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Current Projects
The clinic is comprised of three arms. The Legislative and Lobbying Arm is home to the Emergency Contraception (EC) Project. In Fall 2005, project members worked with Planned Parenthood to compile data on EC access at pharmacies throughout Pennsylvania; the data was used in crafting a bill mandating that pharmacies provide EC or EC referrals to women with valid prescriptions. Currently, project members are working with women’s advocacy groups across the state to lobby legislators in support of expanded EC access for sexual assault survivors who seek treatment at Pennsylvania hospital emergency rooms.
The Research and Writing Arm is comprised of two projects. Members of the Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) Project has spent the year researching and writing a report to expose CPCs, or clinics that use deceptive tactics to prevent women from accessing abortion services. The report includes information on state funding for CPCs, advertising tactics, and false information presented to women who unwittingly seek CPC services. Members of the Bubble Zone Project helped to pass an ordinance in Pittsburgh creating a “bubble zone” or safe space free from protesters, around reproductive health centers that provide abortion services; they currently are evaluating whether similar ordinances are necessary in other Pennsylvania cities.
The newest arm, the Direct Services Arm, is home to the Judicial Bypass Interview Project. Project members partner with Barbara Bailey of the Defender Association of Philadelphia to provide legal counseling to minors who seek “judicial bypasses,” or judicial approval in lieu of parental consent, to obtain abortion services.