When Roe v. Wade was struck down in 2022 it was, of course, a huge victory for pro-life advocates. Since then, however, the pro-life movement has largely taken it on the chin.

 

The end of Roe marked the beginning of incredible fear among many Americans regarding abortion. This fear was greatly enhanced through misinformation spread by the abortion industry. Since Roe fell, this fear and misinformation have led to pro-abortion ballot measures succeeding in Kansas, California, Kentucky, Montana, Michigan, Vermont, and Ohio.

 

What many don’t realize is that these ballot measures didn’t merely cement the “right” to abortion in the legal framework of their states. They also repealed critical health and safety standards for the abortion industry. In states with laws protecting abortion like Illinois, New York, Ohio, and many more, seedy abortion businesses operate with no oversight. In fact, tanning salons and veterinary clinics often face tougher scrutiny than abortion businesses in these states. Not only are preborn lives being brutally ended, there is zero regard for women’s health and safety.

 

What about states with protective, pro-life laws?

 

Prior to the end of Roe, many states had laws limiting abortion. Despite this, a majority of abortion businesses in these states ignored basic medical standards while ending the lives of preborn children and endangering women. There was little oversight of the abortion facilities themselves. Post-Roe, this problem has gotten worse. Local authorities often turn a blind eye to the misdeeds of the abortion industry because of the issue’s volatility.

 

We have been left with a patchwork of abortion laws – some states have positioned themselves as abortion havens while others struggle to contain an abortion industry that operates on the fringes of the law. In the midst of the confusion, all these states have one thing in common: Unsanitary, unsafe abortion facilities that are killing preborn children and putting women at risk every day. These facilities would face discipline, even closure, if the right authorities knew what was really happening behind their doors.

 

This is where the Center for Client Safety comes in.

 

The Center for Client Safety was founded in 2020 as “Reprotection” in response to a need expressed by numerous pregnancy resource centers, sidewalk counselors, and other pro-life advocates.  These pro-lifers were seeking a reliable partner to hold the abortion industry accountable for the negligent practices they saw every day. They needed someone who could take on the tedious and time-consuming work of reporting abortion violations while they focused on their mission of serving abortion-minded women.

 

In October of 2023, “Reprotection” became the Center for Client Safety to better represent the work that they do: Investigating, reporting, and shutting down abortion businesses to protect vulnerable women and children from harm. In its first three years of operation, the organization has:

 

• Permanently shut down two abortion facilities.

• Prevented the opening of two abortion facilities.

• Stopped three abortionists from practicing.

• Secured fines and disciplinary action against three abortion facilities.

 

The strategy of the Center for Client Safety (CCS) is simple and effective, but requires a great amount of work.

 

First, with the help of local pro-life advocates, CCS gathers information on abortion business violations. This information is the starting point in building cases against dangerous and negligent abortion providers.

 

Every state has its own laws, enforcement protocols, rules, and regulations. Analyzing data and building a case against abortion businesses requires copious amounts of research and groundwork in addition to relationship-building and intelligence-gathering. The CCS team observes each facility’s adherence to patient privacy, employee safety, and standard medical practices.

 

CCS also watches each state’s laws closely. For example, if abortion is banned in a state, they ensure that the ban is enforced. The same goes for other pro-life laws.

 

Finally, once the investigations are complete, CCS acts based on the types of violations that are found. The CCS team takes on the hard, very time-consuming work of researching, strategizing, and filing complaints. They track these complaints and work towards appropriate actions being taken against abortion providers.

 

In addition, CCS is invested in helping pro-life advocates on the ground recognize the misdeeds of the abortion industry. Their Client Safety Advocacy Training equips sidewalk counselors and pregnancy resource center workers to recognize abortion facility violations. In addition, CCS will be equipping and empowering women who have been harmed by the abortion industry to report violations themselves.

 

The CCS strategy for closing abortion businesses is effective in both pro-life states like Oklahoma and Florida as well as abortion havens like Illinois and New York. CCS is a partner to other pro-life organizations, conducting extensive investigations into dangerous abortion facilities as well as responsibly, strategically, and compassionately reporting the truth to the proper authorities. They take on this specialized work to hold abortion businesses accountable so other pro-life organizations can fulfill their missions of serving women or engaging in legislative action.

 

Every abortion facility CCS closes saves approximately 12,000 lives and spares thousands of women injury or even death at the hands of dangerous abortion providers. CCS has assembled a team of experts in the fields of medical regulatory law and procedures as well as pro-life legislation. They are currently working on nearly a dozen cases with the capacity to take on more this year. There is much more to be done, though. CCS currently has a backlog of over 50 cases with many more reports coming in each month.

 

The end of Roe in 2022 marked a sea change for the pro-life movement. In this shifting landscape, innovation is needed to continue saving preborn lives and protecting women. The Center for Client Safety is a new face ready to partner with existing pro-life organizations in saving lives, protecting women, and making abortion unthinkable.

 

To learn more about the Center for Client Safety, visit CenterForClientSafety.org.

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