“… Crisis pregnancy centers, also called CPC’s, or pregnancy resource centers, of which there are approximately 2752 in the United States, according to Pregnancy Help News.
These centers are supported by almost 82,000 volunteers. Most often they provide counseling, adoption referrals, child-rearing resources, job counseling, parenting classes, clothing, diapers, legal support, emergency and long-term housing, financial assistance, medical services, STD screenings, etc. 60% of these centers offer free ultrasounds.
While 11 states offer very limited financial support to these centers, none of them receive federal funds, unlike Planned Parenthood, which receives hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars every year.
At least 90% of CPC funding comes via donations from local communities and nearly 91% of clients report the highest level of satisfaction with the services they received.”
Rick Garrett The Duping of America (Maitland, Florida: Liberty Hill Press, 2021) 59 – 60
Two authors who worked at a pregnancy resource center told the following story:
“Trina was nearing 40 with three nearly-grown children. She was less than happy with her positive pregnancy test. As a Christian, she believed abortion was wrong and had no intention of ending her pregnancy, but when her Amniotic Fluid Test indicated a possibility of Down’s Syndrome, she struggled with that decision…
Trina decided to go through with the pregnancy. Our staff offered all of the encouragement and prayer we could during her pregnancy. She gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Hope.
Hope was about six months old when Trina came in one day to get diapers and other baby items. It was unusually quiet at the center that day, so we sat and visited for a while. Little Hope giggled and cooed away in her car seat, kicking her little feet.
Trina grew quiet and didn’t say anything for a minute or two. Finally, she brushed a tear from her eye and said, “Just look at her. She’s so perfect. There’s nothing wrong with her. I can’t tell you how I shudder to think that she might not have been in my life.”
In a book about a pregnancy center, the authors told the following story:
“One day I had a call from a woman who lived in one of the outlying counties. She told me right up front that she wanted to have an abortion.
After explaining that we didn’t perform abortions or refer women for abortions, I asked her if she would tell me a little about her situation. She seemed to want to talk, so I let her talk for quite a while about many of the reasons she didn’t think she could go through with her pregnancy. This was years before we had ultrasound. She then asked if we had a counselor she could speak with…
We set up an appointment. Verla and Ellen talked for two hours… Several months later we received a call from her telling us she had just given birth to twins.”
Mary Ann Gustin and Peggy R Hembree Let the Miracles Begin (2016) 43 – 44
A woman who works at a crisis pregnancy center wrote:
“….we provide all services for free. They are for low-income pregnant and parenting women. 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. 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…..
We don’t make them pay a single cent, unlike places like Planned Parenthood. So we truly offer purely free items for struggling families. Taking clinics like this away from all the people we have serviced, or trying to make it harder for us to provide these free items, is a gross attack on lower class people, especially since places like Planned Parenthood don’t bother to give *any* of these baby/toddler/maternity items to needy women. In fact you won’t find baby clothes or diapers or strollers or anything like that at any abortion clinic. Planned Parenthood doesn’t help you plan your parenthood at all, it just tries to eliminate it for you.
It takes a ton of privilege to be able to tell people that because you want every clinic that helps women to provide abortions, poor women aren’t allowed to have free baby supplies…
There is a lot of racial diversity in our clients as well. I have seen various people from all across the race and religion spectrum. People who are Pacific Islander, Arabic, Hispanic, Muslim, Ukrainian, Egyptian, African American, and so on and so forth. To take away free supplies from all these various minorities is racist and an injustice. They need help being able to afford these supplies and abortion clinics certainly aren’t going to help them. Higher rates of infant mortality due to systematic racism mean that every affordable baby supply is truly needed for a person of color. It is a privileged position to take that away.”
Varina H was asked if crisis pregnancy centers helped her. She says:
“Yes, they are very helpful. Still help me with maternity clothes, vouchers for baby clothes, lots of moral support, free ultrasounds, and said when the baby is born to go back and they will give me a baby shower basket with lots of clothes and diapers and other things. They help with baby furniture, have counseling and parenting classes for free, and help with children’s clothes as well. Super grateful for all the help I’ve received.”
Crystal K wrote about her experiences at a crisis pregnancy center:
“I went to one for most of my pregnancy and a couple times afterward. I wanted to take advantage of their parenting classes before my baby arrived. My counselor was incredibly wonderful and kind, and they helped my little family with baby clothes and equipment we needed. I learned so much there that’s been helpful and I’m so thankful.”
