Accused of persuading women not to have abortions. Crisis pregnancy centres are not upfront about who they are and what theyre there to do. No one else should be made to feel how i felt that day. So how many women like me has there been . Im on my way to meet a woman who contacted me about her experience with a Crisis Pregnancy advice service. She was 25 when she became pregnant last year. It was absolutely unplanned, unexpected. And i think i was unprepared for having to deal with that. I googled � Pregnancy Crisis Line or � pregnancy helpline, just to talk to somebody for impartial advice. And ifound Pregnancy Crisis Helpline. The Pregnancy Crisis Helpline says its supported more than 2,000 women in the last year. But melanie was unhappy with the advice she got. There were things that were with an aim to make me question why i wanted to have an abortion, whether i should. She definitely did some Fear Mongering around the process of a medical abortion, you can heavily bleed for months on end. She had said about the likelihood of me being infertile after having an abortion and she said, you will always be a mother, and whilst that is something that i disagree with, that does stay with you. I was appalled. I was angry. It made me not want to call anyone else for advice that wasnt someone i knew. Despite her experience, melanie went ahead with an abortion. The Pregnancy Crisis Helpline says it supports women in a safe, pressure free environment, it works hard to offer women the highest possible standard of support, and since it started, its had two complaints and thousands of grateful clients. Abortions have been available on the nhs in england, scotland and wales, for more than 50 years. Today, the nhs also funds abortions through providers like msi reproductive choices. Medicine is all about informed choice. And abortion care is exactly the same as any other field of medicine like that. But you can only come to the right decision for whats best for you in your circumstances if you have good quality, unbiased information. Crisis pregnancy centres operate outside the nhs. We found 57 advertising online. Most say they dont refer women for abortions. They say they offer support and information. I think the Common Thread that runs through them is that they intercept and grab women who are struggling with the decision as to whether they want to move forward with an abortion or not. We wanted to find out more. We contacted all 57 centres, posing as women wanting information about our options, including abortion. Woman hello. Hi, there. I recently found out that im pregnant and its come as a massive shock and ijust. 3a of the centres offered impartial support and directed us to the nhs. Two wouldnt speak to us without a positive Pregnancy Test. 21 more than a third gave worrying advice. Woman, theres new evidence that abortion may increase the susceptibility to Breast Cancer. The majority of women will get Post Abortion Syndrome in some way. You will take the two tablets that will kill the baby in the womb and you will bleed out. To investigate further, i decide to go undercover and make appointments at three of the 21 centres. First, Crossroads Crisis Pregnancy Centre. It says its trained counsellors provide free and accurate information. It opened in 2005 and is based in a baptist church. Im going to say im three weeks pregnant. Hiya, im here to see someone called glossyna. Yeah, thats me. Im taken into a room by glossyna who says shes a counsellor. Wow. We showed our secretly filmed footage to Drjonathan Lord, who also speaks for the Royal College of obstetricians and gynaecologists, and jo holmes from the British Association for counselling and psychotherapy. Because youve got to kill the baby. Thats what you have to do. Its not about an unplanned pregnancy. Its about a baby. Exactly. You know, its not a baby when youve got a choice. Its a pregnancy. Its an unplanned pregnancy or unintended pregnancy, or an unwanted pregnancy. It was just immediately diving in with that laden language. L to get rid of it. Glossyna says shes not here to tell me what to do. Then describes what she says are the risks of having an abortion. A lot of what was in there was just simply false. There is no increased risk of infertility, the risk of haemorrhage is minimal. From, you know, a professional standards point of view, as a counsellor, theyre not there to advise, they are not there to guide, and they are so not there to give their opinion. Neither Crossroads Crisis Pregnancy Centre nor glossyna responded to our request for comment. Of the 57 centres we looked into, 32 made their religious affiliations clear. And 20 of them provided impartial advice. Next, Tyneside Pregnancy Advice Centre. It says it has a christian ethos and is committed to providing a caring, compassionate and professional service. We have a mandate, dont we . From god to do something. Dr Chris Richards is an nhs paediatrician and the director of the tyneside centre. And deliver those who are drawn towards death and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. We know whats going on. Here, he explains how the use of Ultrasound Scans in Crisis Pregnancy centres in america has helped convince women there not to have abortions. The power of ultrasound amongst the population, particularly in the states, has had a profound effect. The heartbeat appears at three weeks and five or