28 February 2023
Commenting on BBC Panorama's investigation, Crisis Pregnancy Centres Uncovered, Clare Murphy, Chief Executive of BPAS, said:
"So-called crisis pregnancy centres mislead and manipulate vulnerable women who are seeking support. These organisations masquerade as legitimate sources of medical information and counselling, yet as this BBC investigation makes clear these are ideologically-driven services which seek to prevent or delay women from accessing safe, legal abortion care. At BPAS, we see women who have been told by CPC’s that that they risk drug addiction and serious mental illness if they have an abortion, or their ability to love their existing children will be compromised. This cannot be allowed to continue.
"We are calling on the government to bring forward measures to regulate these services and ensure that they adhere to minimum standards of non-directive, accurate information-giving about pregnancy options and abortion. Where services will not refer a woman for abortion, such services should be required to clearly state this fact on their literature and publicity, as is required in other countries."
ENDS
BBC Panorama, Crisis Pregnancy Centres Uncovered, is available on BBC iPlayer here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001f7wj
ENDS
For further information, please contact Katherine O’Brien, BPAS Associate Director of Campaigns and Communications, on katherine.o’brien@bpas.org or 07881 265276.
About BPAS
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, is a charity that sees over 100,000 women a year for reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception at clinics across Great Britain.
BPAS exists to further women’s reproductive choices. We believe all women should have the right to make their own decisions in and around pregnancy, from the contraception they use to avoid pregnancy right the way through to how they decide to feed their newborn baby, with access to evidence-based information to underpin their choices and high-quality services and support to exercise them.
BPAS also runs the Centre for Reproductive Research and Communication, CRRC. Through rigorous multidisciplinary research and impactful communication, the CRRC aims to inform policy, practice, and public discourse. You can find out more here.