What The Pro-Life Movement is Really About

I posted this over at my Houston Chron blog because frankly I was amazed at how so many on the left haven't a clue about what we do. They have bought into the media and leftwing lie about the pro-life movement. One of my commenters asked me why pro-lifers don't just help women! Good grief. So here is my post.

I can tell from my comments that there is a great deal of ignorance and misconceptions of what the Pro-life movement is about and what it has done.

Many believe that pro-lifers mainly focus on changing the law, but I would say that about 70% of pro-life work is helping women in crisis pregnancies.
On the legislative side we have worked for over 30 yrs for reasonable restrictions that most Americans agree with, like a 24 waiting period, informed consent, and parental notification for minors seeking an abortion. But Planned Parenthood and the abortion lobby has fought us every step of the way. But with the help of Republicans we have been able to pass these restrictions in many states. I'm afraid that is all about to change though with a Democratic President and a Democratic congress.

But I digress. The main focus of the pro-life movement has always been to help women and their babies. I will give you 4 examples because I have worked with these organizations personally, but there a many many more. In fact there are 3 crisis pregnancy centers for every abortion clinic in the U.S. All are run on a shoe string budget with no paid staff. They are usually funded through churches and private donations.

The first is The Nurturing Network. TNN has 48,000 volunteer Resource Members that provide homes, legal help, counseling, financial aid, educational and employment opportunities for women in crisis pregnancies. Whatever the need is, TNN provides it. Mary Cunningham Agee started TNN 20 years ago after serving in Senior Management of two Fortune 100 Companies. She was voted twice by World Almanac as one of the "Twenty-five most influential women in America." It's an incredible organization whose sole focus is women and their babies.

Next is Birthright. I worked as counselor at Birthright right here in Houston many years ago. Birthright has been around for 40 years. When I worked there we didn't have the money to provide medical care, but we found Doctors who would and we referred the women there. The same with referrals to help women meet legal, medical, financial, and housing needs. We kept a room full of donated cribs, high chairs, diapers, formula, bottles, and baby clothes. If we didn't have something a women needed, we found it. Working there was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Women would come back and visit after their baby was born so grateful to have had the support they needed to choose life.

I now work with the Gabriel Project through the Catholic Church which helps women in much the same way with practical needs.

Lastly, The Gladney Center in Dallas. It is not volunteers though. They have paid staff. When I lived in Dallas I worked with them with young girls who weren't ready to be mothers. It has to be one of the best adoption centers in the country. They have beautiful facilities and provide on site housing and medical care for young girls. They handle all of the legal, educational, and counseling issues as well. I remember going to a Christmas party there one year and all the adoptive parents were there with their adopted children. It was brimming with happiness. I love this place.

So, I wanted to give you an idea of what the pro-life movement really does. The media likes to portray it in a negative light, but it really always has been about helping women choose life.