six days. Its the size of a poppy seed, but it doesnt look like that on the scan because you see this quite big image going at about sort of 100, 120 beats per minute. Crisis pregnancy centres in the uk are very much modelled on Crisis Pregnancy centres in the us. They employ the same tactics to try to deter women from accessing services. Katherine 0brien is an associate director at the british pregnancy advisory service, one of the uks main abortion providers. They will share similar literature and messaging to women and, crucially, they employ tactics around the use of ultrasound and will try to force women to, say, listen to the heartbeat or see an Ultrasound Image in order to prevent her from undergoing an abortion. I decide to visit the Tyneside Pregnancy Advice Centre undercover. Is the equipment working . Yeah, this is now recording. Im going to say im married with two children and im pregnant again. I meet audrey who im told is an advisor. Audrey gives me a leaflet about what the centre says are the risks of having an abortion. From a clinical perspective, yes, infection is always a risk with anything you do, including not doing anything or carrying. On with the pregnancy, so its always a balance. But leaving it in the way she did about how will you tellj your daughters . Its extraordinary. Its going straight for the guilt button. Yeah. This is about this womans unique experience that she owns, not the counsellor. Its the womans experience and i think shes just trying to manipulate the conversation to her end, really. Audrey says if im considering an abortion i should consult the nhs website. But she also encourages me to have an Ultrasound Scan and shows me the room where theyre carried out. I leave, saying ill think about having a scan. Scans are a tool, they can be very useful in some. Circumstances, but they can actually be quite intrusive. In others. But were doing it for a reason. A medical reason. Were doing it because we want to measure something. But in the context here, its designed to cause guilt. You know, thats why theyre doing it, theyre trying to manipulate the emotions. Its the last thing youd want to see or hear. Dr Chris Richards says the Tyneside Pregnancy Advice Centre has a iii year track record of compliance with all its regulatory obligations and that over 1,200 women have benefited from the work of its staff and volu nteers. He says anyone reading its website can see where its coming from and its not a campaigning organisation. Audrey didnt respond to our request for comment. Chanting the Supreme Court has just overturned five decades of the constitutional right to an abortion for women across the country. Now millions of women will have lost that right. Last summer, Abortion Laws in the us were radically changed. Its no longer a legal right to have an abortion in every state. Three more states have now officially banned abortion services. There are no exceptions under this new law for. Rape or incest. The only exceptions are for medical emergencies. In the us, one of the most influential anti abortion groups is stanton international. Its set up five Crisis Pregnancy centres there. Life affirming medical clinics such as Stanton Health care are revolutionising womens medical care and providing a true choice for women. Stanton international opened a centre in belfast called Stanton Health care in 2015, four years before abortion was legalised in nothern ireland. Its website says its a safe place where women are empowered to make their best choice. When mother of five ashleigh found out she was pregnant in 2021, she called Stanton Health care believing they could help her with an abortion. It was made quite clear to them that thats what i wanted and they didnt ask me did i want anything else. They told me that they would sort it out for me and that there would be support, there would be counselling for, for afterwards. But when she turned up for an appointment, she was told she needed an Ultrasound Scan. It revealed she was pregnant with twins. And they were doing the scan and i had my head the other way, and they kept telling me to look and look and look and look at the scan, and i wouldnt look at it. And she said, these are your babies, and i was like, oh, god. So obviously i looked. And id seen the two wee babies on the screen. And i told her, you, know whats going on, im here because i want an abortion. I wiped me own jelly off and left the room. That was enough for me. Ashleigh went ahead with the abortion and says it was the right decision for her. But the experience at Stanton Health care had a lasting impact. Mentally after that, i dont think ive ever been the same. I shouldnt have to be in so much pain. I want to go undercover. But Stanton Health care says itll only see women who provide a positive Pregnancy Test on site. So, claire, whos ten weeks into a planned pregnancy, agrees to help us. If she really wanted an abortion, shed only have two weeks to get one, because in Northern Ireland, abortions only legal up to 12 weeks, unless theres a medical emergency. Hi, claire, im divya. Honestly, we cant thank you enough for helping us, because this is not an easy task. Really thats what intrigued me, the fact that you were focusing on a key issue that women face, that they would not want to speak about openly. Look, theres stanton right there on the right. Look the windows are completely blacked