Project Prevention

Project Prevention (formerly known as Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity or CRACK) is a controversial American non-profit organization that seeks to reduce the number of substance-exposed births by offering cash incentives to drug-addicted women to use long-term or permanent birth control, including sterilization.

History[edit | edit source]

Project Prevention was founded in 1997 by Barbara Harris, a foster parent who had experienced firsthand the challenges of caring for drug-exposed infants. Harris initially funded the organization herself, but it has since received donations from various sources, including the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and the Stuart Foundation.

Approach[edit | edit source]

Project Prevention's approach is based on the belief that drug-addicted women should not have children until they are able to care for them. The organization offers $300 to any drug-addicted woman who agrees to use long-term or permanent birth control. This can include IUDs, tubal ligation, or hysterectomy. Men who are drug-addicted are also offered money to undergo vasectomy.

Criticism[edit | edit source]

Project Prevention has been criticized by various groups, including ACLU, National Advocates for Pregnant Women, and Planned Parenthood. Critics argue that the organization's approach is coercive, infringes on women's reproductive rights, and fails to address the root causes of drug addiction.

Impact[edit | edit source]

Despite the controversy, Project Prevention claims to have paid over 7,000 drug-addicted individuals to use long-term or permanent birth control as of 2017. The organization operates in all 50 states in the U.S. and has also expanded to the United Kingdom.