“Pregnancy resource centers” are virtually always pro-life organizations whose goal is to
persuade teenagers and women with unplanned pregnancies to choose motherhood or
adoption. They do not offer abortions or referrals to abortion providers. In addition to
initial counseling for pregnant teens and women, some centers may provide support
services or referrals to prenatal care.
Many pregnancy resource centers, including all the centers contacted in this
investigation, are affiliated with one or more national umbrella organizations. Two such
networks are Heartbeat International and Care Net.1 Heartbeat International describes
itself as the “first pro-life network of pregnancy resource centers in the U.S. and the
largest in the world, supporting, strengthening and starting nearly 1,000 pregnancy
centers to provide alternatives to abortion.”2 Care Net describes itself as “a Christian
ministry assisting and promoting the evangelistic, pro-life work of pregnancy centers in
North America.”3
Further reading of this report is located here.