“Our administration is fighting on every front to do what we can and what we must to protect the American people and the integrity of our health care system in this country,” he said.
Establishing and managing the hotline, estimated to cost $1.5 million, will be outsourced and open to bid by existing Title X family planning service grantees. The hotline will provide information to patients served by the Title X family planning program “who request information related to prenatal care and childbirth; foster care, foster care, or adoption; or termination of pregnancy.”
On Twitter, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that “the secure national hotline will provide referral services to individuals who need accurate information about their legal reproductive health care options.”
Despite the White House’s claim that the national hotline will be neutral in terms of abortion referrals and disseminating information, many leaders in the pro-life community remain skeptical.
Tom McClusky, the Director of Government Affairs for CatholicVote, said the hotline represents “a clear violation of the Hyde amendment, using tax dollars to set up a system to make it easier to kill children.” The Hyde amendment prevents the federal government from using taxpayer funds to pay for abortions.
An article on LiveAction.com stated,”Considering the Biden administration reproductive rights website does not offer help to women who want to parent their children, there is great reason to worry that this hotline will become another way to promote abortion.”
As an organization advocating from a Pro Abundant Life perspective, Care Net has witnessed firsthand the power of a national hotline when used with noble intentions. Every day, the organization’s Pregnancy Decision Line brings hope, comfort, and encouragement to women and men facing an unplanned pregnancy.
The Pregnancy Decision Line (PDL) website. and the real-time call center provides caring, confidential, free support to anyone making choices about an unexpected pregnancy. Coaches, available through a toll-free phone number, answer questions about pregnancy, emergency contraception, abortion, adoption, parenting, and more.
Callers are met with live compassion, realistic alternatives to abortion, and referrals to life-affirming pregnancy centers. Every day, God does amazing things through PDL.
“We’re meeting people right in the middle of their decision-making process,” a PDL coach told a Care Net blog article. “They’re considering abortion…We’ve reached so many people because everyone’s Googling and looking for information. We are at a critical moment of decision, and whoever they talk to on the phone will have a big impact. They can call Planned Parenthood and say ‘Everything’s going to be fine, don’t worry about it. You just came in today (for an abortion), and you’re ready to go.’ But if they’re going to talk to us, they’re really going to be able to talk things through and you’re going to look at all of their options.
In an article titled “Lessons of Hope from the Pregnancy Decision Line,” Dr. Greg Austen, Care Net’s Executive Director of Church Outreach and Engagement, noted how the coaches respectfully and gently interact with callers.
“PDL coaches always leave the caller in the driver’s seat. After all, choice is the gift of adulthood and PDL coaches respect the client’s choices—whether they agree with them or not—and do not offer advice that is not accepted or desired,” says by Austen. “[They ask] questions designed to help those in crisis explore inner motivations and desires, see options, avoid choices that will lead to suffering and death, and point callers—if possible—to the hope of gospel.”
Over the years, there have been countless testimonials about Care Net’s PDL. A wonderful story involves a caller who seems to be quiet and afraid:
“How are you? How are you? I need help.”
The Pregnancy Decision Line coach can immediately tell that the woman has a problem with the line.
What he doesn’t know is that “Sydney” is moments away from making the biggest mistake of his life.
“Where are you?” coach asked.
“I was in the bathroom at the clinic. . . waiting for my procedure.”
Soon, the coach discovers that Sydney is calling from an abortion clinic! While waiting for her scheduled “procedure,” the young woman began to have second thoughts. Confused, Sydney flees to the bathroom where she uses her phone to frantically search online for answers.
Fortunately, the conversation with the PDL led to a change of heart for Sydney.
After speaking with Care Net’s PDL coach, she decided to leave the clinic. The coach also emailed resources and materials about her unborn child and the impact of abortion. And Sydney—at that critical moment—chose life for her baby.
What is the difference between a hotline. Life and death often depend on who answers the call.
YOU CAN DOUBLE THE EFFECT OF THE PRO-LIFE HOTLINE!
With the federal government funding a national abortion hotline, Care Net’s Pregnancy Decision Line is more important than ever. You can be sure that when women and men are looking for answers to their unplanned pregnancies that they are Christ-centered compassion, hope, and help through PDL instead of a pro-abortion, funded the call center is government. We are trying to DOUBLE the capacity of PDL by doubling the number of coaches answering calls, doubling the amount of time we have open, and doubling our advertising budget to reach twice as many women and men in need. Your gift of just $30 can be the difference between life and death, hope and despair, for countless women, men, and their unborn babies. Use this link to give now: https://donate.care-net.org/carenet/dpdl2305-save-lives
