Chris Bell - Wall Street Journal op ed - Crisis Pregnancy Centers

This will be the first of several responses to the reversal of Roe which we will be posting. From the WSJ yesterday (July 6, 2022) so is very timely.

The link is here and may not be accessible without a Journal subscription Elizabeth Warren Smears Pro-Life Charities. We tell women the truth: Abortion isn’t their only option.

But Chris won't mind if we print the text! Please spread widely.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren last week called for the federal government to “crack down” on crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes such as Good Counsel, the one I founded in New Jersey in 1985. In the 37 years I’ve been working with homeless women, pregnant mothers and babies, I’ve seen how the media smears the pro-life movement. They say we don’t care about women. They say we love children only before they’re born and, in Ms. Warren’s words, that we “mislead and deceive” women into having babies they don’t want. She may believe that, but it isn’t true.

At Good Counsel, like many similar organizations throughout the country, we take in any pregnant woman in need. Most come from broken or dysfunctional homes and have nowhere else to go. They are welcome to stay with us for a year or longer. During that time, we help them develop child-rearing skills. We also provide budgeting and vocational assistance, nutritional advice and tips for a healthy lifestyle. Many women choose to work or go back to school. Our staff babysits—free of charge—while new moms begin to build a résumé. We do everything we can to help connect women to resources and support.

It isn’t easy. We have a curfew and a policy against alcohol and drug use. But every line is drawn with compassion and mercy.

Want to talk about deception? Many of the women who come to us have been told—by doctors, high-school counselors and social-service organizations—that abortion is their only option. They are told that having a baby means they’ll never finish school and won’t have a career. None of this is true, but I hear it every day.

The hidden reality is that no woman in the U.S. today has to raise a child she conceives. There are safe-haven laws in every state and territory allowing a woman to offer a child anonymously for adoption.

At Good Counsel, we also help women living with the pain of abortion. I know of no one in the pro-life movement who would condemn a woman for having an abortion. Half the women coming to our facility for help have already had at least one abortion. We don’t throw stones. Many of our volunteers and counselors know the pain of abortion firsthand.

Want to talk about misleading? Nothing is more misleading than the claim that abortion is simply healthcare, that terminating a pregnancy is the key to a happy life free from unwanted burdens. My experience of talking with and helping more than 4,000 women at Good Counsel over almost four decades tells me that the pain of abortion can be devastating. Nobody should have to face it alone.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson has brought renewed attention to the work done by maternity homes and crisis pregnancy centers. “Love them both” is not just a sign we carry at the March for Life every year. It’s the key to ensuring that frightened and abandoned pregnant women understand that they have options other than abortion.

Ms. Warren is welcome to visit Good Counsel anytime she wants. I think she will see that we don’t mislead or deceive anyone. We stick to the truth, delivered with compassion and mercy.

Mr. Bell is co-founder and president of Good Counsel Homes.

Comments

[Joy Dechiario]

God bless you for saying the truth! You speak for all who value Life, the Life of the mother and of the child!! Our young People have been fed lies. We cannot give up on them. Also young men must realize their responsibility in this tragedy.
Thank you!

[Peter Paul Lepre]

Women & girls have been and are still being told a pack of lies... Thank God Chris and so many Pregnancy Care Centers and Homes across the country have battled and are battling back against the lie, abortion is not health care... That Good Counsel Homes and Pregnancy Care Centers like Expectant Mother Care Frontline Pregnancy Care Centers are truly on the Front lines and helping save babies, Mothers and families everyday... So as Chris Bell is saying Senator Warren come to my Homes: and I'll add go to a Pregnancy Center and witness God's Love and Mercy in action... Thank you Peter Lepre

[Dr. Elizabeth Rex]

Chris Bell's Good Counsel Maternity Homes are a shining light of hope for pregnant women who have no where to go when they have been rejected by their families and friends because they refuse to abort their unborn child. Crisis Pregnancy Centers and Maternity Homes provide much needed counseling and assistance and these heroes need our prayers and financial support! Contact your local CPC and ask how you can help. Choose Life License Plates in 30+ states have raised over $28 million dollars to help support their life-saving efforts. Go to www.choose-life.org and get a Choose Life License Plate for all your cars. It's something everyone can do to help women "choose life" and consider all of their "pro-life choices" including adoption and the anonymous safe haven option.

[tom faranda]

Wonderful op ed Chris. All so true.