Online for Life: 101 — How OFL is changing the pro-life landscape and helping save lives

Perhaps you’ve been curious about how Online for Life is able to cooperatively help rescue so many unborn babies and their families from abortion. We understand that the way in which we carry out our mission has some moving parts, so we decided to shed a little light on who we are and what we do at Online for Life.

In the four years since we founded Online for Life, we’ve discovered that each month in America, there are more than 2 million internet searches for the words such as abortion or abortion clinic. That’s approximately 70,000 internet searches every day! What this tells us is that the majority of women facing crisis pregnancies are turning to the internet first – an anonymous place where they can look for answers, their secrets are kept safe, and no one else has to know.

In order to turn hearts and minds toward life, we knew we had to reach these women while they’re searching the internet…and before they make contact with an abortion clinic. We know there is no time to waste, because within the first 24 hours of discovering their crisis pregnancy, the majority of abortion-determined women and men will decide whether or not they choose life for their unborn children (Guttmacher Institute, Reasons for Abortion and Timing of Abortion Studies, 2006).

Assisted by best-in-class analysis and tools, Online for Life implements cutting-edge internet technology, as well as supplemental traditional marketing tools (billboards, print ads, etc.), to connect with abortion-minded women and men. From there we guide them to make an appointment at one of the approximately 50 participating pro-life pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) across 23 states, where they’ll receive life-affirming compassion, care, and an ultrasound of their unborn children.

And when a distressed woman calls the number on her computer screen, she will speak with a compassionate and caring person who can also schedule an appointment for her at her local PRC.

But our support doesn’t end there. After an appointment is scheduled, our Call Center takes it a step farther by following up with each client, providing her with reminders of her appointment, and answering any questions she may have (with the exception of any medical information or advice).

Incredibly, every stage of this process is covered in prayer, thanks to the innovative Online for Life Prayer App. The moment a woman contacts one of the participating PRCs or our in-house Call Center, app users receive a notification to pray for her. This initial notification is then followed up with regular reminders to continue praying that the client keeps her appointment and ultimately chooses life.

With real-time notifications and prayer reminders, this innovative app allows you to pray for each woman (who remains anonymous) throughout her decision-making process

This app is now available on ProLifeApp.com/download.

Whether it’s interceding through prayer for a woman who’s phoned a PRC, or praying during and after the scheduled appointment, Online for Life is leaning on the power of prayer from our faith-based community to help soften the hearts and minds of abortion-determined individuals.

To personalize this tutorial a little bit, I want to share a story…one that we’ve posted on Facebook and Twitter. It’s the story of Baby #1,100.

Online for Life connected with the birth mother (let’s call her “Ann”) online, and we directed her to a local pregnancy resource center (PRC). During her appointment, Ann discussed her options with the caring staff, received life-affirming guidance, and saw an ultrasound image of her baby. Yet when Ann left the PRC that day, she was still determined to have an abortion.

After months of unanswered phone calls, the PRC staff tried one more time to reach Ann. This time she picked up the phone, and she shared that her baby had been born just days earlier. After thinking about what the supportive staff at the PRC had told her, she said she just couldn’t abort her baby.

Oftentimes women leave their PRC appointments still feeling undecided about their pregnancies. And some women, like Ann, feel just as determined to get an abortion as they did when they first arrived.

That’s why the OFL Call Center and the participating PRCs are committed to follow up with women after their appointments – to remind them that not only are people praying for them, but also Online for Life’s participating PRCs have a number of resources they’d like to share with these women if they should ever need extra help. To extend support to these parents beyond the birth of their children, many PRCs offer financial assistance and planning classes for birth mothers. And knowing that not every outcome will be a positive one like Ann’s, post-abortive care is made available to mothers who do not choose life.

Online for Life invites you to get involved. Right now you can begin praying for women like Ann who are entering their local PRCs seeking answers. Download the Online for Life Prayer App today and join thousands of individuals who are standing on the front lines as our praying community.

Through the Prayer App, you’ll be reminded to continue praying as participating PRCs follow up with each client after her appointment. And when a woman chooses life for her child, you’ll be notified and asked to share the good news with your friends and family…an announcement that will excite others and encourage them to join you in prayer!

From the first internet impression on a person’s computer…to the phone call she makes to her local PRC…to the appointment at the PRC…to the moment she chooses life…and beyond…Online for Life is there every step of the way.