On July 26th, a dozen protesters spent the morning on the sidewalk in front of Gateway Women’s Care, an anti-abortion center in Raleigh. The activists held up signs for drivers on Hillsborough Street and handed out literature to people walking by. According to Triangle Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and NC State Young DSA, the event was part of a campaign to get Gateway’s lease canceled.
On the surface, Gateway seems like an odd target for progressive fury. A website for the center says it offers “free, confidential pregnancy and sexual health services”, a mission aligned with left-wing stances on abortion rights and universal healthcare [1].
The protesters say that Gateway’s public image is a façade. The organization’s tax documents list a goal of getting “women to choose life for themselves and their unborn child” [2]. On evangelical websites, Gateway says its purpose is to save souls in “sexually broken and abortion-minded communities”, presumably including Raleigh [3].
The North Carolina legislature, dominated by Republicans, passed a budget last year that awarded nearly $20 million in taxpayer money to “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) like Gateway [4]. In 2023, the state legislature also sharply curtailed reproductive rights in North Carolina, making it illegal to seek an abortion after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
The protesters at Friday’s event said that places like Gateway are designed to “run out the clock” for patients who think they’re accessing free reproductive care. According to the Cardinal and Pine newspaper, CPCs often “delay, reschedule and even lie to women until it’s too late into the pregnancy for them to get an abortion” [4].
Wendy Bonano is the executive director of Gateway Women's Health in the Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill area. In a 2023 interview with the North Carolina Family Policy Council, Bonano said that the center “on Hillsborough Street is within two miles, I think, of seven universities and colleges, over 50,000 students. And that was primarily why Gateway was established in that location”. She also said Gateway’s services are part of a “process to slow down their rush to the abortion clinic” [5].
The Gateway center in Raleigh isn't a licensed medical facility but they're not required to inform their patients of this fact. In place of professional healthcare, the center offers quackery like an “abortion pill reversal”, a procedure called “unproven and unethical” by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) [6].
Gateway also offers what it calls a “limited ultrasound”, an examination that does not look for life-threatening fetal or placental problems, unlike normal ultrasounds. Free from any regulation or oversight, CPCs are free to misinterpret the images from ultrasounds, lying to their patients about how far along they are.
The 19th News, a Texas newspaper, described a case where a CPC said an ultrasound image “was dated as being at 10 weeks gestational age. Her ultrasound at Houston Women’s Reproductive Services (a real clinic) showed her to be 20 weeks pregnant” [7].
Ted and Pam Van Dyk are the landlords of the Gateway center on Hillsborough Street. When they began their campaign, the activists were hopeful that the Van Dyks would be receptive to their demands. According to their research, the couple were registered Democrats and perhaps unaware of Gateway’s anti-abortion ideology.
During the picket on July 26th, the protestors were disabused of this hope. Mr. Van Dyk, who was biking to his office, stopped briefly to chat with the people on his property who were holding signs that read “Fake Clinic” and “Honk for Abortion Rights”.
According to the activists, Van Dyk said something close to, “You know you guys should hold some Kamala [Harris] signs, she will take care of all this.” The activists said they were baffled by the comment. Harris is known to be strongly in favor of reproductive rights and presumably would not support anti-abortion centers.
The protestors said that Mr. Van Dyk continued to speak with them and offered other defenses for his relationship with Gateway. He also said he wasn't completely comfortable with Gateway's mission and wished they would "modulate it". However, Van Dyk thought cancelling the center's lease would be too harsh and he expressed worry about finding a new tenant. However, the landlord said he understood the activists had the right to free expression, promised not to call the police, and then walked to his nearby office.
Organizers with Triangle DSA and NC State YDSA said they considered Friday’s event to be a success. Many passing cars had honked their support and rolled down their windows to ask for a pamphlet. Activists also reported that many neighbors were shocked to find out that Gateway was an anti-abortion center. Many community members agreed to sign the campaign’s petition, which encourages the Van Dyks not to renew the center’s lease [8].
Friday’s picket ended at 12 noon. The protesters said that their plan was to return monthly until the campaign is successful.
Work Cited
Gateway Women’s Care. https://gatewaywomens.care.
“Gateway Womens Care - Full Filing- Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica, https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/581584775/202342089349301154/full.
Gateway Women’s Care (Accredited Organization Profile) - ECFA.org. www.ecfa.org/MemberProfile.aspx?ID=4129.
McElroy, Michael. “NC Budget Gives $20 Million to ‘Clinics’ That Lie to Women About Abortion.” Cardinal and Pine, 26 Sept. 2023, https://cardinalpine.com/2023/09/26/nc-budget-gives-20-million-to-clinics-that-lie-to-women-about-abortion.
“What a Pregnancy Resource Center Really Looks Like.” NC Family Policy Council, 22 July 2024, www.ncfamily.org/what-a-pregnancy-resource-center-really-looks-like.
“Medication Abortion Reversal Is Not Supported by Science”. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/medication-abortion-reversal-is-not-supported-by-science.
Gerson, Jennifer. “Crisis Pregnancy Centers’ Ultrasounds Are Free. But Are They Accurate?” The 19th News, 29 Oct. 2021, https://19thnews.org/2021/10/crisis-pregnancy-centers-ultrasounds-accuracy-stakes.
Stop Leasing to Anti-Abortion Center Gateway Women’s Care. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/anti-abortion-center-out-of-raleigh.
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