Nevada Governor Removes ‘Mischaracterization’ of Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers from State Website

During the 2022 midterms, former pro-abortion Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) launched a webpage on the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) website providing information about abortion and encouraging Nevadans to report pro-life crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) if they are “concerned about misleading services.”

Sisolak ultimately lost his reelection bid to Republican Joe Lombardo, who ordered the state health department to remove the warning against crisis pregnancy centers from its website, the Nevada Current reported Wednesday. Gov. Lombardo spokesperson Elizabeth Ray confirmed that he instructed the DHHS to remove the information.

“Governor Lombardo was concerned by the mischaracterization and politicization of crisis pregnancy centers on a government website,” she told the outlet in an emailed statement. “Governor Lombardo believes that crisis pregnancy centers offer critical resources, support, and care for pregnant women in Nevada.”

CPCs — instead of offering abortion — offer support for pregnant women in need who choose life for their unborn child. They often offer help after the baby is born as well.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute conducted a study of 2,700 pregnancy help centers in 2020 and found that, in 2019, these U.S. clinics “served roughly two million women, men, and youth with services estimated at a value of over $266 million. This outreach was accomplished through 14,977 total staff and 53,855 total volunteers, of which over 10,200 were licensed medical professionals (3,791 as staff and 6,424 as volunteers).”

The report details:

Medical services were provided by an increasing number of centers since last counted in 2017 [13] with: free obstetrical ultrasound services provided at 2,132 centers (79 percent), STD/STI Testing provided at 810 centers (30 percent), and STD/STI Treatment provided at 563 centers (21 percent). [14] In addition, 486,213 pregnancy confirmation ultrasounds, 731,884 pregnancy tests, 160,201 STI tests, and 967,251 consultations with new (unique) clients were all provided at little or no cost. [15]

…

PHCs were shown to be rich resources for support and education to improve maternal, child, youth and family health all at no cost, including: Prenatal and Parenting Classes at 2,312 centers (86 percent), Childbirth Classes at 742 centers (27 percent), Breastfeeding Consultations at 518 centers (19 percent), After-Abortion Support and Recovery at 1,931 centers (72 percent), Fertility Awareness-Based Methods at 188 centers (7 percent), Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Presentations to youth through 979 centers (36 percent).

PHCs also widely provided Material Item Services at 2,525 centers (94 percent). These items included: 1,290,079 packs of diapers, 689,382 packs of wipes, 30,445 new car seats, 2,033,513 baby clothing outfits, and 19,249 strollers.

The study also found that these clinics report high client satisfaction (99 percent, on average per center) and are estimated to have saved 886,125 unborn lives since 2008.

Before Lombardo’s change, the “Abortion Information for Nevadans” page included a four-paragraph section with the subheading “Report Misleading Abortion Service Providers.”

“CPCs often advertise that they provide medical services, advice, and counseling in a clinical setting,” the section claimed. “However, CPCs do not provide comprehensive, accurate, or evidence-based clinical information. Instead, the primary goal of CPCs is to dissuade people seeking abortions from obtaining the procedure.”

The site then linked to an existing portal for reporting complaints to the state and encouraged Nevadans to report “misleading practices” by pro-life centers. The Wayback Machine, an internet archival website, shows that the section about CPCs had been removed on or around June 1, according to the report. 

“According to a spokesperson for the DHHS Division of Public and Behavioral Health, which oversees the complaint portal, no complaints related to abortion services were filed during the time period the CPC language was up,” the report states. 

Elizabeth Ray previously called Sisolak’s attack on CPCs “reckless” in a statement to Breitbart News while Lombardo was campaigning for governor. 

“It’s ironic that Sisolak is now seeking to ‘debunk misinformation’ about abortion, after he has made spreading abortion misinformation his entire campaign strategy,” Ray said at the time. “If Sisolak was serious, he would take down his misleading and untruthful ads about abortion access in Nevada. Furthermore, Sisolak’s demonization and politicization of crisis pregnancy centers is dangerous and reckless. Women should have access to the support, resources, and aid that crisis pregnancy centers offer.”

The move comes after Nevada Right to Life, a pro-life group, launched a virtual petition encouraging Lombardo to remove the “derogatory” CPC language, according to the report.

Nevada Right to Life Executive Director Melissa Clement praised removal in an emailed statement to the Nevada Current, calling the language “threatening and bullying.” Clement also accused Sisolak of trying to “criminalize community service organizations that walk alongside and provide critical services and help to pregnant and parenting women.”

“It is a relief to finally have a governor who does not see himself as the marketing department of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers,” Clement added. 

The move notably comes after Lombardo caved to state Democrats and signed a bill prohibiting the state from assisting the arrest or extradition of someone charged with an abortion-related crime in another state. During his campaign, he repeatedly identified himself as pro-life but emphasized that abortion is already a settled matter in the state because Nevadans had codified abortion access in 1990 through a ballot initiative.