They “are there to fool people.”
They try to “frighten pregnant women.”
Their methods are “just plain cruel.”
"You should not be able to torture a pregnant person like that."
These comments were made by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) regarding pregnancy resource centers (PRCs), nationwide organizations whose mission is to provide free or low-cost holistic services to pregnant women and new mothers and their children. Warren has authored Congressional legislation entitled the “Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation Act,” which seeks to heavily fine or completely shut down PRCs she claims use “misleading statements related to the provision of abortion services.”
Senator Warren’s bill is just one of the many attacks directed towards PRCs since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in late June- and even early May, with the unauthorized and preemptive leak of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization organization. A week before the June 24th decision had even been released, the FBI announced a formal investigation into the series of twenty-seven PRCs that had been attacked during May and June, a number which has continued to rise in the wake of the decision, with over 63 reporting vandalization or aggressive action toward their center.
Ironically, abortion activists such as Senator Warren have used “misleading statements” in relation to the work of PRCs so as to provoke attacks, both literal and figurative, against these centers. The National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) claims that PRCs consist of “ideologically motivated staff members [who] deceive and manipulate women with dangerous misinformation,” such as “say[ing] your pregnancy is earlier or later than it really is, to confuse you about how much time you have to get an abortion if you want one,” as Planned Parenthood’s website warns.
Many Notre Dame Students spent their summers serving at PRCs across the country, including members of the Right to Life Executive Board. President Merlot Fogarty worked at the Women’s Care Center in South Bend, and Co-Director of Education Kylie Gallegos served with the Sisters of Life at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Convent in New York City. I myself spent eight weeks at the Kimberly Home Pregnancy Resource Center in Clearwater, Florida, and I, along with many other Notre Dame students, found the work of these centers to be slightly different than purported by Senator Warren and other pro-abortion activists.
Warren’s bill states that PRCs “are anti-abortion organizations that present themselves as comprehensive reproductive health care providers with the intent of discouraging pregnant people from having abortions.” However, this is simply not the case. The Kimberly Home never claimed to be any sort of medical facility. While they did have a nurse on staff who could perform basic ultrasounds, their services were overwhelmingly aimed at providing material and emotional support through providing pregnancy and baby items as well as counseling services.
Sophomore Elizabeth Knapp reported that Juneau Pregnancy Center in Juneau, Alaska, provided “counseling, pregnancy tests, classes and parenting education, baby supplies, post-abortion support groups, Christian classes, adoption referencing, and fatherhood classes.” While a few PRCs have some types of medical services on site, the overwhelming majority are simply aimed at supporting women through their pregnancies and beyond.
Fogarty recognized a similar practice at the Women’s Care Center. “Most women entering the Center were abortion vulnerable and seeking an ultrasound in order to obtain an abortion elsewhere in Indiana. However, the staff at the Center aimed solely to provide support, care, and honest information about pregnancy and the abortion procedure. Most women who learn about the risks of the procedure and who are able to see their child via ultrasound end up choosing life on their own- no counselor or PRC worker is forcing them to.”
One of the biggest pieces of misinformation spread about PRCs pertains to the people working within them. The language used by abortion activists to describe the work of PRCs leaves the staff sounding conniving, deceptive, and hostile towards women. However, this could absolutely not be further from the truth. Every staff member and volunteer at the Kimberly Home was a complete joy to be around. Many were retired from jobs where they had devoted their lives to serving others and were now using their free time to continue serving. One woman had answered phones at a rape crisis call center. Another had been an obstetric nurse. Multiple had severely disabled children for whom they devoted their lives to caring. They were all exceedingly kind and selfless, which made the environment at the Kimberly Home feel safe and inviting. Junior Libby White had a similar experience with the staff at the Mira Vida Outreach Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Every person I met through Mira Via is filled with joy and love,” she gushed. “They are some of the happiest people I have ever met. Everyone wants to do their part, and volunteering at Mira Via made it easy to impact a lot of people!”
My time at the Kimberly Home did leave me with an unexpected surprise. I was present at the center in the weeks leading up to, as well as the day of, the overturning of Roe, during which I was anxiously anticipating the Supreme Court’s decision. In light of the organization’s mission, I would have thought the staff at the Kimberly Home would be doing the same. However, while a few kept tabs on the decision, for the most part, the staff had no idea what Roe even was, let alone that it had been overturned. They had tangentially heard the news and were primarily concerned with the safety of our center, especially when we had a member of the Florida Bureau of Investigation arrive mere hours after the decision was released to review safety measures. Thankfully, we did not experience any threats or attacks, but I was thoroughly taken aback by the lack of knowledge, or even interest, in what I found to be such a driving force in the pro-life movement.
Through this insight, I found that the staff at the Kimberly Home—and at PRCs across the nation—were not driven by politics or derision, but rather by the genuine desire to help those around them. Despite what abortion activists might say about the motives of PRCs, they truly serve as places of refuge for women in crisis pregnancies who are looking for empathy and support. Rather than berating or attacking them, all people, regardless of view on abortion, should be supportive of and thankful for the work of PRCs and the tireless effort they put forth in assisting women and children in need.