EXPOSURE VS. ENFORCEMENT: WHAT REALLY SAVES LIVES?
At first glance, it may seem that headlines and public outcry are the driving forces behind holding dangerous abortion providers accountable. The results, however, reveal a much different reality, one where methodical investigations, regulatory complaints, and tenacious, behind-the-scenes work are creating real, lasting change.
At the Center for Client Safety, a small but highly specialized team is tackling abortion facility wrongdoing through a strategy no others use: silent, persistent enforcement. While public exposure often dominates the conversation around abortion facility abuses, the Center for Client Safety has taken a different approach, one that prioritizes legal enforcement over media attention.
We conduct in-depth investigations into dangerous abortion providers, carefully documents violations, and file formal complaints with regulatory bodies. The goal? To close abortion businesses, revoke licenses, and hold dangerous actors accountable without exploiting sensitive cases for public spectacle.
Exposure doesn’t stop dangerous abortion providers. Enforcement does.
Rushing a woman’s private, personal story into the spotlight severely hinders our ability to hold dangerous abortion providers accountable.
In one recent example, a young woman died after a botched abortion at a Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado. Before her family could grieve, her name and photo were widely circulated in the media, without their consent. This rush to publicity made legal enforcement efforts more difficult, not less. Our team was already hard at work to bring this Planned Parenthood facility to justice. Because of this unwanted publicity, our case has been severely hindered.
In contrast, an ongoing case in Illinois illustrates how not rushing to publicize a case is helping a victim pursue real justice.
After a woman suffered a severe abortion-related injury at a Champaign, Illinois abortion facility, we were contacted directly by those involved. Instead of publicizing the incident, we worked quietly to gather evidence, file appropriate complaints, and protect the woman's privacy. She later chose to file a malpractice suit on her own time, using the pseudonym "Jane Doe" to protect her identity.
By respecting her trauma and controlling the flow of information, we helped ensure that her case could move forward properly, without unnecessary public exposure. Now “Jane Doe” is on the path to justice and the abortion provider who hurt her will likely face accountability for his misconduct. In one of the most pro-abortion states in the nation.
Although our work often happens out of the public eye, the Center for Client Safety has achieved significant victories in recent years:
The permanent closure of two abortion facilities
The prevention of two new abortion facilities from opening
The permanent banning of one abortionist from practicing
The forced early retirement of another abortionist
Successful complaints leading to fines for false advertising
The removal of two state agency officials accused of shielding abortion providers
New school policies preventing school officials from taking students for abortions
Strengthened regulatory enforcement resulting in substantial fines for clinics
New licensure laws in multiple states, including the recent, temporary closure of Wyoming’s only surgical abortion center
Each outcome was the result of long, meticulous investigation work rather than public protest or viral media campaigns. Our recent case in Wyoming, mentioned above, highlights our unique strategy in action.
We learned that a surgical abortion facility opened as a physician’s office rather than an ambulatory surgical center by taking advantage of a loophole in state law. Sidewalk advocates then alerted us that women in need of emergency care were being taken to the hospital in staff and clinic escort cars, further endangering women.
We sprung into action and gathered evidence, filed formal complaints, and partnered with Americans United for Life to work with state officials to close the legal loophole. As a result, the facility was shut down.
This success story underscores the Center for Client Safety’s core belief: Meaningful change happens through quiet, strategic action, not public outrage.
As abortion facilities across the country continue to operate under varying degrees of regulatory oversight, the Center for Client Safety is filling a critical gap. Although our work is often measured in months and years rather than days and weeks, we are achieving measurable, tangible results in abortion facilities closed and abortionists forced to stop their deadly practice.
Thank you for being part of the Center for Client Safety community. Your support powers the quiet, strategic work that protects women, holds dangerous abortion providers accountable, and saves lives. If you would like to help us continue these critical investigations and enforcement efforts, please consider making a gift today. Every abortion provider we stop, and every life we save, starts with the support of friends like you. You can donate here today!
