If you want to stop abortion, serve the mom
To save the life of an unborn child, we have to serve his or her mom.
For decades, pregnancy centers and maternity homes have remained steadfast in their commitment to serve the most vulnerable, despite opposition and relentless attacks. In 2024 alone, pregnancy centers provided a value of over $452 million in total medical care, support and education services, and material goods.
But serving vulnerable women often isn’t simple or quick. Her needs are complex as she battles financial insecurity, homelessness, addiction — whatever it is — compounded by daily pressure from culture, family, or an abusive boyfriend to have an abortion.
Abortion drugs were responsible for at least 63% of the 1.1 million abortions in 2024. Abortion drug traffickers proudly proclaim that they break the law to mail these dangerous drugs into pro-life states, placing them in her neighbor’s medicine cabinet, her boyfriend’s sock drawer, or into the hands of her abuser, just waiting for the moment when the pressure is too much.
In January, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions convened a hearing on the dangers of abortion drugs. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill testified with story after story of women who took abortion drugs after being coerced by partners or parents, and women who suffered serious medical complications after taking the drugs. These drugs have been marketed to the American public as safe, private, and empowering, but this hearing showed that nothing is further from the truth. As the ever-looming danger of abortion drugs grows, choosing life requires daily resolve and a community ready to be there for her — no matter what.
Of the 1.1 million women who resort to abortion every year, 60% would have preferred to give birth if they had received more emotional support or had more financial security. That number is staggering, and it proves women don’t want abortions. They believe it is their only option.
In every abortion, two futures hang in the balance: mom and baby. To help them both and save the 1.1 million lives lost to abortion each year, we have to have a robust pro-life safety net that stands ready to meet the specific needs of the 1.1 million mothers who resort to abortion every year.
They are moms like Amy.* Amy’s own mother abandoned her when she was 14. At 24, she was experiencing homelessness and running from domestic violence. With one child already in foster care, she was pregnant with another, and abortion seemed like her only option. Burdened by a decade of disappointment, Amy couldn’t believe anyone would be there for her, but a pregnancy center sprang into action. They listened and helped her build a plan of support. They used the Her PLAN directory to find the right resources to address each of her needs with real solutions. Because a local community stepped up to help her, Amy chose life for her baby. Her own heart began to heal as she experienced, for the first time through community support, what true motherhood looks like.
Serving moms looks different in every community. It depends on what resources your community already has — a local pregnancy center, thrift store, or food pantry that serves pregnant and parenting women. And it depends on the specific needs local moms are facing – housing, transportation, childcare, and mental health are some of the most common. No matter what, each mom deserves to receive compassionate, specific support that affirms her agency and respects her dignity. Her life and her baby’s life are gifts to be treasured.
Local organizations like pregnancy centers, food pantries, pro-life doctors, lawyers, and car mechanics help to ensure pregnant and parenting women receive the emotional and material support that empowers them to thrive. Her PLAN works in local communities to connect existing life-affirming resources and fill unmet needs — gaps in the pro-life safety net — without reinventing the wheel.
Together with local communities, our team has hosted four community car maintenance days, serving a total of 110 families with free car maintenance and oil changes. In North Carolina, we worked with local community members to host a laundry day, so moms without access to stable housing could do their laundry in a safe environment and enjoy a free meal with their children.
In Tennessee, we collaborated with the Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives to host a training for local providers on state benefits like SNAP, childcare subsidies, and postpartum medical support that are available to vulnerable pregnant and parenting moms. Collaborations like this one help to equip providers with a broader network of resources to meet the specific and complex needs of their clients.
Vulnerable moms deserve a community of support. When diverse groups in our local communities innovate together to serve vulnerable moms, the pro-life safety net is stronger, and moms are empowered to thrive.
We marched in Washington, D.C., in January to give witness to the gift of each and every life. But the work still continues.
We must double down on saving precious unborn lives by serving their mothers in whatever way we can — big or small. We must give her real support rather than abandoning her to face the heartbreak of abortion, isolated and alone. Together, we can ensure 1.1 million babies get to experience the beautiful, God-given gift of life. And together, we can give their mothers unconditional love, real support, and hope as they become the mothers they always wanted to be.
By doing life with a vulnerable mom and building a local community of support to meet her specific needs, we can empower her to choose life.
*Amy is a pseudonym
Autumn Christensen is the Executive Director of Her PLAN, an initiative to connect and grow the pro-life safety net of support for moms and their babies.
