Investigation finds more than a third of services are giving misleading information or unethical advice.
By Eleanor Layhe & Divya TalwarWomen are being misled and manipulated about abortion by some crisis pregnancy advice centres in the UK, according to evidence from a Panorama investigation.Most say they don't refer women for abortions, but offer support and counselling for unplanned pregnancies.
Most claim to provide a safe space for women to receive support and accurate information about their options. The NHS says, like any medical treatment, there is a small risk something could go wrong, and that having an abortion does not increase the risk of breast cancer, infertility, or mental health problems.
Jo Holmes, of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, said: "From a professional-standards point of view... they are not there to advise, they are not there to guide, and they are... not there to give their opinion. This language is designed to make the client feel guilty."We wanted to find out more about how the centres operate so we went undercover.
The counsellor later said she was not telling the undercover reporter what to do about her pregnancy. The adviser asked her what her children would think about her having an abortion. "Would you be able to tell your daughters about having a termination? Or would it be something you'd always have to keep quiet about?" she said.
Before we went undercover, we spoke to Ashleigh, 30, who contacted the centre after discovering she was pregnant in 2021. Dr Lord has criticised the use of ultra-sound scans at crisis pregnancy advice centres. He said: "Scans are a tool, they can be useful in some circumstances, but they can actually be quite intrusive in others."
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