Panicking over the end of Roe v. Wade and lashing out at anyone who stands in their way of keeping abortion legal at the state level, NBC Nightly News ran a complete and total smear of pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics that help women to choose life and provide them with the resources to financially and psychologically get through the pregnancy and through motherhood.
Anchor Lester Holt opened the segment by whining that "there are more crisis pregnancy centers nationwide than abortion clinics. At least 13 states have spent nearly half a billion taxpayer dollars to fund them." He then turned to senior investigative and legal correspondent Cynthia McFadden for her phony "investigative report" which was nothing other than a slime job of crisis pregnancy centers.
McFadden sent her producers to spy on these clinics and try to find any dirt they could find: "We're heading to a crisis pregnancy center in Texas, one of more than 2,500 in the country. They say they provide free services and abortion information for pregnant women. What they don't say is that they're often affiliated with groups supporting abortion alternatives", she snarked.
She claimed that "at a center in the Dallas area, a volunteer told our producer they don't offer abortions, adding 'abortions can cause infertility.' When asked about the abortion pill, the volunteer said, 'My job is not to scare you. You never get over seeing that baby.' She then pointed to a small plastic model like this, saying, 'can you imagine one of these in your panties?'"
No actual proof that this conversation actually happened was offered during NBC's broadcast which leads any intelligent viewer to disbelieve anything McFadden is claiming.
She then interviewed two pro-abortion politicians, Democrat Rep. Donna Howard and former Republican Rep. Sarah Davis who were predictably appalled by the allegations:
MCFADDEN: When I say alternatives to abortion, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
HOWARD: Waste of money. Waste of taxpayer dollars. Lack of accountability. And actually, no metrics that indicate that it has anything to do with averting abortions.
DAVIS: Is this a program to make Republicans feel good like they're doing something to help women?
MCFADDEN: Does it help women?
DAVIS: No.
The smears didn't end there, McFadden claimed without evidence that "none of the Texas facilities are licensed medical providers, though some women report believing that they are. At another center our producers visited near the border a female staffer implied abortions can cause cancer and infertility. She then played a video saying they also cause mental illness. All of that categorically false."
Eager to suggest these clinics were just criminal enterprises, McFadden asked the two abortion supporters if they would "go so far as to say that in some instances they are actually committing fraud?" Both Howard and Davis said yes.
In reality, pro-life crisis pregnancy centers provide many wonderful services for pregnant women in need. According to the pro-life non-profit Live Action, in 2019 which are the most recently kept records, over 2,700 clinics served almost 2 million people, with free services approaching nearly $270 million in value. These clinics also provided "$139 million in ultrasounds for nearly 500,000 women" as well as "nearly 1.3 million packs of diapers" and "more than two million baby outfits."
These clinics also offer parenting and prenatal classes to women and provide free STI/STD tests and ultrasounds.
Not once did NBC News offer any evidence to support their allegations. Pro-abortion hacks Cynthia McFadden, Donna Howard, and Sarah Davis should all be ashamed of themselves.
This disgraceful smear of pro-life crisis pregnancy clinics was made possible thanks to the endorsements from Progressive and Allstate. Their information is linked.
To read the transcript of this segment click "expand":
NBC Nightly News
6/27/2022
7:13:58 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: There are more crisis pregnancy centers nationwide than abortion clinics. At least 13 states have spent nearly half a billion taxpayer dollars to fund them. But tonight NBC News investigates the care they provide as critics warn they spread false information. Cynthia Mcfadden has our report from Texas.
CYNTHIA MCFADDEN: We're heading to a crisis pregnancy center in Texas, one of more than 2,500 in the country. They say they provide free services and abortion information for pregnant women. What they don't say is that they're often affiliated with groups supporting abortion alternatives.
(...)
MCFADDEN: To learn more about what happens inside we sent in two NBC News producers to ask for pregnancy counseling. At a center in the Dallas area, a volunteer told our producer they don't offer abortions, adding "abortions can cause infertility." When asked about the abortion pill, the volunteer said, "My job is not to scare you. You never get over seeing that baby." She then pointed to a small plastic model like this, saying, "can you imagine one of these in your panties?"
REP. DONNA HOWARD: Oh, my gosh. Okay.
SARAH DAVIS: Yeah, so as a taxpayer this is infuriating. A horrible thing for a woman to be told and medically totally inaccurate.
HOWARD: As a nurse, as a mom, you totally shocked me with that. It's a lie. And it is shaming and it is -- it is grotesque.
MCFADDEN: Texas State Representative Donna Howard, a Democrat, found an unlikely ally in former Republican state representative Sarah Davis. They're calling for these non-profits to be regulated and demanding accountability. For a program called alternatives to abortion, which helps fund crisis pregnancy centers. In Texas, they outnumber abortion clinics 9-1.
MCFADDEN: When I say alternatives to abortion, what is the first thing that comes to mind?
HOWARD: Waste of money. Waste of taxpayer dollars. Lack of accountability. And actually, no metrics that indicate that it has anything to do with averting abortions.
DAVIS: Is this a program to make Republicans feel good like they're doing something to help women?
MCFADDEN: Does it help women?
DAVIS: No.
MCFADDEN: The program will cost Texas taxpayers $100 million over the next two years.
HOWARD: This is probably the only program at least that I'm aware of where the legislature basically writes a blank check without knowing what they're getting.
MCFADDEN: While some of the centers provide free services like diapers, ultrasounds, and STD testing, none of the Texas facilities are licensed medical providers, though some women report believing that they are. At another center our producers visited near the border a female staffer implied abortions can cause cancer and infertility. She then played a video saying they also cause mental illness. All of that categorically false. Alternatives to abortion in Texas has also received federal tax dollars. $45 million over the last 15 years. Money intended as temporary help for needy families.
HOWARD: These are desperate people who need these funds. And instead, it's going to a program that provides things like pamphlets, that provides some classes.
MCFADDEN: Would you go so far as to say that in some instances they are actually committing fraud?
HOWARD: Yes.
DAVIS: Yeah.
MCFADDEN: They point to the misinformation and a case currently being investigated in which state funds from the program were allegedly used by the president of a center to buy land for hemp production. Who's to blame?
DAVIS: Well, the legislature.
HOWARD: Yes, but the leadership that we have in this state has pushed an agenda that has made it impossible to have any real dialogue about what is really gonna make a difference in the lives of these women and their families.
MCFADDEN: Neither the Texas Governor nor Lieutenant Governor responded to our request for comment, but the Charlotte Lozier Institute an anti-abortion rights group told NBC News that the centers provide vital services and have a satisfaction rating of over 90 percent. Lester?
