Championing the important work of pregnancy resource centers should be front and center when it comes to advancing the pro-life movement and changing hearts and minds about abortion in the United States.
That became the theme of a recent podcast hosted by Warren Smith, the president of MinistryWatch (ministrywatch.com). Smith applauds the progress pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) have made over the past few decades in shaping public opinion, but he also laments a dramatic shift that has occurred in recent years, particularly as a result of Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade.
“For decades, the pro-life movement in America has essentially been a grassroots movement. The soul of this movement is compassion,” Smith said. “That compassion is most evident in the network of more than 3,000 PRCs that has grown across the country.”
The impact of PRCs on local communities was recently highlighted in Hope for a New Generation, a collaboration of national survey data provided by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Care Net, Heartbeat International, and the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates. In 2022, PRCs provided $358 million worth of material support and essential services to women, men, and children, including: pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, parenting education programs, baby diapers, wipes, formula, clothes, and other necessities.
“These organizations are not flashy or full of firebrands. They quietly go about their work. Over the decades, they have saved millions of babies and helped millions of women,” said Smith.
On the MinistryWatch.com podcast, Smith cited a Gallup survey to show how the numbers have been trending in the right direction when it comes to abortion.
“In the early 2000s, thought most Americans abortion is morally wrong,” he said. “In 2010, the percentage of Americans who thought abortion should be legal in all circumstances is only 21 percent. That means a full 79 percent of Americans favor abortion restrictions.”
In the past decade, however, the numbers have changed dramatically to 35 percent of Americans who believe abortion should be legal in all circumstances now.
Smith explains the rising numbers by saying that many in the pro-life community have been seduced by what philosopher Jacques Ellul calls the “political illusion,” a notion that all problems are political problems, and therefore there are political solutions.
While he said the Dobbs decision in 2022 was “a worthy goal,” Smith spoke of how it came at a high cost. “The tactics and political affiliations of some in the pro-life movement have alienated many undecided Americans,” he said. The polarizing decision also fueled the pro-choice movement, increased funding for Planned Parenthood, and led to attacks on and marginalization of PRCs.
There are two ways pro-lifers can regain the moral high ground on the abortion issue, Smith said. The first is to remember that the issue is really moral, and not political. The second is to redouble our efforts to love our neighbor.
And that’s where the important work of PRCs comes into the equation.
“We need, now more than ever, to turn the front lines of our pro-life activism into pregnancy resource centers, at the forefront of our political activism,” she said.
“Some of my friends in the pro-life movement say that the real goal of the movement is not only to make abortion illegal, but unthinkable. I agree with that goal. Overturning Roe put some restrictions on abortion in some states, but it’s too far for us to imagine. We will never make it unthinkable to abandon our commitment to truth in order to win short-term political battles. If we do, we will be what we fight for, and we will get what we deserve.”
At Care Net, we seek to advance the Pro Abundant Life movement in hopes of making abortion unthinkable. being Pro Abundant life requires embracing and promoting marriage, encouraging responsible fatherhood, and continuing to make disciples by sharing the transformative message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This movement cannot succeed without the local churches. The key to making abortion unthinkable lies not only in the vital work of pregnancy centers, but will require a greater collaborative effort with more Pro Abundant Life church who are positioned to make disciples. By the grace of God, we can move the needle on abortion.
