Part 4 – Do CPCs pretend they are medical clinics as Arthur states?
One
of Arthur’s favourite allegations against CPCs is that they pretend
to be unbiased medical clinics or counselling centres. This false
allegation is repeated over and over again every time Arthur writes
on the topic of CPCs. Arthur also likes to call CPCs “fake clinics”
which is both derogatory and untrue.
Of
the 100 CPC websites identified in Arthur’s latest report, I did
find one group which actually is a medical facility. Since
this group is a medical clinic, that leaves 99 actual CPC sites, of
which 77 specifically state that they are not medical
clinics or that they would provide referrals for medical care
(meaning they aren’t a medical facility).
This
leaves 22 sites. Of these remaining sites, there is nothing on their
sites to imply that they are medical clinics.
For
instance, Birthright clearly explains what services they provide (see
part 2 above). And nothing Birthright says on their website refers to
medical services. They do say this on their “Services” page:
“Referrals
to: Medical supports” (Source:
http://birthright.org/en/our-services)
So
Birthright does refer to medical services. This is very clear.
This fact would hold true for all of Birthright’s 26 locations, and
not 56 locations as Arthur misinforms her readers.
Most
CAPSS CPCs also say on their sites that they are not medical
clinics.
Brian
Norton stated in the CAPSS rebuttal of Arthur’s 2009 report on this
topic:
“We
are not pretending to be professional counselling agencies or medical
clinics. As is noted on our CAS charity’s CPC website: The
Crisis Pregnancy Centre is not a medical facility. We do not perform
or refer for abortions. We provide non-judgmental,
compassionate support and information on all pregnancy options. Our
services are not intended as a substitute for professional
counselling or therapy.
Though
centre staff have a wide variety of professional training (e.g.
social workers, counsellors, nurses, educators and pastors), CPCs are
primarily peer counselling agencies. The CAPSS centres which do offer
medical services, like STD/STI testing or ultrasounds, have staff
with appropriate certification and will advertise themselves
accordingly.”
“We
respectfully challenge Ms. Arthur to publicly disclose which centres
in British Columbia are alleged to be pretending to be medical
clinics or professional counseling centres.” (Source:
Page 33 of CAPSS rebuttal)
Arthur
never disclosed which centres in BC she believes are pretending. And
in her 2016 report Arthur is still making these false allegations,
both in her writings and in her presentation to the BCHA.
Further,
CAPSS policies in their 2017 Core Documents:
- “All of our advertising and communication are truthful and honest and accurately describe the services we offer” (Commitment of Care and Competence #8).
- “Medical services are provided in accordance with all applicable laws, and in accordance with pertinent medical standards, under the supervision and direction of a licensed physician.” (Commitment of Care and Competence #12).
- “The affiliate centre is committed to integrity in dealing with clients, earning their trust, and providing promised information and services. The affiliate centre denounces any form of deception in its corporate advertising or conversation with clients, agencies, or other individuals.” (Statement of Principles #8)
Clearly,
CAPSS member centres (and other CPCs) do not pretend they are medical
clinics.
In
fact, if you Google “medical clinics in Canada,” no crisis
pregnancy centres come up:
If
a woman is looking on the internet for a medical clinic, she will
find one, and it won’t be a CPC.
Arthur
takes particular offense when a CPC does not explicitly say they are
not a medical clinic. A quick look at any of the links that
come up from the Google search above reveals actual medical
clinics. You will quickly see all kinds of medical personnel
identified on these sites, such as doctors, residents, etc. It is
pretty obvious they are medical clinics.
And
medical clinics frequently use the word “medical” in their title.
You will see none of this for a CPC, and they never use the word
“medical” in their title. You mostly see the words “peer
counselling” on CPC sites, which is what most CPCs engage in.
If
you Google “abortion clinics in Canada,” again no crisis
pregnancy centres are found. If a woman is looking on the internet
for an abortion clinic, she will find one:
In
fact, the first link to come up in this last Google search is Joyce
Arthur’s own list of abortion clinics in Canada:
But
there’s something else here that I would like to draw the reader’s
attention to. Why do CPCs even need to say they are not a medical
clinic in the first place? (Unless they specifically do provide
medical services which most do not.) CPCs don’t say anything about
nurses or doctors or medical staff on their sites. Nothing about
medical services care.
Anyone
reading these sites can easily see what CPCs do and what they don’t
do. If you don’t read anything about medical services care on these
websites, then clearly the CPC does not provide medical services
care.
Even
though CAPSS has completely debunked Arthur’s medical clinic
allegations from 2009, Arthur continues to say it in 2016. And she
refuses to show any proof of her allegations, even after being
challenged by CAPSS. She continues to spread falsehoods.
