My Local Pregnancy Center Was a Lifeline in My Darkest Days
I didn’t expect to be one of the million women who seek help at their local pregnancy center each year. I had a successful career in corporate finance and took a leap of faith by starting my own business and personal finance blog. When I found myself unexpectedly pregnant with twins, the comfort and stability I was so accustomed to quickly disappeared.
My partner and father of my children made it clear that he wanted me to have an abortion. When I refused, he began to relentlessly pressure me and verbally abuse me with single mother stereotypes. He said I would never succeed as a mother and that I was selfish for wanting to bring our children into the world. I really wanted to have my babies, but my current situation was overwhelming. I was afraid of what being a single mom would mean for my finances and my goals, and how I would raise my children and pursue my single mom dreams. I didn’t see a way forward. I began to believe that all of these stereotypes were true and that abortion was really my only option.
About three months pregnant, I found myself alone in my obstetrician’s office, crying and overwhelmed. The sonographer at that appointment saw my desperation and suggested I call a local pregnancy center. She told me they had diapers, wipes, formula and free counseling. This knowledge gave me hope that I was not alone and that emotional and financial support was available. I followed his advice and made an appointment at my local centre. I needed a miracle and I needed someone to tell me that I could succeed as a single mother. I received both at the pregnancy center. What struck me most during this first visit was the love, encouragement and security I felt. Very few people in my personal life, at the time, knew what I was going through, so it was important to have a place and people to cry with during one of the most difficult times of my life.
The pregnancy center helped me find the courage to pursue the pregnancy I desperately wanted, despite the pressure to make a different decision. With the support of the center, I was able to take the pressure off my partner and finally tell my family that I was pregnant and planning to raise my twins.
The center responded to my emotional needs when I was most vulnerable, but they didn’t stop there. I had immediate financial needs that needed to be met before I could bring two babies home. With every ounce of financial sense I could muster, I examined my budget, my expenses, and the anticipated costs of raising my children. There was no way the income from my small business could support my growing family.
The pregnancy center worked alongside me to meet these needs. I enrolled in the center’s parenting program, where I received free parenting classes, diapers, wipes, baby food, and baby supplies while I learned to be a new mom.
The center also connected me to their extensive network of community providers. Thanks to these referrals, I was able to take a free baby safety course and win two free car seats. These baby items relieved a huge amount of financial stress and helped me get the room I needed in my budget. During the first year after the birth of the twins, I continued to receive support from the center whenever I needed it.
The center I served is a vital part of a large network of pregnancy centers across the country. Over time, these providers have pooled their resources to meet women where they are, from pregnancy to parenthood and beyond. Last year alone, pregnancy centers provided services valued at more than $452 million in medical care, baby items and educational services for mothers and families. These centers have distributed more than $116 million in essential material goods like diapers, wipes and car seats for free.
If pregnancy centers cease to exist or are barred from fulfilling their charitable mission, who will step in to fill the void and serve women in need? Their reach into almost every community and state provides hope and a crucial lifeline.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an important case involving pregnancy centers, Premier Women’s Resource Centers, Inc. v. Platkin. Their decision will determine whether centers like the one that helped me can continue to serve women free of charge and free from government intimidation or discrimination. I hope the court sees how the government’s unnecessary attacks on pregnancy centers ultimately harm the women who depend on them for their survival.
Pregnancy centers empower women to make life-affirming decisions, not through pressure, but through compassion and practical help. Without my local pregnancy center, I don’t know where I would be today. My twins and I are living, breathing testaments to the life-saving help pregnancy centers provide.
Aisha Taylor is a mother of twins in Ohio and the author of Navigating the “Impossible”: A Survival Guide for Single Moms from Pregnancy Through the First Year of Motherhood.
