Statement- Governor Glenn Youngkin Signs Bills at Anti-Abortion Fake Clinic

Statement from REPRO Rising Virginia:

On Wednesday, March 29, Governor Glenn Youngkin signed two bills (HB 2290 and SB 1314) at an anti-abortion Fake Clinic. East End Pregnancy Center is one of the more than 50 anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers in the commonwealth that offer no medical services that aid with maternal or fetal health.

Fake clinics, or so-called Crisis Pregnancy Centers, disguise themselves as comprehensive reproductive healthcare centers, situate themselves next to legitimate abortion providers, mislead pregnant people about their pregnancies, and perpetuate false information about abortion.

The legislation being signed into law also pushes a false narrative of “providing expectant single mothers with the ability to petition courts to receive monthly child support payments and get reimbursement for pregnancy and delivery expenses”. When in reality, these bills hope to discourage pregnant people from seeking abortions by offering financial relief for the costs associated with pregnancy and birth. The legislation fails to inform the public that anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers are not medical facilities for comprehensive pregnancy-related care.

“It’s no surprise that Governor Youngkin, who has expressed his intention to restrict abortion access and “gleefully” sign an abortion ban into law, decided to sign these bills related to “maternal health” at a place that pretends to be a legitimate healthcare facility that actively manipulates, shames and tries to dissuade pregnant people from seeking abortion care,” says Tarina Keene, Executive Director of REPRO Rising Virginia.

Virginians need access to timely, compassionate, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare services. It is more critical than ever that fake clinics, and supporters of these institutions, stop duping patients by pretending to provide them with reproductive healthcare when they are simply not.

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