End Abortion Stigma held a pop-up demonstration at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 14 on Green Street outside of Finger Lakes Pregnancy Care to protest against crisis pregnancy centers. About 15 Ithaca College students and members of EAS held signs on the street corner in favor of the right to an abortion as the sound of passing car horns filled the street in support.
Crisis pregnancy centers — also known as fake pregnancy centers or fake abortion clinics — provide pro-life pregnancy messaging while presenting as reproductive health care clinics providing services for pregnant people. These centers spread misinformation, and since they are technically nonmedical facilities, the staff are not legally subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) or client confidentiality laws. The City of Ithaca has two crisis pregnancy centers: Finger Lakes Pregnancy Care and Birthright of Ithaca.
Sophomore Bella Phelps, an intern at EAS, said the demonstration was held in alignment with the Reproductive Rights Film Festival. While not directly associated, the festival shares similar messaging of wanting to increase access to abortions.
“The thing that irked me was that these [fake pregnancy] centers do not have to keep your information private, and they can share it without you knowing,” Phelps said. “A lot of them promise parenting support services … free diapers, free ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, but they deliver pressure to continue pregnancy without info on all options, false info about abortion and religious bias that stigmatizes sex outside of marriage.”
The Finger Lakes Pregnancy Care website states, “Finger Lakes Pregnancy Care offers free counseling regarding your decisions but does not refer for or perform abortions.” Birthright of Ithaca’s website does not use the word “abortion” but lists its services to include only referrals, information, pregnancy tests and baby or maternity items.
During the demonstration, Myra Kovary, EAS member and mentor, wrote “Warning: Religion practiced here, not medicine,” in chalk on the sidewalk outside of Finger Lakes Pregnancy Care. Finger Lakes Pregnancy Care did not respond to The Ithacan’s request for comment in time for publication. Kovary said she remembers the time before Roe v. Wade gave people the constitutional right to an abortion in 1973.
“I realized that the most important thing we can do is organize and get young women involved because most of [the EAS members] are old,” Kovary said. “We have had experiences, either ourselves or our friends and family, pre-Roe, so we know how bad things were and it is getting that way again.”
Phelps hosted a poster-making gathering in preparation for the demonstration Sept. 10 in Friends Hall. Sophomore Paige Currier, an intern at EAS, said she and about 10 other IC students made signs about reproductive rights and anti-abortion centers.
“We’re not [demonstrating] to promote the center or give it attention,” Currier said. “We want people to know that these places are dangerous and that they are spreading misinformation. … I think it’s crazy that there are still so many of these centers, and that they’re just allowed to be here and no one really knows about them.”
Phelps and Currier are part of the EAS Generation Action Group, which is part of EAS’s initiative to create another generation of activist leaders. Currier said she did not expect to get involved in the activist space, but her first EAS event made her interested in volunteering and then interning.
“I feel that it is completely unfair that all these choices are being made about my future, and I don’t get to have a say in it,” Currier said. “I was completely inspired by the amount of activism I’ve seen here in Ithaca, and the only way that we can make changes is if we all come together and understand that all of us are angry and we all want change.”
Phelps said she chose to demonstrate in person because it helps people who may not attend an EAS event learn more about fake pregnancy centers just by driving by.
“We got a lot of inspiration from the events that have been happening this year, like the No Kings protests,” Phelps said. “We saw how many people showed up for that, and we were like, ‘Hey, we should do the same thing.’’’
On June 14, No Kings Day protests were held across the U.S. in opposition to President Donald Trump. The day became one of the largest days of action in U.S. history, with over 5 million people participating nationwide.
Kovary said she wants to make the voices of EAS heard and ultimately expose the realities of the clinics to prevent deception. Additionally, she said she enjoys helping to motivate the youth and find ways for them to get involved.
“I’m thrilled that young people are finding a way to be actively involved,” Kovary said. “I just love them. I love working with them. The enthusiasm, the creativity, the passion. It just warms my heart.”
