Deception from Conception?: Inside Iowa City’s Informed Choices clinic
Written May 13th, 2025 University of Iowa's Reporting & Writing course (JMC:2010)
Around 4,000 exist across the country, but the term “crisis pregnancy center” is unfamiliar to most Americans. The anonymity is a choice, and one with a specific goal – to get women seeking an abortion to come through their doors and change their minds.
The Informed Choices clinic has stood in Iowa City since 2007 and shares the goal, but you might find it hard to tell. This, certainly, is by design, and allows Informed Choices to hide its mission in plain sight.
What are Crisis Pregnancy Centers?
Crisis pregnancy centers – or CPCs – are facilities that present as typical reproductive health care clinics but operate with the aim to convince people not to seek abortions, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists.
Pro-life doctrines, religious affiliations, and questionable medical accreditations are common hallmarks of CPCs, making them deeply controversial, according to the AMA Journal of Ethics. Nonetheless, their numbers continue to grow nationwide.
According to a study by Planned Parenthood, around 4,000 CPCs operate in the U.S., far outnumbering the 765 brick-and-mortar abortion providers in the nation, as reported by the Guttmacher Institute.
In 2024, The Des Moines Register estimated the number of CPCs in Iowa to be around 55. Meanwhile, only two clinics in the state – Iowa City’s Emma Goldman clinic and Ames’s Planned Parenthood center – provide abortions, according to NBC News.
In recent years, Iowa’s debate about CPCs has only grown more heated after a controversial program sent taxpayer money toward several of the organizations.
The More Options for Maternal Support, or MOMS, program was established in 2022 by the Republican-led Iowa legislature to allocate funds to “empower women and protect children,” according to a state Department of Health and Human Services press release.
Since 2022, more than $2 million has been given to CPCs across the state, including Iowa City’s Informed Choices clinic.
Informed Choices clinic of Iowa City
Ask Informed Choices, and they’ll tell you they’re not a crisis pregnancy center.
“We’re an actual accredited medical clinic,” director Michael Fanning says. He notes that all of their services are evidence-based, and that the clinic is certified by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). This accreditation, he emphasizes, is the same certification that the University of Iowa’s Student Health Center holds.
The accreditation does set the organization apart from a typical CPC, as CPCs are not technically required by law to have medical certifications for most of their services, and many do not, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Still, some experts say the clinic fits the CPC mold.
“Of course they’re a crisis pregnancy center,” says Dr. Natalie Fixmer-Oraiz, a professor of gender, women’s and sexuality studies at the University of Iowa. “They can claim to be whatever they want but…they’re part of a network of clinics that exist to deter people seeking abortion care.”
Both Dr. Fixmer-Oraiz and Francine Thomas, executive director of the Emma Goldman clinic in Iowa City, said the language used by Informed Choices, like “decision-making,” “information [about abortion],” and “free services” is purposely confusing to people seeking care.
When it comes to abortion, Fanning claims that most women coming through Informed Choices are not confused and know what they are coming in for. “We’re upfront about who we are and what we do.”
It’s true that the Informed Choices website states that it doesn’t make referrals for abortion or birth control. Notably, the information is located at the very bottom of its FAQ dropdown menu, effectively hiding it from cursory readings. This is in sharp contrast to its plethora of information on abortion-related services they provide, like pre-abortion screenings and post-abortion care.
Despite this disclaimer, the clarity of the website’s abortion stance is still debatable.
The website’s second link reads “Abortion Info: Get a pre-termination evaluation and discuss your options in a supportive environment.” The use of the phrase “discuss your options,” is misleading, as the clinic will, under no circumstances, refer someone to receive abortion services, according to Fanning.
The Informed Choices site also notes that the pre-termination appointments will “assist you with questions and confirm your pregnancy’s viability and gestational age—all things required before scheduling an abortion appointment.” However, this last bit of information is again misleading.
While it’s true that an evaluation of a pregnancy is required before receiving abortion care, an evaluation at Informed Choices would not satisfy the requirement.
The only abortion provider within 100 miles of Informed Choices is the Emma Goldman clinic in Iowa City. Executive Director Francine Thompson said that Emma Goldman’s evaluations are done in-house, and an Informed Choices evaluation would not be accepted there.
Informed Choices does offer a handful of non-pregnancy-related services, including STI testing, cervical cancer screenings, and healthy relationship coaching. However, the majority of people they see are there for pregnancy services, Fanning says.
The clinic is faith-based, though that is not often highlighted on the official clinic website. This is made more explicit in the Informed Choice Iowa website, run by the organization behind the Informed Choices clinics in both Iowa City and Burlington.
Since opening its doors in 2007, Informed Choices has received both backlash and support from the Iowa City community.
In 2022, The Daily Iowan reported that the clinic’s sign was vandalized during a “Night of Rage” protest. This April, the University of Iowa’s conservative student group “Young Americans for Freedom” hosted a donation drive for the clinic during its speaker event with conservative personality Elisha Krauss.
Fanning says that the clinic saw hundreds of visitors last year in 2024, and is on track to double its numbers in 2025. It is currently unknown whether the MOMS program funding will be renewed in the future.