The Morning Center: An “amazing work to replace Planned Parenthood”

The Morning Center, a revolutionary maternity care clinic for women, is impressing nearly everyone who catches wind of its compassionate, top-quality healthcare. Live Action News was tipped off to the Morning Center by a supporter who exclaimed, “The Morning Center [is] doing amazing work to replace Planned Parenthood and keep mothers and babies safe.” One motto of the center is “Serving Moms with Quality Maternity Care…Free of Charge.” The goal is to love the woman and the child.

The Morning Center - Caring for Moms & Babies

Located in Memphis, Tennessee, The Morning Center chose this city for its pilot center because needy women from three states can easily access it. In just two years of operation, The Morning Center has successfully delivered 100 babies and served over 300 women with more than 1500 OB appointments, proving that a “private, patient-centered model” truly can work. The Memphis location is home to a compassionate and knowledgeable staff of 20 – including medical and administrative personnel as well as volunteers.

The work of The Morning Center dispels the myth that pro-lifers are unwilling to financially and practically aid pregnant women. Executive Director, Les Riley, explains that The Morning Center operates under a whole-person model, desiring to meet the physical and spiritual needs of women and the people who surround them:

Les shared the story of Gracie, “one of our patients whose life has been transformed through the love of Jesus shown to her while she has been a Morning Center patient.”

Gracie’s story illustrates what Les calls the “continuum of care” offered by The Morning Center. He explains that the center “takes a mother and gives her the same experience you would get at an OB – including delivering her baby – and wraps it all in the Gospel” Many times, The Morning Center is able to have “a six to eight month relationship with the mother to introduce her to other ministries” that can care for her in the ways she needs.

One of Les’s favorite stories involves a young woman who, until she reached The Morning Center, had been abandoned and abused for her entire life:

As illustrated by this young woman’s story, Les explains that The Morning Center stands as a “conduit for other ministries to step up and for a church to reach out to these women.”

Les and his amazing family have been involved in pro-life work for years, and have poured their lives into helping mothers and families choose life. I asked Les to share some advice on speaking about life to abortion-vulnerable mothers:

No doubt Les would encourage each Christian or pro-lifer sharing these words with a pregnant mother to be educated on the practical resources for women in their own areas. (Such resources and information can be found in the articles here, here, here, here, and here.) He also advises: “Stop treating the urban poor and abortion-risk moms as statistics; they are unique and need to be uniquely loved.”

Shortly after opening, The Morning Center posted the video below to YouTube, explaining the vision and calling for others to use their own talents to help. Les explains:

Les also offered his email address for anyone who wants to aid help The Morning Center or who would consider opening one in their own area: Les.Riley@morningcenter.org. You can also connect on Facebook here. The vision is to “put one in every city big enough to have an abortion clinic. … Together, we can bring a new day in maternity care and lavish the love of Jesus Christ on women and unborn children who desperately need it.”

The Morning Center - Bringing A New Dawn To Maternity Care