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CONCORD, CA, May 2, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) – What kind of a “crisis pregnancy center” refers women to Planned Parenthood? That's the question pro-life advocate Cary Michael Bogue asked after he spoke with representatives of the Independent Adoption Center (IAC), a nationwide adoption agency that says it has “a good relationship with Planned Parenthood,” the nation's leading abortion provider.

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Bogue, the founder of Project Wildfire, first contacted the IAC when he saw a Google ad for its website, IHeartAdoption.org, while performing a search for “crisis pregnancy centers.” That website popped up first in the ad results, he said.

He called the IAC to warn them about a potential backlash from Planned Parenthood and NARAL following the abortion industry's much-publicized efforts to paint CPCs as “deceptive.”

But to his surprise the operator told him he had nothing to worry about: the IAC works with Planned Parenthood.

Stunned, Bogue subsequently called the IAC posing as the father of a pregnant woman to confirm the story.

“I don't want her to adopt the baby. I want her to get an abortion,” he said. “Can you guys refer her to Planned Parenthood?”

“We have a relationship with Planned Parenthood,” a female operator told him, according to a recording of the call furnished to LifeSiteNews.

“In fact, we're in their offices,” she added.

A 'Crisis Pregnancy Center' in Planned Parenthood's offices?

Although the IAC's website lists its Indianapolis address at East Stop 11 Road, local directories list its address as 8590 Georgetown Road.

That's the same address as Planned Parenthood's Georgetown Health Center, a location that Live Action exposed as willing to cover up statutory rape in a 2008 investigation.

Planned Parenthood of Indiana (now PP of Indiana and Kentucky, or PPINK), noted, “Through the partnership, Planned Parenthood offers office space at its Georgetown Road facility in Indianapolis to the IAC at an extremely reduced rate.”

In 2012, Planned Parenthood of Indiana boasted of 12 adoptions in six years through referrals it made to its partners: the Independent Adoption Center and the Adoption Center for Family Building. “This increase in adoptions from PPINK referrals is exciting,” said Independent Adoption Center Midwest Branch Director Kathy Wilkerson. Meanwhile, “Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky is proud to have partnered with” the IAC, the Indiana Planned Parenthood affiliate's website states.

Bogue said the relationship between Planned Parenthood and IAC has been mutually beneficial.

The IAC's website says, “Most women find our agency through Internet searches or through referrals from a medical clinic like Planned Parenthood.”

The operator told Bogue on the telephone that IAC counselors only present adoption to pregnant women “as one of their options.” Unlike pro-life women's centers, the IAC actively presents abortion as a worthwhile alternative to giving birth.

The IAC tells teens facing an unexpected pregnancy, “If you are experiencing a teenage pregnancy, it is important to find support from someone who will not judge you. If your friends and/or family aren’t being supportive, call or visit Planned Parenthood, or contact an adoption agency that provides free options counseling.” The group encourages a pregnant teen's family members to “help her explore her options: parenting, adoption, abortion.”

“There isn’t one right way to handle this situation,” it says.

It adds that “abortion is a safe option for you. Medically speaking, an abortion is less dangerous than giving birth when done within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.”

The alleged “crisis pregnancy center” makes clear that the referral is a two-way street. The agency's website, IHeartAdoption.org, says on the portion of its webpage dedicated to abortion, “If you are considering this option, get information from your doctor or visit your local Planned Parenthood for non-biased advice.”

In fact, the IAC stands up for Planned Parenthood when it is threatened politically. A blog entry on the IHeartAdoption.org website in late 2013 blasted Ohio's “anti-choice lobbyists” for “putting women's lives in danger,” “restricting access to health care for poor and working class women by denying funds to Planned Parenthood.” They accused pro-life lawmakers of  “disregarding the intelligent free-choice of women along with their emotional well-being by requiring an ultrasound and listening to any fetal heart beat before an abortion can be done.”  

Bogue said with advice like this, and a clearly cozy relationship with the abortion giant, “I wonder how many people they adopt out and how many people just coincidentally get referred back to Planned Parenthood for an abortion.”

Revenue of $5.29 million…and 128 adoptions

According to its 2012 annual report, the IAC took in 2,400 birthparents but made only 224 matches and placed just 182 children in adoption. That is all-inclusive of its seven offices nationwide: Two in California and one each in Indiana, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, and New York.

The report also notes that the “IAC ended the year on budget.” In 2012, the group had $5.29 million in revenue, up from $4.65 million in 2011. That's more than 10 times as much revenue as CompassCare Network, a crisis pregnancy center in New York, took in during the same year. IAC's executive director, Ann Wrixon, earned a salary of $140,379 in 2012. Another employee also made more than $100,000.

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Planned Parenthood's business arrangement with IAC allows the abortion giant to say it promotes adoption, as well as abortion. However, statistics show its adoption referrals are plummeting, year after year. In 2012, adoptions accounted for 0.6 percent of Planned Parenthood's services to pregnant women, or a total of 2,197. Abortion accounts for 93.8 percent of their services for pregnant women. The group committed 327,166 abortions in 2012.

Bogue said groups like NARAL Pro-Choice America complain of crisis pregnancy centers allegedly lying about being abortion providers. But according to Bogue, the problem is the exact opposite.

As LifeSiteNews first reported earlier this week, Planned Parenthood itself purchases Google ads posing as a “crisis pregnancy center.”

“The real deception” is when groups “pay for this ad” for IHeartAdoption.org “to pop up first” in a Google search for “crisis pregnancy centers,” Bogue told LifeSiteNews. But the placement is only one issue.

“The real problem is with them implying they're a crisis pregnancy center, implying they're really interested in adoption, but in fact working with Planned Parenthood,” Bogue said.