Jasmine found a Google listing for a PreBorn! Network Clinic while online searching for “What to do if I’m pregnant?” She clicked the link and found these words on the Clinic’s website: “We value your privacy and will not share your pregnancy intentions to anyone.”
Struggling with the Decision to Seek Help
Her anxiety dissipated, and she had heard different sources say that a woman risked being arrested if she went anywhere but an abortion clinic because other places may expose her pregnancy results and decision to state authorities.
Jasmine wasn’t sure if she wanted an abortion, though Daniel, her partner, offered to pay for one. Her heart was torn. She wanted information, including finding out if she really was pregnant—the 10 tests she’d taken the day before showed positive, but she wanted a medical professional to confirm the reality. She didn’t have much money, and she might need what little she did have for more than just visiting her family doctor—like paying rent.
Jasmine noticed the Clinic’s services were free. Added relief!
Free Services and Helpful Information
Did this place offer abortions? She clicked on the “Abortion” tab and read every sentence and each question on the page. Many of the questions listed were as if she had asked them. Reading the words, “informed decision” and “major decision” gave her pause, and her anxiety after reading the potential risks of abortion. She needed to share this with her partner.
She was surprised to discover the variety of classes offered, many more than just about parenting.
The anxiety melted as she glanced at the listings: finances, self-care, healthy relationships, and some specifically for the father of the baby. Something else to share with Daniel.
The words “free services” stuck in her mind. Even a trip to Planned Parenthood would cost money.
She was able to quickly make a confidential appointment online—another checkmark for privacy. Soon, her original question—What to do if I’m pregnant?”—would be answered.
“Our first interaction with her is often through marketing,” said the Executive Director of the Clinic, Leanne Jamieson.
Phone calls, text messages, and online chats are ways Pregnancy Clinics engage with and schedule clients. However, those potential patients need to find the resources in their area, and the predominate way is through internet searches.
“Marketing is so crucial to the pro-life movement,” Jamieson said.
A Warm Welcome at the Clinic
After initial outreaches, including scheduling an appointment, a typical client walks into a Clinic and is greeted by a smiling receptionist. She meets her client advocate, the person who gets to know all about her and her circumstances. As an on-site nurse runs the client’s pregnancy test, the advocate engages in conversation with that patient.
After sitting in an inviting, calming room, Jasmine and her client advocate talked about what brought her to the Clinic along with her pregnancy concerns. Jasmine was grateful for the woman’s attention; the client advocate seemed to truly care about HER. She shared her worries about finances and her relationship with Daniel.
“The best way to know how he feels and what he wants is to ask him, and he needs to know how you feel,” the empathetic advocate shared with Jasmine. “As far as finances, there are many resources we can help you with, including getting signed up for Medicaid and taking a class on budgeting. Depending on your housing situation, we might be able to help you find a less expensive place to live, even a maternity home that costs nothing.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened. A place with low or no rent?
Support for Each Mother
“We cannot be pro-life and not be pro-her,” Leanne Jamieson said. “She has as much value as her unborn child. We want her to know she is loved and cared for and that she has come to the right place, a safe place. Because she is feeling cared for and seen and heard, she will often share her heart with us.”
The advocate also discusses pregnancy options and faith with the client. “The whole time, we’re looking for an open door to share the gospel,” Jamieson said.
The client then learns the result of her pregnancy test from the nurse and, if positive, is typicallly offered an ultrasound. Abortion-minded women like Jasmine who visit PreBorn! Pregnancy Clinics receive an ultrasound the same day, no matter how far along they are.
“The sonogram is a gift from the Lord Jesus to see her child and to hear her child’s heartbeat,” Jamieson said. “It’s critical to her decision-making process.”
Many Clinics provide sonograms after a woman is about six weeks along. A Clinic’s medical director makes the determination of “when” an ultrasound is offered.
Additional Medical Services Offered
Clients may also receive sexually transmitted infections (STI) testing. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance, 2022, the number of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis cases in America has risen significantly during the past few years to more than 2.5 million.
Many STIs have little or no symptoms, and a woman who chooses to either carry to term or have an abortion increases the risk of major health complications if she has an untreated STI.
During time with her client advocate and nurse, a woman may express she’s experienced trauma, including physical and sexual abuse. Some even confess to being trafficked. Many of the PreBorn! Network Clinics provide in-house counseling services.
“It’s a critical need,” Jamieson said. Her Clinic provides licensed social workers and professional counselors to help clients who need and desire those services.
Ongoing Support After the Initial Visit
Help for women doesn’t stop after the initial visit. Providing additional services, including parenting classes, Medicaid and CHIP assistance, housing referrals, physician referrals, connecting with community organizations that help with rent and utility costs, and providing transportation to and from the center for in-house programs, are additional ways PreBorn! Network Clinics assist clients. Clothing items and other materials, such as diapers and toys, are available at Clinics and in communities. Oftentimes, that assistance continues two to three years after the client’s baby is born.
Many Clinics provide male-oriented classes and services, helping the father more fully understand his role, bond more deeply with his preborn child, and better his relationship with the mother.
Being the Hands and Feet of Christ
Showering women and men dealing with unplanned pregnancies with love and compassion through resources and actions allows pro-life organizations to be the hands of feet of Christ and beat back the mantra of, “They don’t really care about women.”
“Pregnancy centers must be known for excellence,” Jamieson said. “We should be setting the standards for care for women who find themselves in this situation.”
Jasmine and Daniel are just one couple out of thousands who chose life for their preborn baby because they learned what a pro-life Pregnancy Clinic truly is and does.
Their lives and the life of their baby are now forever changed because of the compassionate care they received at a PreBorn! Network Clinic.
