American Pregnancy Association

Established| 1995; 30 years ago (1995)
Founders| Mike Sheaffer
Annie Sheaffer
Type| Nonprofit

Tax ID no.

| 32-0072669
Headquarters| Irving, Texas, U.S.
Website| americanpregnancy.org

Formerly called

| America's Pregnancy Helpline

American Pregnancy Association is a non-profit anti-abortion organization that provides information on pregnancy and reproduction to pregnant people in order to discourage abortion.[1] It is based in Irving, Texas, U.S.[2]

## History

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American Pregnancy Association was founded in 1995 as America's Pregnancy Helpline by Mike and Annie Sheaffer.[2][3]

Between 1995 and 2003, it worked as a helpline that provided information internationally to about 147,000 women and families and encouraged pregnant people to not have abortions.[2][4]

In 2003, it was converted into a non-profit organization, named American Pregnancy Association.[2] It was led by the anti-abortion activist Brad Imler until 2019 when Imler left the organization to start a Christian adoption agency; it has since been led by Lynn Handley.[4] In addition, the organization operates an active website that provides information related to pregnancy and reproduction.[2]

## Controversy

[edit]

The Association's website has been called "rife with medically inaccurate information".[5]

The group has been labeled as an anti-abortion group by reporters and activists.[4][6][7]

## References

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1. ^ Williams, Alex; Murphy, Kate (April 7, 2012). "A Boy or Girl? Cut the Cake". The New York Times.
2. ^ a b c d e Zhang, Yawei (August 22, 2008). "American Pregnancy Association (APA)". Encyclopedia of Global Health. SAGE Publications, Inc. p. 111\. doi:10.4135/9781412963855.n83. ISBN 978-1-4129-4186-0 – via SAGE Knowledge.
3. ^ "Anne Fontaine-Sheaffer". The Dallas Morning News.
4. ^ a b c Mirk, Sarah (2022-04-22). "The Disinformation Campaign Behind a Top Pregnancy Website". Reveal. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
5. ^ Butler, Kiera. "The disinformation campaign behind a top pregnancy website". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2023-11-21.
6. ^ Corinna, Heather (2008-08-08). "Exposed: American Pregnancy Association Hides Links to CPCs". Rewire News Group. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
7. ^ Brumfield, Cynthia (2022-05-23). "Data protection concerns spike as states get ready to outlaw abortion". CSO Online. Retrieved 2022-10-03.