The Feminist Majority Foundation asserts that four pregnancy resource centers within five miles of The College of Wooster campus are, in fact, ìfake” crisis pregnancy centers.†† The Feminist Majority Foundation claims that, ìCPCís [Crisis Pregnancy Centers]† use scare tactics and misinformation to manipulate women into choosing motherhood or adoption while pressuring them not to consider abortion or birth control.”
Only one of these alleged centers could be confirmed.† The Pregnancy Care Center Wayne County, a non-medical, non-profit organization located on Cleveland Road, offers a variety of counseling services to fulfill the ìlarge need” for crisis pregnancy services that exists in the Wooster community.† According to Harlene Steiner, a counselor at the Center, ìWe support people and realize pregnancy is not the end of the world.”† She adds, the Center ìattempts to deal [with pregnancy] in positive ways”
Clients visiting the Center are offered free, self-administered pregnancy tests as well as counseling.† The Center also provides a list of resources in the community, such as referrals to obstetricians, Legal Aid Society, the Department of Job and Family Services, and other applicable institutions.† Clients at the Pregnancy Care Center can participate in the Earn While You Learn program, which allows women to accumulate ìvalue” spendable at the Centerís ìstore” towards baby materials while completing parenting and prenatal education classes.
The Center also offers community outreach program such as Concerned about Teen Sexuality (C.A.T.S.), which presents peer programs in area junior high and high schools. C.A.T.S. promotes abstinence education, but does not discuss various methods of birth control.
The Pregnancy Care Center, however, does not provide referrals to abortion clinics.† Though Counselor Harlene Steiner indicated the Center ìwill certainly discuss” abortion and uses ìfull disclosure” about the facts, information found on the Centerís webpage (www.pccwayne.org) is often biased or misleading.† The Centerís ìFor Men” section, for example, espouses facts such as, ìthe aftermath of abortion for women leads to post-traumatic stress disorder. Should [the man] remain in [the womanís] life after the abortion, it is highly unlikely that she will allow him to enjoy anything.”
The website lists four online resources for women in crisis: a help line, Abstinence Works!, Care Net and Heartbeat International.† Care Netís homepage advertises the ìSanctity of Human Life Sunday” and hopes to increase the availability of ìpregnancy center services to women on college campuses” within the next five years.† Heartbeat International sells self-described ìChrist-centered” resources for discussions, including an abortion talking points manual and advertising for the Sexual Integrity program, which boasts ìevangelization opportunities increase as you spend more time with clients, and they learn more about Godís blueprint for sexual integrity.”
The Feminist Majority Foundation indicates up to 40 percent of campus wellness centers list similar organizations as a crisis pregnancy ìresource.”† Director of Longbrake Student Wellness Center, Nancy Anderson states that Wellness Center personnel give students ìall of the options that we know of in this area.”† This includes the Pregnancy Care Center along with a wealth of other resources that provide materials the Center does not.† The Wellness Center also provides free pregnancy tests, as well as free Pap smears and one STI screening per year without charge.† Birth control, for men and women, is also available for a minimal fee.† Anderson alludes to a host of womenís health services available, including gynecological clinics on Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons, sexual assault services, and counseling services.† The Wellness Center also produced a video describing womenís health resources available on campus.
Anderson states that when a student approaches the staff about a pregnancy concern, staff provide resources to help students ìmake an educated decision about what they want to do.”† Resources describe options such as adoption, keeping the child, and abortion.† Currently, the Wellness Center provides resources on two clinics in the region, in Cleveland and Akron.† Both also offer counseling services.
ìThe most important issue is the womanís choice,” states Anderson.†† To find out more information on womenís health clinics, visit the Wellness Center during gynecological clinics (Wednesday mornings or Thursday afternoons, subject to change) or the Pregnancy Care Center (Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9-4).