By now you have heard that the Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade. I wanted to share with you what that means and how it effects LifeTalk.
With the fall of Roe v. Wade, this means that each state reclaims the right to determine if abortion is legal in their state. In Texas, our “trigger” laws, laws that bans abortion if Roe falls, go into effect in 30 days and abortion will be no longer a choice here. While this is great news and we are praising God, the battle to make abortion unthinkable is far from over.
States like Colorado and New Mexico still provide abortions and prochoice Texas women are traveling there. New York is creating funds to help pay for women to go to New York to have an abortion. Many companies including Starbucks, Microsoft, Amazon and Mastercard have announced plans to pay for abortion travel across state lines, for their employees.
As a pregnancy care center, we are prepared for an increase of pro-choice activity in our cities and in our state government, including the possibilities of violence against pregnancy centers. At LifeTalk, we have taken steps to address these possibilities.
We have a plan.
· We have stepped up security to keep our patients, staff, and volunteers safe.
· We are increasing our marketing and advertising budget to reach more young girls with information about our services. When the Texas Heartbeat Bill was enacted, confusion reigned as abortion-minded women here began to search online for information about abortion and heartbeat activity. We choose to be ready and be where she’s looking to get answers, now. People today are far more in touch by cell, and we are planning ways to reach them with marketing to their phones.
· We are adding hours, volunteers, and staff to help with the influx of patients that come in to LifeTalk.
· We are investing in a broad array of parenting education programs and increasing material assistance and resource assistance services to correspond with the increase in patients.
· We are strengthening our continuing services for our patients. Services like mentoring classes, pregnancy classes, parenting, and abortion recovery programs, are being offered.
· And…We are researching ways to reach women before they order the abortion pill, which is easily attainable and responsible for more than half of all abortions in the US.
I want you to know, here at LifeTalk we are fighting for life as never before, as young women in crisis are seeking quick solutions to their unplanned pregnancies. We know that young girls, women, and their families’ needs will grow. Unplanned pregnancies will continue, and our patients will increase greatly in the days ahead. Pregnancy Centers will continue to be essential, and LifeTalk will continue the work to which God has called us.
Thank you for standing with LifeTalk as we move into the future without Roe v. Wade. We are so grateful for your partnership and trust!