Abortion activists continue to claim that pregnancy resource centers are “fake clinics” devised to lure unsuspecting women with deceptive information and intimidation to prevent them from undergoing abortion. While this narrative is good for “Handmaids Tale”-themed protest, it is not based in reality.
The almost 3,000 pregnancy resource centers across the U.S. are organizations largely funded through private donations. They provide resources and support for mothers throughout pregnancy and beyond. Their mission is to support women, and they do. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Below are five powerful videos of clients showing how pregnancy resource centers save lives and support women.
Megan says discovering she was unexpectedly pregnant at 22 was “extremely overwhelming,” adding, “I have never been so scared in my entire life.” Although she had scheduled an abortion, she went to meet with a counselor at a pregnancy center, and after the meeting she felt strongly, “This child has a purpose and a meaning, and I’m pregnant for a reason.”
For Megan, being pregnant made her feel like her life was over, leading her to believe abortion was her only choice. The pregnancy resource center offered her hope that she could welcome daughter Serenity Grace and continue to pursue her dreams. She said, “If you’re facing an unplanned pregnancy, I think what’s really important to understand is that your life is not over. So, the dreams you had or the things you wanted to accomplish, you can still have and do. But it just may look different, and it’s probably going to be more challenging, but it’s worth it.”
READ: Pro-abortion group NARAL vows to keep attacking pregnancy centers
Like Megan, Lisa did not expect to become pregnant. For her, becoming pregnant outside of marriage was not something she wanted, and she was scared. She went to a pregnancy center in Texas for the simple reason that she was in a crisis.
Describing her circumstances, Lisa says the crisis was not her pregnancy but many other factors surrounding it. The counselors at the pregnancy center spent hours talking with Lisa and helping her to find a way forward. She is moved to tears in the video, discussing how much joy she has in expecting her daughter. Lisa had spent 15 years working in childcare. Before finding the crisis pregnancy center, Lisa felt that she had provided for everyone else’s children, but was unable to provide for her own. Finding support, companionship, and resources through the pregnancy center allowed her to care for her own child as well.
Lisa says of the pregnancy center, “Every time I come here, I walk out like a ray of sunshine talking to my daughter. I don’t know where else I could get that and get fed the way I do here.” Like many pregnancy centers, the organization Lisa visits offers pregnancy and parenting classes. By attending the classes, clients not only prepare for the birth of their children, but also earn points toward baby items like car seats, clothes and diapers.
Felicia also thought abortion was her only choice. Having grown up in an abusive environment and being unprepared for a child when she became pregnant, Felicia did not want to bring her daughter into such difficult circumstances.
Nonetheless, she decided she would choose life for her daughter. Looking for how to do this, she discovered a pregnancy resource center, where, she says, “There was support and there was love and there were tools to grow up into the mother that I knew I could be.”
To other mothers in challenging circumstances, Felicia says, “There are resources out there and that no matter what you are going through or what your situation is that you’re not alone.”
READ: Appalling: Google aids abortion profiteers by going after pregnancy centers
For Rachel, an unplanned pregnancy became even more challenging when the father of her baby passed away suddenly. The unexpected passing of her baby’s father inspired her to focus on what she would pass on to his child. She says at the pregnancy resource center she received “emotional, mental, and spiritual support.”
Dispelling the myth that pregnancy resource centers abandon women once their babies are born, Rachel says, “Even after the birth of my son, the resources and connections stemming from Your First Look and Heartbeat [the pregnancy resource center] have made life with a child so much easier to manage that I cannot imagine having made it through alone.” Rachel never thought she would be a mother, so she knew nothing about caring for a young child. For her, the classes on caring for a newborn were vital in making her feel confident that she could be a mother to her son.
Many pregnancy resource centers are equipped not only for women considering abortion but also for women who have had abortions and feel sadness, guilt, or regret about the decision. Through abortion recovery programs, many of them faith-based, mothers who feel the loss of children to past abortions are given a community in which to mourn and heal.
Lovette shares her story of attending an abortion recovery program and the effect it had on her and her young children. As a teenager, Lovette was coerced by her mother into an abortion she did not want, an experience that is common. After that, Lovette underwent another abortion, though she felt tremendous grief and pain at the time about the decision.
Years later, while volunteering at a pregnancy center, Lovette was encouraged to attend an abortion recovery program before working with clients and she said, “I was hesitant and I was angry, but at the end I received God’s healing and His grace.” She continued, “And I wish I could say I jumped right into ministry and started telling my story; no, it took me four years to even do any of that. And now, I help other women deal with healing and tell my story to other people.”
Abortion activists claim they are “pro-choice,” but in order for mothers to have a real choice, they need real options. Pregnancy centers provide those options.
Editor’s Note: If you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, contact OptionLine. If you are struggling from a past abortion, contact Rachel’s Vineyard.
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