A new facility called Peak Women’s Care is opening in the former Gateway Urgent Care building on Donner Pass Road in Truckee, which says it offers free-of-charge services for people facing an unplanned pregnancy, including pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and what it calls an “options consultation.” The facility has the appearance of a women’s health center, but the reality is it’s more a faith-based resource center than a medical clinic.
Peak Women’s Care also operates a center in Portola, an hour north of Truckee, which opened in November 2024. Its Truckee location is slated to open by the end of this summer, pending an occupancy permit from Nevada County.
“Our goal is to service people from Lake Almanor to North Lake Tahoe, so that’s why we’re growing with a location in Truckee,” Mollie Williams, executive director of Peak Women’s Care, told Moonshine Ink. “We’re often servicing people who are traveling from far away, so we want to try to meet them where they’re at.”
As Peak Women’s Care prepares to open its Truckee doors, residents facing an unplanned pregnancy will soon have another place to turn — though what they’ll find there, and whether it constitutes healthcare, remains at the center of a broader national debate.
In publicly available tax documents, Peak’s mission is stated as this: “To provide free religious instruction and information to members of the public who are pregnant, considering pregnancy, or who are partners of pregnant women.” The document further adds that the center “walks with those facing unplanned or unsupported pregnancies by providing medical, material, and spiritual resources, all centered in Christ while upholding the sanctity of all human life.”
Peak seems to fall under a category known as crisis pregnancy centers. A CPC is a nonprofit organization, regularly affiliated with religious education, that presents itself as a women’s healthcare clinic. In 2022, the California Attorney General issued a consumer alert, stating: “While crisis pregnancy centers may claim to offer comprehensive reproductive healthcare services, their mission is to discourage people from accessing abortion care.”
CPCs have been around since the late 1960s and currently, there are an estimated 2,600 in the U.S., with more continuing to open. (That’s roughly three times the number of abortion clinics in this country.) Most CPCs are associated with national pro-life organizations such as Birthright International, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, Care Net, or Heartbeat International.
Peak Women’s Care is licensed as a community clinic in California. A licensed physician, Dr. Alexandra Hunt, serves as its medical director. The clinic is permitted to perform basic pregnancy tests and ultrasounds but not further medical procedures. It does not offer services like prenatal care, testing for sexually transmitted infections, or birth control options, or abortions. It has staff who are trained to perform ultrasounds, according to Williams, but many of the staff are volunteers without medical licenses. The center also provides free online parenting classes and no-charge maternity and baby supplies, like diapers, clothing, and car seats.
The president of the board of directors of Peak Women’s Care is Betsy Taylor, who’s married to Dr. Peter Taylor, a longtime OB-GYN at Tahoe Forest Hospital in Truckee. Peter Taylor is not currently working as a doctor at Peak Women’s Care, but Williams did confirm that he has been providing what she called “backup ultrasound interpretations.” Williams said Dr. Taylor will provide those services for the new Truckee location as well. Dr. Taylor could not be reached for comment.
Betsy Taylor declined to be interviewed, but in a letter to Sierra Bible Church’s congregation, she wrote that Peak Women’s Care is a “Christ-centered nonprofit” that’s been “making a powerful impact in our region.” Her letter asked for help with tenant improvements like drywall and electrical and added that “Peak is also looking for people to serve as volunteer patient advocates and nurses.” Her letter added that Care Net training will be provided to volunteers. Care Net is a pro-life ministry that offers training to staff at pregnancy centers such as this one.
The former Gateway Urgent Care building, a 1,300-square-foot A-frame at 11105 Donner Pass Rd., was recently purchased by Tim and Rebekah Ruppert, who attend Sierra Bible Church. The Rupperts are renting the building to Peak Women’s Care. Its location near Tahoe Forest Hospital places the nonprofit in an area where many patients in this community seek healthcare.
“Most people don’t know what crisis pregnancy centers are. They give the appearance that they’re just trying to help pregnant women, and who doesn’t want to help a pregnant woman?” said Andrea Swartzendruber, an associate professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia. Swartzendruber helps run
an online CPC map.
“It can be hard to tell if what you’re looking at is a CPC. They’re deceptive in a lot of ways by calling themselves medical facilities or clinics or giving the impression that they’re unbiased,” Swartzendruber said. “CPCs tend to target young people, people of color, and those with low incomes who don’t have easy access to healthcare. They often give inaccurate health information or use a limited medical ultrasound as a tactic to try to convince people not to get an abortion.”
Dr. Jessica Hamilton, a local physician at the Western Sierra Medical Clinic in Kings Beach and a former medical director at Planned Parenthood, has treated women who’ve recently visited a crisis pregnancy center. “Typically, a patient will come in and say, ‘I went to a clinic around the corner, and I got an ultrasound that told me I was 15 weeks pregnant,’” Hamilton said. “But then I’ll check how far along they are by ultrasound and what they were told previously isn’t accurate. It’s clear people with minimal training are making errors.”
Abortion services often have cut-offs based on how far along a pregnancy is because of institutional policies, medical regulations (medication abortions are often only available to 11 weeks gestation), or a patient’s medical history. Delaying a decision can mean a person has fewer choices. “A misguided visit — especially by someone who lives in a rural area — could drastically affect one’s ability to choose, as options may disappear as they progress in gestational duration,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton is in the process of trying to open a medical clinic in North Lake Tahoe, called Alpine Medicine, that would offer comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion services. Currently, elective abortions aren’t available in the Truckee/North Tahoe area. Tahoe Forest Hospital does not perform them; instead, it’ll refer patients to Planned Parenthood in Reno, Roseville, or Sacramento. “Patients deserve factual information and a full range of options in a timely manner. I would encourage anyone visiting a crisis pregnancy center to understand what it is, ask for licensing, and bring records of your visit, including your ultrasound, to a licensed medical professional,” said Hamilton, who also recommended calling or texting the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline, (833) 246-2632, for anyone needing information.
Funding for Peak Women’s Care comes from hundreds of individual donors and some grant funding. Contributions and grants for the organization in 2025 totaled $355,927, according to tax documents.
Julie Halvorsen is a Tahoe City resident and mother of six children who’s regularly supported Peak Women’s Care through financial donations. “I support women and I’m coming from a place of wanting to do the right thing. A woman making any decision regarding her pregnancy should be given grace, love, support, and understanding without judgment or challenge,” Halvorsen said. “I understand there are women who may not want a pregnancy or are not prepared or supported for one. This mother deserves all the same support. My hopeful confidence is that Peak Women’s Care is going to do everything they can to bring that child into the world.”
Swartzendruber warns that since CPCs aren’t subject to HIPAA laws, they aren’t required to keep patient information secure. However, Williams at Peak Women’s Care said they are committed to patient confidentiality.
“We do not refer or provide abortions, but we are a safe place where people can talk through all of their options,” Williams said. “We never force anything on anyone or give out information people don’t ask for. We want to support holistically, but it’s all permission-based.”
~ Megan Michelson is a freelance journalist who lives in Tahoe City.
