LEOMINSTER – Massachusetts politicians are pushing for greater access to abortion and making regulations about pro-life pregnancy centers they have not visited, according to a woman who directs one such center and works with others.
Megan Paradis, executive director of First Concern Pregnancy Resource Center, which has offices in Clinton and Marlborough, made these points at a “birthday party” for the Blessed Mother which drew more than a dozen people from different parishes to St. Cecilia’s Parish Center on Sept. 9.
Msgr. James P. Moroney, St. Cecilia’s pastor, celebrated Mass for the Nativity of Mary. The party, with cake and balloons, followed. Presents brought in honor of the Blessed Mother (baby items and gift cards) were given to First Concern, said Marcie Allain, chairwoman of St. Cecilia’s Respect Life Committee, which organized the event.
Mrs. Paradis, of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Westminster, talked about First Concern’s services to clients. In her talk and in a handout, she also provided information about pro-life centers’ responses to government officials’ attempts to clamp down on them for supposed “false advertising.” One of the claims is that centers may appear to offer abortions, but neither perform nor refer for them.
First Concern’s mission statement says: “Affirming the humanity and life of the preborn child, we empower women and men facing unplanned pregnancies to choose alternatives to abortion by offering education, life skills and hope.”
The center started in Clinton in 1991 and added its Marlborough location five years ago, according to Mrs. Paradis. The Marlborough site began providing ultrasounds in January.
First Concern does not refer for abortions, but tells clients their options, she told listeners.
“And it’s working – God is amazing,” she said; monthly, one or two clients considering an abortion end up choosing life. In August, the month of the center’s greatest impact since offering ultrasounds, the five clients considering abortion chose life for six babies; one mother is carrying twins, Mrs. Paradis said.
She told The Catholic Free Press that First Concern has had about 150 individual clients so far this year, as many as it had in all of 2022.
In Marlborough, clients can have an ultrasound performed by a registered nurse with training sufficient to confirm, locate and date a pregnancy, she said. Doctors review the ultrasounds. Clients can also get free baby items, parenting services, and referrals for community services.
In Clinton, clients receive the same services, except for the ultrasounds, and can attend a postpartum support group and bring their children to a play group.
“We are working with immigrant women … (and) women who are kind of forgotten,” Mrs. Paradis said. Staff help clients get housing and medical insurance and refer them to doctors.
Mrs. Paradis’ prepared talk said that at least 14 states have enacted laws making abortion at various stages of pregnancy illegal. But Massachusetts, where abortion is essentially legal for all nine months of pregnancy, is operating as if it has an “abortion access crisis,” she said.
The state budget has $1 million for a public awareness campaign against crisis pregnancy centers, which some lawmakers are trying to prohibit or shut down, Mrs. Paradis said. In April, directors of pro-life pregnancy centers formed a network called the Pregnancy Care Alliance, sponsored by Massachusetts Citizens for Life. The Alliance seeks to “increase public awareness and understanding of the compassionate care, support and material aid” the centers provide, says the website pregnancycarealliance.com.
“In 2022, while she was attorney general, Governor [Maura] Healey issued a consumer advisory against PRCs (pregnancy resource centers) that included incorrect information,” the website says, and gives Alliance responses to the advisory.
The advisory said pregnancy centers might “appear to be reproductive health care clinics, but do not provide abortion care or abortion referrals, contraception or other reproductive health care, despite what they may advertise.”
The Alliance responded with a list of services centers offer and added, “While pregnancy centers do not provide abortion services, it is important to note that many abortion clinics do not provide comprehensive health care since they do not offer prenatal care or any of the practical support services that many women facing an unplanned pregnancy may need.”
In response to a claim that pregnancy centers often provide misleading information about abortion, the Alliance responded that women are educated about types of abortion and risks. While the standard for medical procedures is an explanatory pre-operation visit, “abortion providers routinely fail to offer this same level of care to patients seeking abortion,” the Alliance said.
In June, Alliance pregnancy centers held open houses for the public, the media and legislators.
“None of those politicians came,” Mrs. Paradis said, adding that they are making laws that affect the centers without seeing those centers.
She also talked about hopeful steps forward for the centers - people testifying on their behalf and civic leaders abandoning attempts to clamp down on them.
Massachusetts government leaders are also paying attention to legal battles in other states over unnecessary, unethical and unconstitutional ordinances and laws against pregnancy centers, she said.
For several months, the Worcester City Council has been discussing a proposal for an ordinance against “deceptive advertising practices” that would apply to pregnancy resource centers. They also have been listening to public testimony for and against an ordinance. Tuesday night the Council again delayed action on an ordinance, putting it off until the next meeting scheduled for Sept. 19.
Editor’s Note: Those seeking more information or services can contact First Concern through the website firstconcern.org or by calling 978-365-9817.