out. You cant see anything. It looks like its open, though. How are you feeling . Yeah, im slightly nervous. You do not have to stay in there and you can pull out at any point. Are you 0k . Yeah. Ready . Yeah. Good luck. Claires calling herself lissa and goes in with one of our producers. In the waiting room, claire is introduced to anne, who says shes an advisor. They wont see claire with me. Whats in here . The camera. When you go in, what you need to do is put this on your lap. Claire returns to secretly film on her own. Post abortion syndrome, is that a thing . No. It is completely made up. There is no evidence for it whatsoever. Almost none of that whatsoever was rooted in reality, that its a powerful female hormone. Thats nonsense. And then she sort of carries on about passing it. Well, it is true that the process of having a medical abortion is worse than, you know, having a heavy period, for example. Its stalling, itsjust tick tock, tick tock, time is going on. You know, that woman is almost going to be coerced sort of into keeping the pregnancy. Exactly, yeah. Anne says the centre can provide financial help and after care to women who go ahead with their pregnancies. Claire leaves agreeing to come back for a scan. 0n the way out shes given several leaflets. What really struck me with these leaflets are that if i did decide to get an abortion, they said that i could get Breast Cancer, which is scary. But this one is quite traumatising. I literally do not want to look at it. Its got babies that are basically aborted and the pictures are very graphic. I cant even look at it. The images are too graphic to show, but Drjonathan Lord and jo holmes agree to look at them. Its pretty horrific, isnt it . They made this look like this is what happens in every abortion and theyve zoomed right up on it. And to just manifestly and deliberately increase the distress theyre going to get by showing them. This is cruelty, and its just so cruel. Whats your take on the risks . Things like Breast Cancer . This old chestnut about Breast Cancer. There is no evidence for this. It is entirely conjecture and designed to frighten people. Two weeks later Claire Returns for the ultrasound. Hi, how are you . They say they didnt think shed turn up, so theres no one available to do the scan. While claires there, a woman introduces herself as iris. She says she normally works on the helpline. I later discover that her name is bernadette smyth, founder of precious life, one the largest anti Abortion Campaign groups in Northern Ireland. We vow in our efforts to make abortion unthinkable and illegal again in ireland, north and south, and indeed through the world. Bernadette smyth told us her middle name is iris and shes always used it at Stanton Health care. She says its on her nametag and theres nothing misleading about it. Anne from the centre didnt respond. Stanton international� s Chief Operating Officer agreed to speak to me about the findings of our investigation. What is post abortive syndrome . I am not going to answer questions about post abortive syndrome. Within our clinics, women are advised that having an abortion could lead to lifelong grief, sorrow, regret, and it can impact them negatively. I interviewed a woman who booked an appointment with Stanton Health care belfast and she told us that when she went to the centre, she was given an Ultrasound Scan. She was pressurised to look at the images of the pregnancy. The truth should not be hidden from women. And so to provide a medical scan, an obstetric scan, when she is pregnant is absolutely acceptable and called for and necessary for a woman to make an informed choice. I want to share a leaflet. It shows graphic images of aborted foetuses. I dont believe that its inappropriate to show a woman what the actual outcome of an abortion is. Women have the ability to make a decision if they are given the facts. And at Stanton Health care were committed to providing women with the truth and with the resources that they need to make the best possible decisions for them and their baby. Stanton health care says its helped many women. Its expanding in the uk and last year opened a new centre in scotland. We would welcome more support for women experiencing unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. And the most Vulnerable Women in our society absolutely need greater support. But Crisis Pregnancy centres are not the support that these women need. The three Crisis Pregnancy centres we investigated undercover are all registered charities. The Charity Commission in Northern Ireland says its already looking into Stanton Health care. The Charity Commission in england says its assessing the information provided by this programme. The Department Of Health and social care says its important women facing unplanned pregnancies get impartial, accurate information. But right now, if you visit a Crisis Pregnancy centre, theres little or no regulation of the quality of advice and counselling you might receive. I think theyre flying under the radar. You know, they really should be regulated. I think theyre falling between a gap in the regulations. Its not something that has left me or will ever leave me. No one else should experience what i experienced. No one else should be made to feel how i felt that day. Welcome to bbc news. Im lisa marie misztak. 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