Heartbeat International (crisis pregnancy center network)

Heartbeat International is an international Christian association that supports crisis pregnancy centers (CPC).[1] It does not offer, recommend, or refer for abortions.[1] Heartbeat International teaches its affiliated members to make their advertising look as though they are full-service clinics that provide referrals for birth control or abortion. Staff are also trained on how to discourage pregnant women from accessing abortion, and how to discourage young women from using emergency contraception, birth control pills, or IUDs. Heartbeat staff are also encouraged to create two websites, one that has an explicitly Christian message, and one that looks like Planned Parenthood. Many pregnancy centers have the ultimate goal of converting women through a born-again experience to "save the mother, save the baby."[2]

For the pacemaker charity, see Heartbeat International (charity).

History

Heartbeat International started in 1971 under the name Alternatives to Abortion, in response to increased liberalization of abortion laws in several states, which would eventually culminate in Roe v. Wade, making abortion legal across the United States. Its founders believed that legalizing abortion would result in more, not fewer, abortions, as women would be pressured into choosing abortion. Therefore, Alternatives to Abortion started as a humanitarian organization to provide a "safety net" of emergency pregnancy support as a counter to the pressure to abort. The centers provide material relief to women once they have decided pregnancies to term, primarily baby & maternity items. Items they cannot provide they often will refer women to secondhand retail shops as well as nonprofits in their area for assistance with clothing & assorted baby items. The organization adopted its current name in 1993.

Heartbeat International is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, United States.

In February 2020, openDemocracy revealed that Heartbeat International had been targeting vulnerable women in 18 countries with disinformation about abortions.[3]

Lawsuits

There have been a number of lawsuits against clinics associated with Heartbeat International for misrepresenting what they provide to people.[4]

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References
  1. "Our Commitment". Retrieved 2011-02-16.
  2. Winter, Meaghan (6 April 2015). ""Save the Mother, Save the Baby": An Inside Look at a Pregnancy Center Conference". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
  3. Provost, Claire; Archer, Nandini (10 February 2020). "Exclusive: Trump-linked religious 'extremists' target women with disinformation worldwide". openDemocracy. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  4. "Hartford Weighs Ordinance to Stop an Anti-Choice Clinic From Tricking Abortion Patients - Rewire". Rewire. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
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