4 Abortion Advice Centers Sued Over Ads : Lawsuit: Facilities are run by anti-abortion groups that are not upfront about intent to pursue their agenda, Planned Parenthood says.

SAN DIEGO —  Planned Parenthood sued four San Diego County counseling centers Monday, alleging that they advertised themselves as medical clinics offering abortion counseling and services when in fact they are operated by anti-abortion groups.

Officials at the four centers declined to comment Monday.

The lawsuit, filed in Superior Court by Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties and an anonymous woman identified as Jane Roe, accused the centers of enticing pregnant women to facilities not licensed to perform abortions and attempting to intimidate them into deciding to carry fetuses to full term.

Named as defendants in the lawsuit are San Diego Pregnancy Services, Escondido Pregnancy Services, Center for Unplanned Pregnancy and the Poway Pregnancy Counseling Center.

Abby B. Silverman, one of three attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said the anonymous Jane Roe is a single college student who went to the Center for Unplanned Pregnancy, near San Diego State University, to find out if she was pregnant. Planned Parenthood officials said the young woman was subjected to “vehement anti-choice propaganda” when center officials confirmed her pregnancy.

Silverman and Planned Parenthood officials said the intent of the lawsuit was not to shut down the counseling centers but to make them “be forthright with the public about their true intentions.”

“They serve a purpose to their own constituency. But they have to be upfront about their own mission and methods,” said Silverman. “Their mission is to counsel pregnant women not to have abortions.”

In addition to unspecified damages for Jane Roe, the lawsuit also asks the court to order the centers’ officials to tell women in advance what they are and what their intentions are. According to the lawsuit, women were lured to the centers through deceptive advertising and offers of free pregnancy tests.

At least one of the centers, however, advertises itself as a non-medical facility offering pregnancy options. Silverman said the centers are not affiliated with each other.