iChoice is a front for Life Services Spokane, a Christian pro-life organization. If you happen across the web site for iChoice, however, you might get an entirely different impression. The web site seems to offer services for women who are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy (or possible pregnancy). They advertise pregnancy testing along with testing and information about STDs. There is absolutely no mention of religion, Christianity or anything remotely like it. Sounds OK, right?
If click on the links you are lead to pages that start out sounding very professional and clinical. These links generally, however, descend into religious nonsense.
- Want more information about STDs? Great. Here is some information ... followed by some preaching about the virtues of abstinence, the folly of science and the glory of God.
- Want to know about pregnancy options? Great. Click this link and you get ... sent to pregnancycenters.org who provide us with some information about abortions and their "risks"..?
- Looking for options as a pregnant woman? Great. There are, in fact, FIVE options for you. We just won't tell you what they are until you call us.
- Are you dealing with "Post-Abortion Syndrome," or "PAS"? Great. We have some counseling available for you. Oh, did we say "counseling"? We actually meant "Bible studies."
This type of deceptiveness is the pretty much the calling card of Crisis Pregnancy Centers nationwide. One can hop on Google and and find information about CPCs playing anti-abortion propaganda in their waiting area, withholding pregnancy test results when a woman says she wants to get an abortion or worse. (1), (2)
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), the current chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a report in 2004 entitled "False and Misleading Health Information Provided by Federally Funded Pregnancy Resource Centers." (3) Investigators contacted 25 CPCs that had received federal funding, posing as a pregnant 17-year-old. They succeeded in reaching 23 of these organizations. 20 of the 23 organizations provided "false or misleading information about the health effects of abortion." This included information about the effect of abortion on future fertility, the mental health consequences of abortion and the link between abortion and breast cancer.
Interestingly, the "false and misleading information" provided quite closely mirrors the information found through the iChoice web site.
The "PACE/Path of Life" counseling program/bible study promises to help you deal with "Post Abortion Syndrome." As Rep. Waxman's report notes, there is no such thing as Post Abortion Syndrome. This "syndrome" is not recognized by either the American Psychiatric Association or the American Psychological Association. Several studies are cited to show that the psychological effects of abortion are overstated by CPCs. One study cited by the Waxman report is a study of 13,000 British women over 11 years that found that the need for psychological treatment was the same for women who had continued the pregnancy and given birth as it was for women who had an abortion. "Post Abortion Syndrome" is not at all a "type of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder" as iChoice states.
The page concerning the "risks" of abortion that iChoice links to will tell you
"Carrying your first pregnancy to full term gives protection against breast cancer. Choosing abortion causes loss of that protection."
and
The Waxman report notes that a National Cancer Institute conference in 2003 concluded "Induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk" and gave this finding the highest "Strength of Evidence Rating" of "Well Established." (4) No less than the American Cancer Society states that studies "have not found a cause-and-effect relationship between abortion and breast cancer." (5) The ACS cites recall bias as a possible reason for why there are some studies that indicate a relationship between the two. Recall bias or response bias may play a role in all of this. How unusual would it be for a woman to hide from a researcher whether she had had an abortion in the past? (Especially when they were illegal). As the ACS notes, women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer may be more forthcoming with their medical history as they try to search their memory for anything that might have contributed to their current condition. The ACS site and the Waxman study go far more in depth on this issue and I encourage you to check them out if you are interested in more of the details. The bottom line here, though, is that this is just one more sample of the willingness of iChoice to engage in misleading practices to further their particular agenda. In reality, I probably would not have a problem with Life Services if they were honest about the activity that they engage in. If they came out and put themselves out there are a Christian organization, providing pro-life health services to the Spokane area, then that would give people the opportunity to choose. Enter "Spokane Abortion" into Google and you will get Life Services first. Look on their web site and you will find false and distorted information and a hidden agenda. These sorts of tactics fall under the category of control and manipulation. iChoice, it seems, is about anything but choice. Spread the word."A number of reliable studies have concluded that there may be a link between abortion and the later development of breast cancer."
1 - http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/fake.htm
2 - http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/assets/files/Abortion-Access-to-Abortion-CPC-truth.pdf
3 - http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1080
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