2022 | Week of August 29 | Radio Transcript #1479

Pregnancy care centers have always been the very best ground game in the pro-life movement. Through their doors enter women and men who are facing unplanned pregnancies that have in some ways turned their worlds upside down.  They are looking for real help and real hope—and they are often not sure at all what that looks like.

When these anxious people step into a pregnancy care center what they find are people and services designed to assist them in both tangible and intangible ways.

Many pregnancy care centers in Wisconsin today offer medical services, including pregnancy tests, sexually transmitted diseases and infections testing, and ultra sounds.  They have staff and volunteers who listen and show not judgment but compassion as they explain to the woman—and nowadays often the man—the options they have.  We know many women in particular come into these agencies truly not knowing what their options are.

Most of these centers talk about the option of abortion if the subject comes up. They don’t counsel for, refer for, approve of, and of course they don’t perform abortions, but they do explain what abortions are, how they are done, the risks involved and the inevitable outcome. What they encourage is adoption—or if the woman has sufficient support, keeping the baby.

Beyond this, the centers typically offer pre-birth classes and parenting classes as a part of their Learn-to-Earn programs. In some centers, Bible studies are also offered. When a certain number of classes or hours have been earned, the clients get to go shopping in the center’s boutique where baby clothing and sometimes mommy clothing, as well as all kinds of other items parents need for babies—from diapers to car seats and more are available for just the exchange of attending classes.

I’m finding more and more pregnancy care centers who offer gift cards to help with gas or groceries, skills training for employment opportunities, and sometimes help with housing.

Simply put, these are amazing places run by amazing people. We are blessed to have over 70 of them scattered throughout Wisconsin, in our inner cities, our suburbs, and in our rural communities.

Unfortunately, over the years these centers have been the point of attack for abortion advocates who have accused them of lying to women, false advertising, and more. Recently, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the issue of abortion returning to the states, abortion advocates have again been attacking the pregnancy care centers which have become even more important in our post-Roe world.

However, a new poll released last week suggests a majority of Americans have a favorable view of pro-life crisis pregnancy centers even as “woke” corporations and politicians join with the abortion-advocates to work to discourage the public from accessing them. The poll by CRC Research and reviewed by The Christian Post shows that 74% of Americans surveyed support the public funding of pro-life pregnancy centers after learning about their services.[1]

What this tells us is we need to do a better job of educating people about pregnancy care centers and helping to establish additional centers in strategic places, especially in our border communities so that women considering going to Illinois, Iowa, or Minnesota for an abortion can easily find these incredible centers before they make a tragic, life-taking decision.

One way Wisconsin Family Council is helping these centers is by promoting the Choose Life Wisconsin license plates. Each time a plate is purchased or renewed, $25 goes to Choose Life Wisconsin, which then gives the money to pregnancy care centers in Wisconsin. Since May 2018, Choose Life Wisconsin has awarded nearly $200,000 to over 30 centers.

Churches can also significantly help pregnancy care centers by adopting one. Encouraging church families and individuals to volunteer and to financially support these pro-life organizations is incredibly helpful. Most centers have annual fund-raisers that the church can promote and participate in.

With surgical abortions currently not being done in Wisconsin, thanks to the overturning of Roe and our pre-Roe law that is right now in place, we have an amazing opportunity to help women in crisis pregnancies by supporting the very best pro-life ground game we have—our pregnancy care centers.

This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

[1]https://www.christianpost.com/news/most-americans-support-public-funding-of-pro-life-pregnancy-centers-poll.html