Have you ever wanted to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” with a bunch of people dressed as zombies — but also wanted to raise money for an organization that exists for the sole purpose of persuading pregnant people against getting an abortion?
Well, we’ve got the opportunity for you.
A “Thriller”-themed dance party fundraiser, Thrill the World Orlando, is raising money this month to benefit an anti-abortion pregnancy resource center in Winter Park that states its mission is to “offer women alternatives to abortion by modeling the love of Jesus Christ.”
The “charity fundraiser” is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Genesis Health Clubs in Maitland. According to event organizers, Thrill the World is a global event that brings people together to dance to Jackson’s iconic spooky song “at the exact same moment as groups all over the world.”
“Just like Michael Jackson was really big on giving back to the community and being generous, we’re just carrying on that same heart by being generous and giving back to the community in a big, big way,” said co-organizer Scott Fijolek in a video promo for Thrill the World Orlando shared with Orlando Weekly.
The annual event — this will be its fifth year in Orlando — has been represented in 32 countries on six continents, with participation from more than 23,000 dancers, according to event organizers.
Orlando Weekly reached out to the organizers to ask why they decided to choose the Pregnancy Center of Winter Park, an anti-abortion pregnancy resource facility, to benefit this year. In previous years, they’ve raised funds for the Give Foundation and The Lab Orlando.
We did not receive a response to that question ahead of publication.
What is The Pregnancy Center?
The Pregnancy Center of Winter Park is one of more than 150 so-called crisis pregnancy centers in Florida, and one of thousands nationwide, that exist with a mission to deter pregnant women from getting an abortion.
These facilities are usually run by churches or other religious entities, and offer free services such as ultrasounds and pregnancy tests that are designed to lure low-income people who may be in vulnerable situations. Some also offer diapers — as an incentive to continue a pregnancy — or counseling for new parents.
At the same time, researchers estimate nearly three-quarters of these facilities don’t have a medical license, according to a 2024 study, and thus are not required to adhere to federal privacy laws, like HIPAA.
“We’ve heard reports of boyfriends, partners, spouses, parents of victims being contacted by staff and volunteers from the pregnancy center to let them know that their their loved one is considering abortion in order for them to pressure that person not to,” said Amy Weintraub, former Reproductive Rights Program Director for Progress Florida, to Orlando Weekly in 2024 in an interview about CPCs.
Some of the centers, which often pose as actual abortion clinics, don’t even have a licensed medical professional on staff, even when they advertise services that require medical expertise, such as ultrasounds.
One of the largest crisis pregnancy center advocacy groups has even been accused of directing CPCs to avoid performing ultrasounds on women they suspect could have an ectopic pregnancy — a condition that can be life-threatening. An investigation by ProPublica found it more commonly occurs in states with abortion restrictions, like Florida.
“A death related to ectopic pregnancy should really be a ‘never’ event,” Dr. Alice Abernathy, a Philadelphia OB-GYN, told ProPublica.
A well-funded industry
The Pregnancy Center of Winter Park, the chosen charity of Thrill the World Orlando, does not openly share its anti-abortion views on its publicly facing website, where it claims to specialize in “pregnancy confirmation and assisting those facing unexpected pregnancies.”
Orlando Weekly, however, found a separate, explicitly anti-abortion website affiliated with The Pregnancy Center that claims to “offer women alternatives to abortion by modeling the love of Jesus Christ through compassionate care, education, and the resources to empower her to make a life-affirming decision.”
The state of Florida already helps fund dozens of these facilities through the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, to the tune of $29.5 million in taxpayer funds in 2025 alone. But a review of tax filings by Orlando Weekly shows neither The Pregnancy Care Center of Winter Park or its second location in Sanford are among them.
Florida has the second-highest number of CPCs (roughly 150) of any state in the country, according to Crisis Pregnancy Center Map, a tracking project created by public health researchers at the University of Georgia.
State and federal Democratic lawmakers have sought to strengthen regulation of these facilities, largely to no avail. Under Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, state funding for these facilities has increased more than fivefold, and the Trump administration has similarly prioritized the expansion of the CPC industry and its government support.
“I think that every taxpayer should be outraged that we’re spending $29 million on these centers that don’t provide medically accurate information,” said Democratic state Rep. Kelly Skidmore, in a 2025 interview with Orlando Weekly.
Skidmore sponsored legislation this year to end the state program that funds these facilities. That legislation (HB 6001), however, died with the conclusion of the 2026 legislative session, without receiving a single hearing.
