Did you also know that your center can greatly benefit from participating in Babies Go to Congress?

Here are just a few ways that your center can benefit:

1. Local and National Media Exposure

Babies Go to Congress is an excellent way for you to utilize local and national media to tout the good work that your ministry is doing in your community. We all know the constant attacks on pregnancy help centers that are being released from mainstream media, but no reporter can argue with a woman's real-life story of finding help and support at your center.

2. Media/Event Training

While participating in Babies Go to Congress you will receive training that is vital when talking to the media. Heartbeat will train you in developing talking points that will keep you on target when speaking to friendly or unfriendly media outlets. Through this training you will also be empowered to return home and have your own "Babies Go to Congress" event in your state capitol or city.

3. Donor Relations

What donor doesn't enjoy giving to a specific project? Participating in Babies Go to Congress is not free. But it does open a golden opportunity for you to engage your donors in the lead-up to a major event that will make a major impact on a national level.

4. Pictures and Videos

Your center will have access and rights to the high-quality images and videos captured at Babies Go to Congress. Many centers have found these images to be very useful for events, banquets, and donor relations pieces.

5. The March for Life

Have you ever participated in the national March for Life? If not, this is an opportunity you do not want to miss! The March for Life is the largest gathering of pro-life people in the country. It is a powerful event that will energize and inspire you and your group. You will go home wanting to share this experience with everyone you know and make plans to attend next year!

Creating an Amazon baby registry is an easy and fun way to get the items you need for your center. You can register for exactly what you need, and items can be sent directly to your center! It also allows your donors to feel even more personally connected to the moms and babies you serve as they can pick out their gifts and see what their money is going towards.

Setting up the registry is a super simple process, and we will walk you through the steps below!

1. Go to https://www.amazon.com/registries. You can go back to this link anytime to view your registry, add gifts, and make changes.

2. Click “I’m welcoming a baby” 

3. Then click “Create a Baby Registry”

4. Fill out the Baby Registry form

5. Add items! Search Amazon for any item you want and click "Add to Baby Registry"

6. Complete the Donation Drive Details form here!

Last Spring ushered in a season of fresh air, new blooms, and our favorite—a new tool to help you do what you do best! 

The Maternity Housing Coalition has built a first-of-its-kind housing locator tool that allows clients and pregnancy center advocates to search for homes according to location and intake criteria. You can even immediately send an “application” directly to a woman so she can apply to live in your home. This changes everything. 

Gone are the days of hunting for a housing referral through a Facebook group or your personal network. Along with it, are the steady phone calls each day when you repeat exactly what your intake criteria are and determine her circumstances. With the application feature in our search tool, our affiliated homes receive an email with a snapshot of the potential client's information including her name, gestation, current location, and even if she currently has a safe place to stay. When you reach out to connect with this young woman, you are already prepared with the information you need to have a successful and fruitful conversation. 

Becoming an affiliate automatically gives you access to our housing locator tool. Click here to become an affiliate today!

(Existing affiliates only)

For questions about the Search Tool, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

by Brooke Myrick BSN, RN, LAS

What a year it has already been for pregnancy help! For a work that had become familiar with years of experience for some, unfamiliarity and uncertainty have been reintroduced to us all. Since the handing down of the Dobbs decision, it seems regulations and state laws are at the forefront of many discussions. At the same time, women have access to abortion wherever they are, whenever they choose to start the abortion process. This access that we are seeing today, by crossing state lines or by simply placing an online order, has led many women to begin an abortion without having a necessary medical evaluation prior to their abortion decision. This leaves many women without the medical information that is needed to make the most informed decision. Given these day-to-day circumstances, how do nurses in pregnancy help organizations continue to best serve the women and families in our communities?

We will continue to serve as nurses in our communities with endurance, character, and hope. We continue to strive towards reaching and rescuing as many lives as possible and renewing our communities for life. We will keep serving and praying.

Through Him, we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.  Romans 5: 2-3

As nurses, we will continue to meet her where she is by adjusting our hours to offer appointments later in the week and later in the afternoon and evenings to be available when she is most likely to make an abortion decision. We will welcome her through confidential communication platforms and in-person visits to listen and learn from her. We will offer her open options. We will instill in her a vision for her life and proclaim her value and worth. We will extend love, care, and support to her while empowering her. She will know that she is seen, loved, and cared for.

