VA anti-choicers misusing funds from “life” license plates

I’m just shocked that Heartbeat International – the organization that gets the majority of money made from Virginia’s “Choose Life” license plates – is possibly misusing funds. The anti-choice organizations gets $15 from the $25 plates, and distributes the money to crisis pregnancy centers. Or just random anti-choice buddies, it’s become kinda unclear.

One pregnancy center listed by several anti-abortion groups as a certified clinic — the Mattingly Test Center in Loudoun County — is a two-story brick house owned by Linda Mattingly, a former director at Care Net, a Leesburg-based pregnancy network. There are no signs in front indicating it is a clinic, the Internal Revenue Service has no record of it as a 503(c) nonprofit, and it is not registered as a corporation with the Virginia secretary of state.

A woman who answered the door of the Ashburn house last week said pregnancy services had been, but no longer were, provided there. She did not give her name before closing the door. The Washington Post tried to reach Mattingly by phone, but messages were not returned.

Kudos to NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia, whose report, “Crisis Pregnancy Centers Revealed,” sparked the questions about funding. (The report also outlines the standard bullshit that crisis pregnancy centers peddle in: false medical information, non-medically trained staff, and scare tactics like telling women they could become a “crack whore in prison” if they get an abortion.)

Incidentally, if you’re in VA you can purchase a “Trust Women. Respect Choice” license plate.