Pregnancy Center Report Spotlights the Contribution of Heartbeat Affiliates
Even though little Emma Grace was conceived by teens – regularly a death sentence under the rule of Roe v. Wade – her parents, with the help of the Pregnancy Care Center, welcomed her, with all her inherent value, into their newly formed family. Ahna and Garrett Roney were seventeen and eighteen when they chose to marry and to make a family with the infant they welcomed.
The Roney’s story about Heartbeat International’s affiliate in Springfield, MO is a testament to how practical help and emotional support for a young couple can turn a difficult time into a much-welcomed blessing.
This is just one of the examples of the life-saving work of Heartbeat International’s compassionate network of care highlighted in “A Passion to Serve: How Pregnancy Resource Centers Empower Women, Help Families, and Strengthen Communities,” the updated report from Family Research Council (FRC).
This report shines a light on the positive contributions of pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies and pregnancy help medical clinics. These faith-based nonprofits brighten a woman’s future with the support she needs to bring new life into the world.
While tracing the history of concern and care for pregnant women, this report focuses on the positive ways pregnancy support organizations are strengthening their communities. It describes the impact of the pregnancy help movement by detailing, through statistical summaries and case studies, the extraordinary ways centers are meeting the needs of women, youth, and families.
Pregnancy centers served over 2.3 million people with pregnancy assistance, abstinence counseling and education, community outreach programs and referrals, and public health linkages. A conservative estimate of community cost savings for these serves during 2010 is over $100 million, according to the FRC report.
The report also includes endorsements from public figures like this one from U.S. Rep. Daniel Lipinski, (D, IL-3):
“The success rates and national expansion of these pregnancy care centers are a testament to their invaluable work in the lives of communities and individuals over the years. These networks provide services that are often unavailable elsewhere to expectant mothers.”
The pregnancy help network is one of the greatest volunteer service movements in the history of our country with around 71,000 volunteers performing an estimated 5,705,000 uncompensated hours of work in 2010.