Mass. Gov. Rolls Out Misleading Anti-Pregnancy Center Campaign

The Massachusetts state government has erected taxpayer-funded billboards attacking pregnancy centers and encouraging women to “avoid” pro-life organizations.

The billboards, which went up across the state in June, accuse pro-life centers of “mislead[ing] you about your options if you’re pregnant” because these organizations do not provide dangerous and deadly abortion services. Advertisements with the same message were also rolled out on social media platforms, radio, YouTube, and public transit.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a Democrat, billed the advertisements as a “public education campaign” paid for by $1 million in taxpayer dollars approved in the state legislature’s FY2023 supplemental budget. The initiative marks the first time a state government has used public funds to campaign against pro-life organizations. The state government worked with pro-abortion group Reproductive Equity Now Foundation to launch the attacks.

The billboard directs women to a state government website that attacks pro-life pregnancy centers. The home page provides information on how to identify and file a complaint against pregnancy centers. Women are warned to avoid centers that offer “hope” and feature “pictures of babies and children.”

“Anti-abortion centers, often called ‘crisis pregnancy centers’, look like medical facilities but don’t offer comprehensive care,” the website reads. “Some may not offer any medical care. They may mislead you about your options if you’re pregnant and can put your health at risk.”

The site makes a variety of unsubstantiated claims about the over 30 pro-life centers in Massachusetts, including accusations of “untrained staff and volunteers” and attempts “to delay your care and potentially put your health at risk,” concluding that “these centers are not a safe or trusted place to go” for help.

The page provides zero data and no anecdotal evidence to support these claims. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Governor’s Office did not immediately respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.

The website claims pro-life pregnancy centers “purposefully operate and advertise themselves in lower income communities and communities of color” but provides no evidence to support the assertion.

Multiple studies indicate abortion provider Planned Parenthood deliberately targets minority women, fulfilling founder Margaret Sanger’s stated goal to “lead ultimately to a cleaner race.” Life Issues Institute research found the organization “strategically place[d]” “62% of Planned Parenthood abortion facilities … within walking distance (2 miles) of relatively high African American populations.”

The page links to collaborator Reproductive Equity Now Foundation’s (RENF) website, which contains a laundry list of misinformation.

RENF claims “there is no scientific evidence that abortion results in adverse mental health outcomes.” Multiple studies indicate that abortion is destructive to women’s mental health, substantially increasing suicide rates, depression, and substance abuse.

The organization also called abortion pill reversal a “fake service … which is not supported by science and poses serious threats to patients’ health.” Several organizations, experts, and studies, however, have demonstrated its efficacy for women who change their minds about chemical abortion.

Pro-life centers are under attack as they continue to provide increasing amounts of charitable goods and services to pregnant women and their children. Members of the Pregnancy Care Alliance of Massachusetts (PCAM) provided over $1 million in ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, diapers, baby formula, and other material goods in 2022 alone. Total support from pregnancy centers nationwide totaled over $350 million in 2022.

“The women served by pregnancy resource centers overwhelmingly report a positive experience, yet the Healey Administration and other politicians in the state are furthering their extreme abortion agenda by using a taxpayer-funded campaign to discredit our centers,” PCAM told Fox News Digital. “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.”

Monroe Harless is a summer intern at The Federalist. She is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia with degrees in journalism and political science.