Sarah Y was facing a crisis pregnancy and went to a crisis pregnancy center. She describes the experience:
“I was 17. Pregnant. They did testing for me, then counseling, and gave me all the options. I appreciated the honesty. Was really nice to have someone sit down and talk with me about priorities and future goals. Helped me put things into perspective and made it seem less daunting somehow. 20 years later, my daughter is amazing and I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing person to help me so long ago.”
Pro-life activist Ken Campbell told the following story:
“On a cold, rainy October day in 1987, Reza, then aged 25 years and Nasrin, aged 21 years…found their way into the back alley of the [abortion clinic]. Here they met two wet and cold sidewalk counselors, Craig and Mary, who offered them pro-life pamphlets and help to continue the pregnancy. The couple was confused and upset about the idea of abortion. Raised as Muslims, each believed in the sanctity of preborn life, but Reza could see no other option for them. They were applying for immigrant status and could barely survive financially.…. As they faced the terrible reality of abortion before them, their hearts sank, but still they decided to enter the [abortion clinic] .… Sickened by the atmosphere, they walked out. Reza recalled, “It looked and felt evil in there.” His reaction crystallized his thoughts and feelings and he remembers thinking, “I’m not a criminal. I don’t want to kill my baby. It’s human too.”
Craig and Mary had waited outside the [abortion clinic] and silently prayed for the young couple. When they reappeared Reza told them “It’s like a house of death in there.” He gave Craig his phone number… The next morning Craig called offering practical and financial help: $500 from Save the Baby Fund to ease their money worries, basic pieces of furniture… a clock and a mattress, a used TV set so Nasrin could learn English, a medical referral to an ever obliging pro-life obstetrician, Dr. Ned Lacey, and even the offer of a better paying job.…
The couple was married on December 10, 1987… Craig would’ve been a witness but he had to appear in court that day on trespassing charges at the abortuary, so Mary filled in for him….
Shayan, which means “deserving”, was born a few months later. His delighted parents summoned Craig…and Mary to the hospital where all rejoiced at the arrival of this precious baby. They proclaimed Craig to be the “baby’s first uncle.” During the next year Craig and his wife continued to visit the family frequently.”
Ken Campbell Five Years Rescuing at the Gates of Hell (Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Coronation Publications 1990) 76 – 77
Sidewalk counselors in Canada helped a woman who was considering abortion have her baby. She was a new immigrant to Canada. Her name was Gloria. The sidewalk counselors were outside the abortion center run by Henry Morgentaler, who used to do late term abortions in Canada:
“Over three years ago, the family emigrated from Trinidad… The family, financially destitute and emotionally distraught, lived in a one room flat infested with cockroaches and rats over a steamy bakery. The couple did not know where to go for help [after she became pregnant]. Gloria recalls their terrible dilemma. “We didn’t want the abortion, but we didn’t know what else to do.” Heavy-hearted, they set out for the abortuary after being told not to use the front entrance [to avoid picketers]. At the back they encountered two sidewalk counselors, William and Tom. After going to “The Way” Inn [pro-life center], where they discussed their dilemma further, William brought them to Aid to Women [crisis pregnancy center].
Here they met Eileen, who is engraved in Gloria’s memory as “a wonderful, loving woman who helped us in so many ways. I’ll never forget her.” Eileen provided them with subway tokens, bed linens, clothing, emotional support, and even arranged for Aid to Women 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 during that long hot summer of 1987: the donation from a downtown pro-life office of a used air conditioner enabled the family to survive the suffocating heat from the bakery below; medical and social welfare referrals; the help of a resourceful public health nurse; help with immigration problems and a steady job for Ram… Later they moved to a small, subsidized public housing apartment.
The culmination of all these events was the birth of Matthew, a joy to all. Gloria is quick to say “William was our first friend. If it hadn’t been for him, we would’ve gone through with the abortion.… I think what the counselors do outside the Morgentaler place is a very good thing, because many people need help but don’t know where to get it.”
Ken Campbell Five Years Rescuing at the Gates of Hell (Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Coronation Publications 1990) 72 – 73
Barbara Chishko of Oklahoma, who works in a crisis pregnancy center, told the following story:
“The images seen through ultrasonography of unborn babies leave indelible imprints on the hearts and minds of all who see them. A young woman came to our office. She wanted to abort her baby.
We explained fetal development at which time she told us we were lying about the developing baby. We offered an ultrasound to confirm her pregnancy and she accepted.
Upon scanning her abdomen she immediately saw her baby sucking its thumb. Her words were, “look at my baby, it is perfect.” Needless to say she continued her pregnancy.”
Terry Ianora Ordinary Heroes: Creating a Culture of Life (Eugene, Oregon: Camel Heart Media, 2013) 47
