Pro-life volunteers run an international network of pregnancy resource centers (PRC) that provide free goods and services to pregnant and parenting women who need help. Yet, a pro-abortion book for teenagers is spreading the lie that “[Pro-lifers] refer to themselves as ‘pro-life’ – but show little concern for the lives of people facing unwanted pregnancies.”1 Abortion advocates constantly attack pregnancy resource centers, try to close them, and discourage women from visiting them.
The services of pregnancy resource centers
“We have free baby clothes, toddler clothes, shoes, maternity clothes, pregnancy tests, breast pumps, nursing bras, diapers, baby wipes, bottles, baby/toddler dishes, formula, food, toys, books, car seats, strollers, cribs, cradles, jumpers, and any other pieces of furniture or big toys when we get them,” explained PRC worker Kristin Monahan. “I have seen pretty much anything you can think of that deals with pregnancy or parenting, come into the clinic. We also give referrals to various social services, such as WIC […].”
Pro-life pregnancy centers help women who have already had their children, as well as pregnant women. They are dedicated to supporting and helping families, not just saving babies — though that is a very important part of their work. Laura S. Hussey, author of the book, “The Pro-Life Pregnancy Help Movement: Serving Women or Saving Babies?” explained:
What stood out the most when I visited…was the spacious front room visible from the street…, a baby “boutique” featuring colorful collections of new clothing, furniture, and other supplies arranged and displayed with obvious care on racks and in a glass display case. The goods had been purchased by donors and made available to any woman who needed them. This included those new mothers who center staff said they meet virtually every day…
[T]he center will give women who need help affording things for a child “whatever they need,” from formula to layettes to pack and play cribs. The aid and the classes, as well as the trained counselors and other staff available to help a woman resolve any number of practical problems she might encounter during or after pregnancy, are important pieces of the center’s work…2
People helped by pregnancy resource centers
Michelle was a homeless rape victim who wanted to have her baby but had no resources. She went to a pregnancy help center and shared that the programs “were really awesome.” She added:
I went to several of their classes and the lady that counseled me volunteered to go with me when I gave birth. I didn’t have anyone else to go with me. She was there by my side. After I gave birth, they gave me baby clothes, diapers, and a basket of goodies like blankets. After you’ve had your baby, you can keep going back to them for support.
READ: Pro-abortion group NARAL vows to keep attacking pregnancy centers
Pregnancy resource centers have been helping people for a long time. According to a 1990 book, pro-lifers persuaded an immigrant couple considering abortion to choose life and was able to provide them with:
$500 … to ease their money worries, basic pieces of furniture… a clock and a mattress, a used TV set so [the father] could learn English, a medical referral to an ever-obliging pro-life obstetrician… and even the offer of a better paying job.3
Pro-life sidewalk counselors also were able to help a couple that was headed into a clinic for an abortion. The couple and their children were living in a single room infested with cockroaches and rats. Pro-lifers helped them find a better place to live and the pregnancy help center stepped in to provide additional help:
[The PRC] arranged… to pay their rental arrears of $900 to avert their eviction. From that day onwards, the couple’s life took a turn for the better. Eventually, more help came their way … the donation from a downtown pro-life office of a used air conditioner enabled the family to survive the suffocating heat… medical and social welfare referrals; the help of a resourceful public health nurse; help with immigration problems and a steady job for [the father].4
In all, according to one source, pregnancy help centers assisted 900,000 women and families in 2017.5 This is more than the 862,320 abortions committed that same year. In 2017, 67,400 pro-lifers volunteered at pregnancy resource centers. And thousands more supported them financially or by donating items. This massive network of pro-lifers proves that pro-life individuals care about women and children both before and after birth.
- Robin Stevenson My Body My Choice: The Fight for Abortion Rights (Orca Book Publishers, 2019) 57
- Laura S Hussey The Pro-Life Pregnancy Help Movement: Serving Women or Saving Babies? (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2020) 3
- Ken CampbellFive Years Rescuing at the Gates of Hell (Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Coronation Publications 1990) 76 – 77
- , 72 – 73
- Laura S Hussey, 3
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