Dear Honorable Member of Congress:

Since 1971, Heartbeat International has been building a network of compassion, providing resources for women faced with a crisis pregnancy. Heartbeat has more than 1,000 affiliated community organizations in 48 states and 43 other countries. Our life-saving network of hope and help is provided by professional staff and more than 25,000 volunteers.

In 2008, our pregnancy centers were awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Admiral Joxel Garcia, M.D., M.B.A., bestowed the honors on Heartbeat’s affiliates and volunteers for the significant contributions they have made to their communities.

“We recognize the service of these volunteers who are lifting lives and impacting their communities and our country for good,” said Alison Young, acting director of USA Freedom Corps, an initiative to help Americans connect with volunteer opportunities at home and abroad. “As they serve women in need, they spread the very best of the compassionate volunteer spirit that keeps America strong.”

The U.S. Supreme Court said in Gonzales v. Carhart: “Whether to have an abortion requires a difficult and painful decision which some women come to regret. In a decision so fraught with emotional consequence, some doctors may prefer not to disclose precise details of the abortion procedure to be used. It is however, precisely this lack of information that is of legitimate concern to the State.”

Heartbeat and our affiliated pregnancy centers provide the information and support women need during a crisis pregnancy and even after an abortion decision.

For more information on why pregnancy centers are good for America, contact Heartbeat Vice President Joe Young or Director of Public Relations/Public Policy Virginia Cline.