Over the summer, I had the opportunity to visit with Kathy Roberts at Life Choices Pregnancy Medical Center. She opened the conversation by saying, "We are pro-woman and pro-love." She quickly made me realize that the entire mission of Life Choices is to help women... it is never to shame, cause fear or coerce them. "Women who walk through our doors with an unintended pregnancy do not have abortion as their number one choice. They may feel it is their only choice, but it's not. They need a place to process everything, to feel safe and share their fears. We are here to listen and to help."
Today there are 2,400 medical pregnancy centers like Life Choices across the nation. I was surprised to find out that in the 1980's there were around 2,400 Planned Parenthoods. Today there are only 600. I asked Kathy what she thought the reason for the change in numbers was. She stated that, "Women don't want to be handed a piece of paper showing them where to go to have an abortion. They want to be heard and they want solutions to their problem. They want hope and support. We listen and provide options. Even if they choose abortion we help them work through the difficulties they face afterward because they matter...whatever their decision". I think Life Choices is successful because of their gentleness, compassion, and care towards their clients. They are not funded by government grants, but by individuals. I was surprised to hear that most of their clients became aware of them through recommendations, word of mouth, and volunteers.
According to Kathy, statistics show that 75% - 80% of their clients don't get an abortion after viewing their babies through an ultrasound. Receiving an ultrasound is vital when making an informed decision. Kathy believes all lives matter, especially the most vulnerable among us. This includes women who are distressed by unplanned pregnancies, no matter what their final decision is. It could be abortion, adoption, parenting - Life Choices will not judge the ultimate outcome.
I researched the pro-life/pro-woman movement and the pro-choice/pro-woman movement and was stunned to find that the founder of Planned Parenthood (Margaret Sanger) herself said, "Organized charity itself is the symptom of a malignant social disease…"-- Sanger, Margaret (1922).
Not only did Margaret Sanger sanction the murder of unhealthy babies, but she specifically began encouraging abortion for the sake of 'exterminating' African-Americans and the offspring of the mentally ill. In a letter to Dr. Clarence J. Gamble (December 10, 1939), Margaret Sanger wrote, "We don't want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population."
There are many other Margaret Sanger quotes that describe parents as cruel and ignorant for bringing children into the world. Sanger insisted that the mentally or physically handicapped be sterilized. She also told sources, "But for my view, I believe that there should be no more babies." Is that what her advocates want?
Life Choices is here to help walk you through your healing. We are pro-woman and pro-love.
