By the Chronicle Editorial Board
The Know Now Mobile Medical Clinic coming to CNM campuses, which is offering free STD and pregnancy testing, as well as ultrasounds, may just be too good to be true.
The chronicle covered in the Mobile Medical Clinic story ‘Mobile unit provides free STD testing,’ in Issue 35 of Volume 19, but it has come to light exactly what kind of company is offering these services and why.
It is great there is a service that provides these benefits to struggling students for free, but there may be a catch when students go for pregnancy tests, as the organization that provides these services called Care Net is in fact an Evangelical Christian crisis pregnancy center.
According to care-net.org, Care Net is an anti-abortion organization that seeks to persuade women not to terminate their pregnancies, hence the free ultrasounds.
The organization was founded in 1975 in Northern Virginia, and is the nation’s largest network of pregnancy centers with 1,100 throughout the country, according to the site.
In addition to advising customers against abortions and free STD testing, Care Net does provide a slew of other resources such as baby supplies, temporary shelters, employment and debt guidance, as well as Bible study sessions that fit with the company’s values, the site stated.
Women that believe in the right to choose what happens to their bodies, might get offended by the Care Net service provider while getting a pregnancy test, because Care Net has been known to attempt to dictate what women plan to do with the rest of their lives and their unborn child, or women with pro-life values might just find it refreshing.
Care Net’s mission statement on their website at care-net.org said “With the support of Care Net and its network of pregnancy centers, people facing unplanned pregnancies are choosing life and hope every day.”
Care Net has also been known to speak out against abortion clinics and set up near clinics such as Planned Parenthood that provide abortion services.
Care Net protests both out front of Planned Parenthood, and have signs in front of their clinics that say “Pregnant? Considering abortion? Free services,” according to the Care Net Wikipedia page.
The Planned Parenthood website states that whether clients want to keep or abort their fetuses, the clinic provides women with the resource choices they would have for either scenario, without any influence on the client’s decision and just counsels women on what is out there for them to utilize.
According to vermontcynic.com, “Once inside the facility, women are subject to manipulative tactics, such as required ultrasounds and readings of religious literature that instill guilt and shame in those who may consider abortion. These types of centers seek to undercut the law and restrict a woman’s right to choose.”
So, if some women students out there want to utilize Care Net’s free pregnancy or ultrasound, be warned that the unit volunteers may try to persuade you under the guise of caring, but when it comes down to it the only person you need to listen to is yourself.
For those female students that would rather skip the judgments and religious/ethical debate, or the belittling of your own pro-choice beliefs; you may just want to pay the $10 pregnancy test fee at Planned Parenthood or the $65 for an ultrasound.
Not only for peace of mind, but also so that you will avoid being made to feel like an asshole or slut shamed for doing what millions of women did before you and will do for years to come, which is to get pregnant and not know what to do.
