At a time when pregnancy care centers are being attacked by pro-abortion vandals and on social media, one would expect government officials to seek ways to help stop such attacks on a vital community resource that’s serving women free of charge. But some Democrats in Pennsylvania’s Senate and House are doing the opposite, by holding their own joint hearing this week to add to the attacks against pro-life pregnancy centers, publicly defaming these centers that provide life-saving care to countless women and children across Pennsylvania.
The pro-abortion left are intent on demonizing pregnancy care centers in order to remove access to real health care, to the alternatives to abortion, and the critical resources for women and their families. All of this is done to drive up business for the abortion industry.
Pennsylvania Life Exchange, a group of pro-life pregnancy care centers in PA, sent an open letter to the Democratic Policy Committees, which you should read in full here.
They point out that:
There are 190+ pregnancy resource centers in Pennsylvania that combine compassionate care with practical support and valuable education for women and families struggling with an unplanned pregnancy.
Currently, in the state of PA, pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics 9 to 1. Closing or hindering these services would be an enormous detriment to our communities and the women and families in them. The combination of medical, educational, and support services pregnancy centers provide in one place, for free, are not provided by other community agencies. In short, they are irreplaceable to the tens of thousands of women who use them.
In 2019 alone, pregnancy centers provided services and materials valued at more than $5.6 million to the state of Pennsylvania, serving 60,882 women, men, youth and families.1
These pregnancy care centers help women who need support both before and after their child is born, providing them with a plethora of resources in order to empower them to choose life for their unborn child. They are often faith-based and not-for-profit, relying on dedicated volunteers; and they offer these services to women at no cost. In short, pregnancy centers stand in direct opposition to the culture of death that tells women their only option is to kill their preborn child.
This contradicts the lie often told by the left that pro-life advocates do little to actually assist in the process of carrying and delivering a child. Many pregnancy center staff even offer to go with women when they give birth. They support the woman and her child throughout the entire pregnancy and beyond. They help them understand all the choices available to the mother and the child in her womb. The abortion industry, on the other hand, offers to kill a baby, for a price, if pregnancy has already occured. Remarkably, many are fraudulently named “Planned Parenthood” when they neither help parents nor help them plan their parenthood.
In addition to providing crucial prenatal care, pregnancy centers also provide whatever material items a woman and family may need in order to support their newborn child. They provide diapers, formula, cribs, breast pumps, baby clothes, and even furniture and rental assistance. The importance of these services in the lives of Pennsylvanians cannot be overstated – one report estimated that more than 2 million lives were saved nationwide through the care provided.
As the Democratic Policy Committees met this week to eliminate the positive impact of these centers, we must spread the word and support the good work the pregnancy care centers are doing. Without them, women who want to choose life for their children will lack the resources needed to care for them both before and after birth. Providing these options is critical to creating a stronger pro-life culture in Pennsylvania and around the country.