IdeaLog

Regulate UPCs that pretend to be free medical clinics

Posted on October 14, 2025

There are dozens of nonprofit free medical clinics in every state, which provide quality health care to people who can’t afford it. There are also dozens of Unregulated Pregnancy Clinics (UPCs), which are masquerading as free medical clinics.

In fact, there are about 1,500 nonprofit free medical clinics across the nation. They provide medical care for free or for little charge, mostly provided by physicians and other licensed medical professionals who treat patients within their scope of practice, often with administrative assistance from laypeople. Most states have an array of healthcare regulations that apply to free medical clinics, such as those guaranteeing the privacy and security of clients’ sensitive information, limits on who can diagnose, order and interpret diagnostic tests or initiate and manage treatments, credential requirements for those who operate specific types of medical equipment and those who provide mental health treatment or counseling, and basic rules of sanitation and safety.

Free medical clinics are terrific and extremely necessary to fill holes in our healthcare system.

At the same time, there are about 2,600 Unregulated Pregnancy Centers (UPCs) across the nation. About three-quarters of them masquerade as free medical clinics. Their advertisements, signage and websites are designed to resemble those of licensed medical clinics, even abortion providers. Inside, they also look like medical clinics, with staff wearing lab coats or scrubs. Clients are told to fill out intake forms that ask medical questions. They have at least one examination room that looks like a doctor’s office with medical equipment. Of the UPCs that pretend to be free medical clinics, nearly all offer ultrasound examinations, although they are actually “limited” or “nonmedical” ultrasounds, which are little more than showing pictures of the womb in the hope that, once seen, clients will bond with the fetus and not seek an abortion.

UPCs operate without meaningful oversight. Some have off-site doctors listed as medical directors and some have on-site RNs or LPNs, but they’re not diagnosing illness, writing prescriptions or referring patients for treatment. And because they are not actually free medical clinics, they are not required to follow any rules of client confidentiality, medical honesty or basic sanitation. And, in fact, most of these UPCs do not comply with the professional standards, confidentiality protections (such as HIPAA), or regulatory requirements that govern free medical clinics.

If a facility presents itself as a free medical clinic, it should follow the rules that apply to free medical clinics. The American Medical Association “urges the development of effective oversight for entities offering pregnancy-related health services and counseling.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that policymakers should hold UPCs “accountable for deceptive practices by, for example, enforcing and strengthening consumer protection laws against false and misleading advertising, investigating the pervasiveness and impact of deceptive practices on patients, and partnering across the public and private sector to ensure transparency.” They are right, and that’s why your state needs the Clinic Accountability and Standards Enforcement Act.