A report released earlier this year revealed that the 2,750 pro-life pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) in the United States provided nearly $367.9 million worth of services and material goods to more than 16 million clients in 2022. The report, Hope for a New Generation, was published in May by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Care Net, Heartbeat International, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, and the Option Ultrasound Program by Focus on the Family. It states that in 2022, pregnancy centers assisted over 974,000 new clients and provided goods and services to women, youth, and families. This includes ultrasounds, baby gear, baby clothes, diapers, formula, health care services, and parent education — free of charge. Over 97% of the clients served reported having a positive experience.
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Yet, abortion advocates have come out in full force against PRCs since the Dobbs decision was first leaked in May 2022. Pro-life pregnancy centers have been vandalized, firebombed, and have faced political attacks as part of the abortion lobby’s plan to increase abortion access.
Politically, PRCs have faced attacks aimed at shutting them down. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called for a “crackdown” on pro-life PRCs in a Senate speech in August 2022 and then began an unfounded inquiry against Heartbeat International, the largest network of pro-life PRCs.
States have been attacking PRCs as well. New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin issued a consumer alert about PRCs because they “do not provide abortion care.” New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer followed that up by standing in front of the Lighthouse Pregnancy Resource Center and calling it a “deceptive” and “brainwashing cult” clinic.
In 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta called it “horrifying” that “there are more crisis pregnancy centers in California than abortion care clinics,” because pregnancy centers “do not provide abortion or abortion referral.”
Since 2019, PRCs have seen a 12% increase in ultrasound services, a 41% increase in clients attending parenting classes, and a 27% increase in STI testing. And the number of pregnancy centers associated with a maternity home doubled from 24 to 46.
Pregnancy centers typically rely on volunteers to keep operations running, but from 2019 to 2022 there was an 18% increase in paid staff members and a 26% increase in paid medical staff members at the pro-life centers. More than a quarter of the paid staff and about 12% of volunteers now have medical licenses, and 82% of the pregnancy centers now offer medical services on-site.
Still, the abortion industry wants these free and heavily relied-on services shut down. This isn’t out of concern for women. It’s because every time a pregnant woman facing a difficult situation walks into a PRC, she might choose life, not abortion. This takes potential money out of the pockets of the abortion industry.
These lies work together to convince Americans that pro-life organizations only want to control women, and that pro-lifers — especially pro-life politicians — don’t care about women’s safety. But the truth tells a very different story. Pro-life organizations and laws are focused on helping women and children and ensuring that no woman ever believes the lie that she has to kill her own baby in order to save herself emotionally, physically, or financially.
