There are perhaps no organizations more feared by the abortion industry than pregnancy resource centers… and this has led to constant attacks. Christina Bennett, a Black pro-life activist, recently spotlighted flyers being distributed across New York by Planned Parenthood, which contain misleading and false information designed to scare women away from PRCs.
“What’s insane to me about CT and NY is that these are states with the MOST access to abortion in the nation. No parental notification, no waiting periods, no mandatory ultrasounds. Yet in spite of all that access pro-abortion groups are threatened by pregnancy centers that dare to offer another choice. It’s truly sad because many women like my own mom have been coerced towards abortion,” she wrote on Instagram. “Is PP giving them parenting classes, throwing baby showers, handing out years worth of diapers or free car seats and cribs? Nope! They are giving out misinformation and using scare tactics to target already vulnerable women to make them believe pregnancy centers are evil and PP’s are their only safe places. It’s all lies and we’ve got to fight it with truth. Spread the work about the good work of pregnancy centers in your community!”
While Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and other organizations in the abortion industry do all they can to discredit pregnancy resource centers, that doesn’t mean volunteers across the country aren’t hard at work anyway, doing amazing work and helping people in myriad different ways.
Fighting sex trafficking
While Planned Parenthood aids abusers and facilitates sex trafficking, PRCs are working to help victims. Last year, Heartbeat International released an online course to spot instances of trafficking, designed with help from experts in the field, and provided it to thousands of PRC volunteers.
“While there are other trainings available, Heartbeat International’s training is the first one tailored for pregnancy resource centers and pregnancy helping organizations,” said Laura Lederer, president of Global Centurion, a non-profit organization fighting human trafficking. “It uses actual case studies from PRCs in the U.S. where trafficking victims have been identified and assisted, and tailors the training for PRCs. This is important work that saves two lives: the life of the mother (who is saved from trafficking) and her child.”
Providing legitimate health care
Not every PRC is able to provide health care on-site, but many do. The National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) has helped over 1,000 facilities convert to medical clinics, complying with all necessary legal and medical guidelines. Hundreds of thousands of hours have been donated by thousands of medical professionals at PRCs across the country.
In Virginia, for example, the Mother of Mercy Medical Clinic opened where an abortion facility used to operate. They have seen hundreds of patients, and provide prenatal care, adoption services, physical therapy, and more. The medical professionals volunteering their time include cardiologists, obstetricians, dieticians, and more — all for free.
Giving women choice, options, and support
Abortion facilities supposedly exist to ensure a woman can exercise her right to choose — but what choices are women really offered there? PRCs provide free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and counseling when a woman thinks she might be facing an unexpected pregnancy, and if she is, will help her through the many nonviolent options available to her. PRCs can make referrals to adoption agencies and help with adoption counseling, or PRCs can work closely with local aid organizations that can help those choosing to parent.
A letter to “Essence” in response to an attack on PRCs was signed by multiple medical professionals and gave examples of how women are helped there. “We serve the community by offering free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds to confirm pregnancy as well as provide counseling, parenting, and financial literacy classes, and direct families towards resources available in their communities,” the letter read. “In fact, Care Net-affiliated pregnancy centers (which number about 1,100), provided over $63 million in free medical, material, emotional, and educational services to women and their families in 2017 alone. Women are not tricked or deceived to think we do anything other than provide that type of support.”
NPR discussed PRCs in 2015, in a story that framed taxpayer funding of PRCs as negative. Yet they also spotlighted ways that PRCs help women, helping them sign up for Medicaid, food assistance, emergency housing, addiction counseling, and even an Earn While You Learn classes to help new parents receive baby supplies.
Educating new parents
Education services at PRCs range from classes preparing expectant parents, to helping women obtain high school and college diplomas. A report released last year which examined over 2,000 PRCs across the country found that 87% offered prenatal and parenting classes for parents.
Other centers help women get an education, so they can better support their children. Jamie, director of a PRC in Illinois, spoke to Live Action News about helping women pursue higher education, thanks to donations specifically earmarked for this purpose.
“Six years after Samantha came to the center, I, with great joy, sat at the back of an auditorium and watched as Samantha walked across the stage and received her college degree,” Jamie said. “She is now working in a job that she loves and is able to provide for herself and her daughter. All of this would not have been possible without the support of churches and countless ministry friends….”
Giving families supplies
If a woman wants to keep her child, but cannot afford supplies, will Planned Parenthood help her? No. Planned Parenthood offers abortions. PRCs, however, are ready to help. Thanks to her local PRC, Janey, pregnant with triplets, chose life and received ultrasounds, baby supplies, and shelter at a maternity home. Volunteers watched her children while she took online classes.
In 2017, an estimated 2 million people received free services from PRCs. Some even help with Christmas presents, which include diapers, clothes, and toys.
The abortion industry claims that they are the only safeguards of “choice” for women, but the only choice abortion offers is death. It does not improve women’s circumstances, and abortion facilities do not provide the options that PRCs do. It’s no wonder that the abortion industry so frequently attacks them; PRCs are a threat to everything the abortion industry works for. And that’s something to be incredibly thankful for.
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