The American Pregnancy Association is often cited by hospitals, government agencies, and major publications as a neutral source for reproductive health information. But, as Kiera Butler investigates, it’s far from it. Founded by anti-abortion activist Brad Imler, the APA website hawks products, is full of medically questionable advice, and is a “softer, user-friendly approach to anti-abortion activism.”
It’s not surprising that the loudest and most disruptive anti-abortion activists receive the most national attention – the protesters outside clinics, for instance, or the legislators narrowing the window within which a pregnant person can end a pregnancy. But there is a quieter and more intimate part of the movement, too – one that has the potential to profoundly affect countless individual lives. That is Imler’s specialty: the part that takes place on hotline phone calls, in crisis pregnancy center offices and in late-night Google searches.

Cheri has been an editor at Longreads since 2014. She's currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area.