Flyers warning of a “fake pregnancy clinic” appeared in West Campus a few weeks ago.
The flyers refer to Trotter House, a pro-life organization located on Rio Grande Street that offers resources for those who may be pregnant. A week after the fliers went up, student organization leaders expressed concerns about Trotter House. The group spoke in a video uploaded to the Instagram page of Mayday Health, a non-profit reproductive health education group.
“That anxiety that one of my peers is going to walk into one of these facilities and potentially receive emotional harm and incorrect medical advice is very high,” said Miya Walker, co-president of the Feminist Action Project, in the Instagram video.
When asked to respond to claims about being a “fake pregnancy clinic,” Trotter House spokesperson Angela Weatherly said in an email that the organization is not a medical facility and “does not purport to be one.”
As a Christian organization, Trotter House believes it’s important to “tell women the truth about abortion,” Weatherly said in an email. She said this includes information about abortion risks as described by the Texas Department of Health Services in its “A Woman’s Right To Know” publication. According to the pamphlet, one risk of having an abortion is death. The CDC says there were 0.73 deaths for every 100,000 legal abortions from 2008-2011.
“Once the women are in there, they might start asking about abortion, and that’s when, typically, these crisis pregnancy centers will shame women into not getting an abortion,” Walker said.
Walker said she is also concerned about Trotter House’s advertisement of “abortion pill reversals,” which The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said is “not supported by science.”
“We refer to physicians that handle abortion pill reversals,” Trotter House CEO and founder Lori DeVillez said in an email. “If the mother decides she (does) not want the abortion or changes her mind, we want to help.”
DeVillez said they do not have nurses or doctors on site but are not required to as they are not a medical facility. However, she said they are staffed with certified sonographers who can perform ultrasounds.
The video claims Trotter House is publicly funded. But, DeVillez said in an email that the facility does not receive any government funding.
“(Trotter House) offers help, healing and hope,” DeVillez said in an email when asked if the assertions on the posters were accurate.
The organization provides parental support including “diapers, wipes, formula, clothing, strollers, cribs, etc., as well as classes,” Weatherly said in an email. Its website also mentions free pregnancy tests and sonograms.
Eileen Artigas, creative director for Mayday Health, coordinated with student groups for the video and organized the placement of posters around campus to caution passersby they were approaching a “fake pregnancy clinic.”
“We worked really close with our legal team and other experts on the matter,” Artigas said. “(Our message was) letting people know that these (crisis pregnancy centers) may not have medically trained staff at the center and may want to dissuade pregnant persons from actually getting an abortion.”