Crisis
pregnancy centres are real places, providing real help, for real
women, in real crisis pregnancy situations. They are not “fake
clinics” as Arthur has also stated. CPCs are neither fake, nor are
they clinics. In fact, CPCs do not even call themselves clinics (a
name that connotes medicine); they call themselves centres.
Some
examples of Arthur’s use of the term “fake clinics” to describe
crisis pregnancy centres:
Part 5 – The Christian “problem”
Another
repeated theme of Arthur’s when she is attacking CPCs is that many
CPCs come from a Christian (i.e. Protestant and Catholic)
perspective/background. But here’s the thing. What does it matter
to Arthur if this is the case, and why does she even care?
Does
she think all people
with a faith background
are incompetent or sinister?
In
fact, Arthur, a self-identified atheist, would probably be more than
welcome at a CPC. Why? Because CPCs do not discriminate or impose
their Christian faith/beliefs on clients. They serve women and men of
all religions and creeds, and with no faith/religious background.
From CAPSS
Core Document:
“I will be
non-judgmental and I will not discriminate against any client on the
basis of race, colour, religion, creed, national origin, age,
disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, lifestyle or other
arbitrary circumstances.” (Code
of Counselling and Peer Support Ethics #1)
“Clients
are served without regard to race, colour, religion, creed, national
origin, age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation,
lifestyle or other arbitrary circumstances.” (Commitment
of Care and Competence #1)
Seems
pretty straightforward, clear, and concise as to what CAPSS requires
of their staff and volunteers.
As
for Birthright CPCs, Arthur says this:
“Another 56
CPCs in Canada (31%) are Birthright centres*, affiliates of
Birthright International, which was founded by a Catholic woman and
is still Catholic-oriented.” (Source:
Page 27 of Arthur’s 2016 report)
*(As
noted above Birthright does not
have 56
CPCs in Canada, as Arthur states, only 26.)
Although
Birthright is Catholic in origin, it is a secular/non-sectarian
organization. Volunteers can be of any faith or of no faith
background:
“Birthright
welcomes volunteers of any age, race, gender, or religion who believe
firmly in the Birthright philosophy and have a sincere desire to help
pregnant women.”
(Source: http://birthright.org/en/get-involved)
Considering
the fact that Arthur tells us her study was conducted through
reviewing centres’ websites and a few phone calls, how does Arthur
know Birthright is “Catholic-oriented”? Did she get this from
their website? Clearly she didn’t because there is nothing on their
site that says this. What is the point of this erroneous observation?
And what does Arthur have against Catholics anyway?
Here
is what Birthright’s website does say:
“Birthright
cares...for every woman who comes to us. We are non-judgmental, and
are not involved in any religious or political activities. Birthright
is here to help mothers make a plan for their future and the future
of their unborn baby.” (Source:
http://birthright.org/en/our-philosophy)
And
this:
“Birthright
takes a non-moralistic, non-judgmental approach toward helping women
through their pregnancy dilemmas. Louise regretted the fact that some
young unmarried mothers were belittled or ostracized by their
relatives: "I can never see anything wrong with any of them."
At Birthright,
Louise recreated the supportive homelike environment they deserved.
Moreover, Louise helped formulate a Charter, followed by all
Birthright chapters worldwide, to define Birthright’s services, to
ensure that pregnant women receive the same considerate treatment at
every Birthright chapter, and to help volunteers preserve
Birthright’s good reputation in the future.” (Source:
http://birthright.org/en/discover-birthright)
I
then asked Birthright a few more questions.
Is
Birthright faith based?
“We
are faith based in that all of the volunteers are 100% pro-life and
must be to volunteer at Birthright. However we are not affiliated
with any specific denomination. Our Charter says we are
interdenominational.”
Would
you accept volunteers who are atheists for example, as long as they
are pro-life?
“We
would not ask the religious views of a potential volunteer.”
Do
you provide ultrasounds?
“No,
we are not a medical facility, therefore [it’s] not allowed in
Canada.”
Do
you provide any medical services?
“We
provide a free urine pregnancy test. We do not diagnose pregnancy as
we are not a medical facility. We have a list of pro-life doctors who
will look after our clients.”
So Birthright is not faith-based. Birthrights are not medical clinics. Birthright does not even ask volunteers what their faith is.
If
Arthur has issues with these facts/values/ethics/commitments, then
the problem doesn’t lie with persons of a Christian faith. Or with
the CPCs.
I
certainly hope these practices are not a problem for Arthur because
it sounds like they might be.
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