As we observe Respect Life Month, it is a reminder that we are each called to cherish, defend and protect life.
For more than 42 years, the ministry of Pregnancy Decision Health Centers (PDHC) has been a beautiful reflection of this through staff and volunteers working on the 24/7 crisis hotline, in our pregnancy resource centers, in schools and through abortion recovery programs and services.
At PDHC, a safe and compassionate haven is provided for a new mom who needs help facing challenging pregnancy decisions. She is given the opportunity to reflect on her situation from a perspective of love, strength and empowerment, rather than feeling alone and powerless. Every woman deserves support during an unexpected pregnancy, and she should never feel alone, coerced or so hopeless that she thinks abortion is her only option.
The hotline is most commonly the first point of contact for a woman seeking help. Those answering the phone provide a listening ear and connect her with one of our pregnancy resource centers. This year, the team has responded to nearly 50,000 calls, texts and chats.
In our pregnancy resource centers, new moms receive personalized consultations, pregnancy tests, ultrasounds by highly trained and skilled nurses and links to a community of resources to help them in their pregnancy journey.
Our state-of-the-art 3D and 4D ultrasound technology allows us to share the profound moment when the bond between parents and their unborn child is often first felt through the image of a beating heart or a little baby on the screen.
This year, PDHC has served more than 1,400 individuals through nearly 2,500 visits to our four pregnancy resource centers. We have provided more than 1,100 pregnancy tests and more than 800 ultrasound scans. We praise God for 618 life decisions this year.
“This was such a comforting and welcoming experience!” one mother said. “I had so much anxiety about being a first-time mom with a limited support system, but after leaving my first appointment I felt more sure than ever that I was making the right decision of keeping my baby.
“You can feel the love as soon as you walk in, and everyone was judgment-free, so I really felt I could open up and be honest about my thoughts and feelings.”
The individuals whom we serve continue to share their positive experiences at PDHC. Of the more than 1,300 individuals who responded to our surveys after their visits, 96% gave us the highest “5 out of 5” ratings. The majority of women come to PDHC through referrals from a friend or relative, or as a returning client.
We believe no woman should feel forced to finish a chemical abortion she regrets. Chemical abortions via the abortion pill represent more than 80% of the abortions in Franklin County. Women often take the abortion pill out of duress, when they feel they have no other options, and after doing so, they immediately regret their decision and instantly begin searching online for help.
If a new mom takes the first abortion pill and changes her mind, she has about 72 hours to reverse her abortion decision, and PDHC stands ready to help during this critical time with Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) services to give her a second chance to save her baby.
Chemical abortion is a two-drug regimen. The first drug blocks the naturally occurring hormone progesterone from reaching the baby. This hormone is necessary to nurture and sustain a pregnancy. The second drug is taken 24 to 72 hours later to induce labor and expel the deceased baby.
APR is a well-established, evidence-based, natural hormonal therapy that can reverse the artificial chemical abortion process and has been proven effective 64% to 68% of the time, with no harmful health effects to the mother or her baby.
It has been used for decades to help women at risk of premature birth and recurring miscarriage. PDHC has helped 35 women with this service, and more lives were saved.
One individual who was helped through this service said, “They gave me so much hope and encouragement. They prayed for me and my pregnancy and let me know they would be with me every step of the way.
“Nine months later, I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby girl. None of this could have been possible without PDHC. I am forever grateful for this team.”
At PDHC, we not only walk alongside women throughout their pregnancy but beyond, through the first year of their baby’s life with extension services. Through the Family Empowerment Center, we provide a beacon of support for parents, dedicated to empowering them with essential skills through parenting classes and the development of a supportive community with other parents, staff and volunteers. We offer extensive parenting courses for both mothers and fathers.
Parents receive diapers, clothing and essential baby gear such as car seats, pack-n-plays and more to ensure they have the resources they need to provide a loving and nurturing environment for their children.
Already this year, at least 455 new moms and dads have participated in nearly 9,000 online classes and more than 440 in-person classes.
PDHC’s prevention program, Common Sense Culture, provides healthy relationship education and teen dating violence education to middle and high school students. The program is evidenced-based, medically accurate, age-appropriate and approved by the Ohio Department of Health. This past school year, the team reached 37 schools and more than 5,000 students.
“This week was a really helpful week,” a participating student said. “I’m going to use what I learned here right when I walk out the door. This information is really going to be useful in my relationships from now on. It will help me be a better person in my life.”
PDHC’s Abortion Recovery programs and services have been offering hope and healing for those who have experienced the grief and trauma from an abortion experience. Abortion is a deeply personal and often complex experience, one that can leave individuals and families with a sense of loss, grief and guilt. Abortion Recovery (aR) provides drop-in connection meetings, six- and eight-week healing support groups and weekend healing retreats.
With the increase in self-managed chemical abortions, we are finding that women are immediately traumatized because of what they see and experience. They come to realize they are their own abortion provider, and they revisit the scene every day because it occurred in their own home, and they are reaching out for help much sooner.
“I found aR support 100% helpful,” a participant said. “I was in a dark place and headed back down a dark road. I have been lifted out of a pit that could have ruined me. I cannot express how grateful I am. I said in a place of loneliness for years feeling unwanted, loveless and broken, but aR at PDHC has opened up a door that I am walking through with confidence.”
PDHC is one of many pregnancy resource centers in the state and is part of the Ohio Coalition of Pregnancy Centers. In 2022, Ohio’s pregnancy resource centers continued to save and change lives, rendering essential ministry services to women and families, including 23,329 pregnancy tests, 21,011 ultrasounds, material aid assistance to 28,214 clients, after-abortion support to 1,137 individuals and prevention education on abstinence and sexual risk avoidance to 35,811 students.
As a collective alliance of pro-life organizations, we ask you to stand up for life and oppose Issue 1, a proposed state constitutional amendment on abortion on the November ballot. Should this proposed amendment pass, it would grant approval to extreme abortion practices, including those performed until the very moment of birth and without the necessity of parental consent for minors.
This initiative poses a direct and imminent threat to the very core of pregnancy centers’ missions, which have consistently served as a beacon of hope for countless women throughout the years. The proposed abortion amendment has the potential to erode the essential services we provide and jeopardize the lives we are dedicated to preserving.
It is important to vote “no” in November on Issue 1.
For information regarding the proposed abortion amendment, visit ohiocathconf.org.
