Group works to promote ‘pro-life safety net’ to care for abortion-vulnerable moms

By Tate Rosentreter
The Center Square

A pro-life organization is working to provide a “pro-life safety net” to care for mothers and children in post-Dobbs America amid the news that an estimated 660,000 babies a year could be allowed to live if expectant mothers in crisis were provided more support.

Executive director of pro-life organization Her PLAN Autumn Christensen told The Center Square that “the pro-life safety net is Her PLAN’s founding framework based on the belief that every woman facing an unexpected pregnancy deserves a community of support to meet her specific needs.”

“Unlike the ‘social safety net,’ the pro-life safety net prioritizes care that supports her decision for life,” Christensen said. “It emphasizes the critical time from conception to age two and consists primarily of charities, ministries and businesses – not just government programs.”

“Her PLAN originated the pro-life safety net concept in 2020 based on research into the reasons women seek abortion,” Christensen said.

“A mother in crisis needs a plan that works,” Christensen said. “She needs a reliable support system within her own community that will uphold her dignity, meet her specific needs, and do life with her.”

Wednesday is the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and sent the regulation of abortion back to the states.

Christensen went into further detail of the operations of Her PLAN’s system, explaining: “Made up of life affirming organizations and a robust network of charities that address the needs that drive women to consider abortion, the pro-life safety net spans seven categories of care and includes traditional pregnancy support organizations like pregnancy centers and broader resources like homeless shelters, job training programs, counseling, food pantries, medical clinics, and more.”

Christensen explained that “of the over 1.1 million women who have had abortions each year, a staggering 60% said they would have had their baby if they’d had more emotional or material support,” Christensen said.

“If 1.1 million women resort to abortion every year, and 60% do so because of emotional or material needs, we can save an estimated 660,000 babies – and spare their mothers the heartbreak of abortion – just by meeting those needs,” Christensen said.

When asked how the pro-life movement’s treatment of mothers differs from the pro-choice movement’s treatment, Christensen said that “the abortion industry profits from her isolation, but the pro-life movement steps up to meet her real needs and remove the barriers that are standing in the way of her choosing life.”

Christensen said that “the abortion industry claims to offer her ‘choice’ but actually sells abortion as the only choice, no matter what challenges she is facing.”

“Post-Dobbs they have adopted an unsafe strategy of selling abortion drugs to anyone, anywhere,” Christensen said. “They have no regard for the legality or safety of the drugs.”

“As a result, her boyfriend, her neighbor or her parents might hand the drugs to her urging her to take them,” Christensen said. “This puts her health at risk and emboldens traffickers and abusive partners.”

“The pro-life movement empowers her to thrive and be the mom she wants to be for her children,” Christensen said.

Christensen noted to The Center Square that supporting mothers in need “is the greatest opportunity we have to save lives and serve moms on a massive scale post-Dobbs.”

“By addressing the problem of resources, we can create the pro-life safety net she needs,” Christensen said.

Christensen said that from medical professional to lawyer, “everyone has a place in this pro-life safety net,” with something as simple as car maintenance making a difference in a mother’s life.

Her PLAN recently launched its Pathways initiative to connect “pro-life Americans with concrete ways to serve women and babies in their community” and equip them “with step-by-step models to meet real needs of local women.”

For instance, using Pathways, churches can host a car maintenance day for “abortion-vulnerable” moms, individuals can volunteer at a local pregnancy center, and more.