I was at a conference late last week and working on a keynote instead of paying attention to the news much of that time, so I didn’t have the time to get mad about the New York Times attack on crisis-pregnancy/pregnancy-care centers. When I got caught up this morning, I had to laugh at the headline, which I’ve borrowed for mine here. As if Planned Parenthood doesn’t have an agenda? When I saw Kathryn Garcia outside of Planned Parenthood in Manhattan while she was running in the primary for mayor of New York, she got mad when I asked her why she had come to a place that does abortions to talk about maternal health. She was introduced by a midwife who seemed like a lovely grandmotherly type — until she expressed her gratitude that, because of the Reproductive Health Act Andrew Cuomo signed, midwives could do abortions now in New York State. That’s the perversion of abortion: that what is beautiful and life-giving is now corrupted by unnecessary death.
Some of these pregnancy-care centers exist because of the generosity of people who truly want to help women. They work on a shoestring budget. Even my beloved Sisters of Life do not have the resources they should considering the missions they cover — ones others aren’t covering adequately.
The Times piece says it is deceptive for a pro-life ministry to provide ultrasounds — because then they should provide abortions, too (or so the thinking goes). The fact is that there would be more places that provide ultrasounds and look at actual options other than abortion, if the abortion lobby didn’t target them once they provide ultrasounds. And, when I tour pregnancy-care centers, their mode of operation is not to talk about sin and abortion. They make women feel comfortable and cared for before they get into options. Generally speaking, these people (who are not extravagantly paid or are volunteers), got into this work because they love women and know that they deserve better than getting pushed into an abortion clinic — at the door, and by so many pressures in their lives and our culture.
Yes, pro-life pregnancy centers are staffed by people who are against abortion. And Planned Parenthood is pro-abortion. They put escorts outside their clinics sometimes to actively prevent girls and women from having the shot at considering an option for their pregnancy other than abortion. They exist to insist that there be dead babies at the end of the work day. So yes, there are pro-life people at women’s-care centers, but there are no dead babies. I know which I prefer and which I consider a grave presence in our world. It’s not the places that helps moms be moms.