization's anti- abortion and religious views. The Keim Centers did not reply.
Pearson advised placing ads in newspapers that looked like ads for abortion clinics in order to get women to come to a center. Digital ads show up in searches for things like "abortion pill" or "abortion information" in order to appear like clinics.
For decades, attempts have been made to regulate the tactics of the CPCs.
There were deceptive ads under abortion search results that were removed by Google. The Supreme Court struck down a law that would have required CPCs to reveal if they were medically licensed.
Hundreds of women like Estefana are tricked into going to theseCPCs.
In Pennsylvania, crisis centers outnumber clinics 9-to-1. The PRC does not offer abortions or refer patients to abortion providers.
Alice Marchesani, the executive director of PRC, told Insider that their goal is to decrease abortion in the area.
Marchesani said the resource center has a number of programs where attendees can earn points and redeem them at the baby boutique of their choice.
About 30% of women who visited the center in the last year sought an abortion. Marchesani said that it's important for women to know they have other options if they want to have an abortion.
We're very transparent. Marchesani said that they don't think that's deceptive.
The executive director said that the center's purpose is to offer alternatives to abortion.
She said they don't think there's any kind of bait and switch.
If the pregnant person's life is at risk, abortion is legalized up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Next year, Pennsylvanians will be able to vote on a measure about the state's abortion laws.
If the laws in Pennsylvania are changed to allow for more abortion access, it will be a wake-up call for pro-lifers.
This is the biggest civil rights issue of the last 50 years. Marchesani said that they were here to advocate for pre-born children.
When a person's goal is to get an abortion, interacting withCPCs can prove to be a taxing experience.
According to Dr. Lisa Perriera, the chief medical director of The Women's Centers, staff members at the CPC often share misinformation about abortions to scare women.
She said that many people who work atCPCs don't have medical degrees.
Perriera said that they don't have the ability to do medical things. Most of the people working in crisis pregnancy centers are on a mission to stop abortion.
Estefana was frightened at her appointment at The Keim Centers. She was given a pamphlet that was false. Estefana was only 6 weeks pregnant when her counselor told her that she could see little hands or feet during the procedure.
Perriera said thatCPCs will try to delay abortions by keeping women at their centers for hours. The procedure could be more expensive or difficult if women don't make an appointment at a real clinic.
Perriera said that the centers are creating barriers to make it more difficult for people to survive.
State and federal funding for CPCs is substantial. More than half a billion in tax-payer dollars have been spent on CPCs in 13 states.
Some of the states that get the most funds for CPCs have some of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country.
In a world where abortion rights are not guaranteed for many women, the role that CPCs play in the anti-abortion movement has gained renewed attention.
The extinction of national abortion rights will cause the number of people living close to abortion clinics to double and the number of people living close to abortion clinics to decrease.
States that have banned abortion are trying to expand. A mega-crisis pregnancy center is being built in Texas.
Tara Murtha is the director of strategic communications at the Women's Law Project in Pennsylvania.
Laws that protect medical privacy can't stop many CPCs from turning in personal information obtained by their staff to anti- abortion organizations.
Users are required to reveal their identity and location in order for the information to be used for any purpose.
If you call one of the hotlines that aren't aware that it's a CPC hotline, your medical, sexual reproductive health, addiction, or relationship history can end up in an anti.
Murtha said that the money should be given to actual medical services and services that help families without the obstacles of CPCs.
She said that governments should require more transparency from theCPCs. CPCs don't need to be licensed or answer to any regulatory bodies currently.
Estefana was eventually able to get the care that she needed, but she said the experience she had at The Keim Centers was something she still hasn't overcome.
When she sees a sonogram of the fetus she aborted, she gets upset because she remembers the voice of one of the workers saying "We're all individuals, you will never have this baby again"
Words can't prepare you for that.
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