And deceptive, they are. In an exposé published by Elle last summer, former Obria CEO Dawn Hughes spoke of the tactics CPCs use to manipulate patients. “They are zealots,” she said. “They don’t want a pregnant woman who is looking for help… their whole goal is to get you to say: ‘I’m going to keep the baby.’”
Georgia is ill-known for its oppressive abortion ban, which, in June, caused a hospital to keep Adriana Smith on life support after she was declared brain dead, all because the 31-year-old was pregnant. In the past two years, the state has seen a 20% increase in pregnancy-related deaths, according to a report published in 2024 by the Georgia Recorder. Yet, in November, the state shut down its maternal mortality review committee, after members shared their findings with ProPublica, which reported on the country’s first confirmed abortion-ban induced deaths in September. The state launched a new committee in March, but they won’t disclose who the new members are—meaning it could be a panel of anti-abortion doctors.
“At a time when Georgia’s maternal mortality rate is tragically high, and federal health care cuts are already squeezing our clinics, it is unconscionable to pour nearly half a million dollars into an organization that neither offers comprehensive services nor respects patient autonomy,” argued Stallworth in the hearing.
As it stands, CPCs are a lucrative industry–and they know it. In a 2021 report, the Women’s Law Project found that, for every abortion clinic in the U.S., there were an average of three CPCs. Their prevalence could also serve the interests of big-brother operations wanting to sidestep HIPAA rules: because CPCs aren’t subject to any standards, the information and data they collect can be contracted–and collected–by state governments.
Yet in a post-Roe world, Republican states such as Georgia have been funneling insane loads of cash into CPCs. As of last year, Thriving Texas Families, another CPC, has been given $140 million—up 2700% from the $5 million it was originally allocated in 2005. And these centers have been rabbitholing themselves deeper and deeper into state wallets–with little discretion and almost no accountability.
Until commissioners vote (likely at the beginning of August), we won’t know for sure whether the state decides to allocate the money. But if Georgia’s track record tells us anything, it’s that we can expect the worst.
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