Crisis pregnancy centers: Among hundreds of summer festivals across Chicago, this one is the worst
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, July 9, 2024
CHICAGO, IL -- This summer, local advocates for abortion access are handing out wristbands and “tickets” to The Worst Festival of All Time throughout the city, an effort to draw attention to the growing threat that anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) create in a state otherwise believed to be a safe haven for patients seeking reproductive healthcare.
“This wristband represents the fact that we are all living in The Worst Festival of All Time,” said Lisa Battisfore, founder of Reproductive Transparency Now, as she points to the multi-colored band on her wrist. “Whether you realized it or not, we have been forcibly granted admission to the harmful anti-choice propaganda perpetuated by anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers.”
Chicago and Illinois are frequently viewed as a “safe haven” for abortion access due in large part to crucial pro-choice legislation that made Illinois top the list of states with the largest increase in abortions since the Dobbs decision. Although the legal right to abortion is currently protected in Illinois, what most people do not realize is that anti-choice groups are creating major barriers to abortion access via anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. There are nearly 100 CPCs in the state of Illinois, including five in the city of Chicago.
“Too many Illinois residents, especially Chicagoans, have been lulled into a false sense of security,” Battisfore continued. “The harsh reality is that securing the legal right to abortion care is only the first step to ensuring unhindered, equitable access to quality reproductive healthcare for all who need it.”
State legislatures across the country, including in Illinois, have struggled to find ways to hold anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers accountable for their misleading messaging, harmful medical disinformation, and disregard for protected health information.
It is critically important for all Illinoisians who believe in abortion access and full bodily autonomy to educate themselves and others about CPCs. “The only way to prevent the harm that CPCs cause is to make sure all members of our community, especially those who are most often marginalized, know the truth about how they operate. That’s what The Worst Festival of All Time campaign is all about,” Battisfore concluded. Reproductive Transparency Now is planning a capstone event for the end of summer.
ABOUT THE WORST FESTIVAL OF ALL TIME
The Worst Festival of All Time is a public education and awareness campaign drawing attention to the 24/7/365 threat to bodily autonomy being orchestrated by anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) and the powerful anti-choice groups that operate and resource them. There are more than 2,500 anti-abortion CPCs, located across all 50 states, pretending to be reproductive healthcare facilities in order to intercept and deter pregnant people who may be considering abortion. Learn more about this Illinois-based initiative led by Reproductive Transparency Now at www.WorstFestival.com.
ABOUT REPRODUCTIVE TRANSPARENCY NOW
Reproductive Transparency Now (RTN) is a Chicago-based grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing reproductive justice by raising public awareness about anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) through direct action, education, and advocacy. Learn more about RTN at www.ReproTransparency.org.
For media inquiries, contact: info@reprotransparency.org.
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