It is not only domestic terrorist groups like Jane’s Revenge which are declaring war on pregnancy crisis centers.
It is also senior elected officials who are trying to shut down these life-giving clinics. In the words of Senator Elizabeth Warren, “With Roe gone, it’s more important than ever to crack down on so-called ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ that mislead and deceive patients seeking abortion care. My bill with @SenatorMenendez would stop these harmful practices.”
“Crack down” on these centers? “Stop” their “harmful practices”?
Really?
What, pray tell, is the crime of these pregnancy centers? What makes these clinics, which lovingly offer alternatives to abortion, so dangerous?
The answer to these questions is found in the questions themselves. It is because these clinics do offer alternatives to abortion. It is because they tell expectant mothers that other choices exist. (But wait: I thought Sen. Warren and her ilk were pro-choice!) It is because, with love and sensitivity, they help many women keep their babies or place their newborns into adoptive homes.
Yes, these are the evil deeds of the pregnancy crisis centers, the crimes against humanity that these clinics commit. Oh the very thought of it!
What else do these clinics do? What other services do they provide? According to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, “Data from 2019 shows that pro-life pregnancy centers served close to 2 million people, with services and material assistance with a Total Value of over $266 million.”
Specifically, as of 2019,
- 8 in 10 locations (or 2,132) offer Free Ultrasounds
- 486,213 Free Ultrasounds Performed
- 731,884 Free Pregnancy Tests
- 967,251 Free Consultations with New Clients
- 810 Locations offer STD Testing
- 563 Locations offer STD treatment onsite
- 291,230 Clients Attended Parenting and Prenatal Education Classes
- 21,698 Clients Attended After-Abortion Support and Recovery Sessions
- 305 Locations offer Abortion Pill Reversal
- 2,525 Locations offer Material Assistance such as baby items (including diapers, baby clothing outfits, new car seats and strollers)
- 120 Medical Mobile Units with Ultrasound (at least) rolling on the road to bring services to women out in the community
- 14,977 Paid Staff (25 percent of whom are licensed medical professionals)
- 53,855 Volunteers (12 percent of whom are licensed medical professionals)
- 10,215 licensed medical professionals involved as pregnancy center workers (paid staff and volunteers combined)
Why on earth would anyone oppose work like this? What could motivate anyone other than a pro-abortion radical to think these centers were hurting women in any way?
According to Sen. Warren, women are being deceived into going to these baby-saving clinics, only to learn that the healthcare people they meet there will not help them terminate their pregnancies. Instead, they will offer them ultrasounds and talk to them about the little one in their womb, offering holistic assistance should they choose to keep their child.
Are these women forced to stay? No. Are they subjected to high-pressure sales pitches and guilt trips? No. Are they shamed and insulted? No. Are they drugged and held against their wills? God forbid. And did anyone intentionally deceive them? Absolutely not.
What happens if the pregnant woman realizes she did not walk into an abortion clinic and that this facility has no means of killing the baby in her womb? What if she says, “Oh, I’m in the wrong place”? Then she can get up and leave and find an abortion clinic and make that tragic decision to terminate that tiny life. No one will stop her.
The reality is that, “Consistently high client satisfaction rates reported to pregnancy centers reflect that women, men, and youth who visit centers feel respected, valued, and well cared for. Client satisfaction reported to two national networks in 2019 continues to validate excellence in care at affiliated pregnancy centers around the country.” What do you know!
And, “Heartbeat International affiliated centers equally reported positive client satisfaction of 99.6 percent on average per center through client exit surveys. This accounts for about 2,100 pregnancy centers.”
Yet the very fact that countless thousands of women are being presented with life-preserving alternatives to abortion is a massive threat to the pro-abortion movement. And the fact that so many end up choosing life is bad news for the “pro-choice” crowd.
Put another way, good business for these centers, which operate sacrificially and rely on donations and volunteer service, is bad news for the abortion industry, which has made billions of dollars on the blood of the unborn.
This reflects a deep spiritual reality in which truth is a threat to lies and light is a threat to darkness. The good news is that, ultimately, the truth cannot be stopped and the darkness cannot overcome the light.
And how good is the news that, since 2016, these pregnancy crisis centers, which outnumber abortion clinics nationwide at almost 4 to 1, have saved 800,000 babies’ lives? That is something to shout about! (Sen. Warren thought this was bad news, but it’s great news: “In Massachusetts, so-called crisis pregnancy centers outnumber legitimate abortion care providers 3 to 1.”)
To apply a biblical verse from a different context, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5).
Be assured that the light of life will triumph over the darkness of death!