A women’s health clinic in Cherry Hill, known as Options For Her, has come under scrutiny for allegedly posing as a reproductive-care provider while promoting an “anti-choice” agenda. This accusation comes from Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), who claims the facility is one of about 50 crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) in New Jersey that manipulate women away from abortion care.
Gottheimer criticized Options For Her during a press conference outside the facility, asserting that CPCs like it never refer women for abortion services, even in extreme cases such as rape, incest, or when the mother’s life is at risk. He emphasized the need for federal action to end public funding for these centers and to penalize them for spreading misinformation about abortion services.
According to its website, Options For Her does not refer individuals for abortion services. Gottheimer also accused the organization of promoting “abortion pill reversal,” a treatment deemed unethical and unsupported by scientific evidence by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Options For Her operates locations in Cherry Hill, Trenton, and Ocean City and is part of the NJ Consortium of Pregnancy Centers. This consortium claims to provide free consultations, medical confirmation of pregnancy, and parenting preparation with material aid to women facing unexpected pregnancies.
In response to Gottheimer’s statements, Options For Her and the NJ Consortium of Pregnancy Centers issued a joint statement, calling his remarks “misinformed.” Deborah Biskey, CEO of Options For Her, stated, “Misrepresenting the work of pregnancy resource centers will actually be hurting women and families. Rep. Gottheimer is casting an untruthful and negative light while making false claims about the very places that give women complete information to feel confident in making sound and informed choices regarding their pregnancies.”
Options For Her offers pregnancy testing and ultrasounds and provides information on the “risks” of abortion, while promoting adoption and parenting as alternative options.
Planned Parenthood warns that CPCs often spread misinformation about abortion, birth control, and sexual health. Since CPCs are not legitimate medical clinics, they are not bound by HIPAA and do not have to keep personal health information confidential, according to Planned Parenthood.
There are approximately 4,000 CPCs across the United States, outnumbering abortion clinics 5-to-1, according to Planned Parenthood’s estimates. Despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which allows states to prohibit abortion, the procedure remains legal in New Jersey. Since the ruling, state officials have been pushing to strengthen abortion care in the state.
In late 2022, New Jersey State Attorney General Matthew Platkin issued a consumer alert for CPCs, warning that they seek to prevent access to abortion care, “sometimes by providing false or misleading information about the safety and legality of abortion,” according to the attorney general’s office.