In John 13:35 we read, by this all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

This Nurses Week, with an abundance of gratitude, we thank you for what you do as nurses in your pregnancy help organization every single day. We recognize the sacrifices you make and the hours you give. You have faith, endurance, and work hard. Your work is making a difference each and every day, one life at a time. By your love, women and families in your communities are empowered to make a life decision today and for their eternity. 

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ….  1 Thessalonians 1: 2-3

Since the overturning of Roe, many states, cities, and local elected officials have turned their eyes toward pregnancy help organizations -- some seek to investigate and restrict the work of pregnancy help, while others look for ways to support and fund the movement. We are seeing attacks coming in many forms from New York passing legislation to “conduct a study” on centers, to Minnesota’s AG issuing a consumer alert, to the city of Columbus funding a pro-abortion activist group to do an investigation of centers. At the same time, 12 states passed legislation funding pregnancy centers in 2023, and Mississippi expanded its state tax credit for pregnancy help centers from $3.5 million to $10 million. As the fight for life shifts from the national level with the U.S. Supreme Court back to the local level with state legislatures and city councils, these battles will likely continue. 

In light of this, we must continue to be diligent in our service to women in our communities providing them with the compassionate care that they deserve. We must also work to build relationships with our local, state, and federal legislators to ensure that they understand the work that we do every day.

Here are some key resources for you as you work in your state to advance the work of pregnancy help:

Legislators

As always, stay alert to what your local officials are working on. Building relationships with them will allow you to speak up for pregnancy help when it is under attack and open the eyes of the legislators to the life-changing impact that you have in their community.

• Turning Legislators into Allies - Webinar
• Find Your State and Federal Legislators

Legislation

• AUL State Legislation Tracker - You can find Pregnancy Help-related legislation under the "Pregnancy Resource Centers" category.
• Plural Policy Legislation Tracker - Search and track any legislation both state and federal.

Status of Current Abortion Laws

• Guttmacher Institute's Overview of Abortion Laws - Guttmacher is a pro-abortion research organization, however, their information on the status of all current abortion-related laws is the most detailed available at this time. This will allow you to stay up to date on the laws in your state and where they stand in the courts.
• FRC's Pro-Life Laws in the States - View your state's current abortion limits and other abortion laws on FRC's interactive maps!

Additional Resources:

• Pregnancy Help in Your State - Talking Points and state by state numbers
• Pregnancy Center Myths Debunked - Podcast
• Abortion Myths Debunked - Podcast
• Pregnancy Center Truth - Website
• Pregnancy Help News - News Site

Get the latest news updates from Heartbeat International. Stay up-to-date on what Heartbeat International is doing around the world and in your backyard to advance the pregnancy help movement. Receive the latest pro-life news and read Heartbeat's perspective as well as what you can do to make an impact on your community and save lives!

Lawmakers need to hear from you!

You have an incredible opportunity to join us for Babies Go to Congress and visit your Representatives with a message of hope! You will be equipped and empowered to share the good news of how your organization is reaching and rescuing lives in need in your area. Not only that, you will have the chance to bring a client and her baby along to share their story firsthand. Do not miss this opportunity at this important moment in our nation's history!

If you are interested in participating in Babies Go to Congress, please fill out the form below.

We will contact you very soon!

Every woman deserves love and support during an unexpected pregnancy. That's why there are pregnancy help centers around the world dedicated to providing material assistance, moral support, and medical services to meet their needs.

Pregnancy Help Centers (PHCs) are life-affirming non-profit service providers that provide women who have an unexpected pregnancy with alternatives to abortion. Their services often include free pregnancy tests, consultation, ultrasounds, material support; education and information on adoption and abortion; and services and referrals for ongoing pregnancy and parenting needs. There are approximately 2,750 PHCs in the U.S. serving women and their families every day with a 99% satisfactory rating from clients¹.

Centers that additionally provide limited medical care under the supervision of a licensed Medical Director are called Pregnancy Medical Centers (PMCs). Their services include pregnancy tests and ultrasound, to prenatal care and STI/STD testing.

Pregnancy Help Centers are also called:

• PRC – Pregnancy Resource Center
• PCC – Pregnancy Care Center or Pregnancy Counseling Center
• PC – Pregnancy Center or Pregnancy Clinic
• CPC – Crisis Pregnancy Center
• PSC – Pregnancy Support Center
• PSS – Pregnancy Support Services
• PMC – Pregnancy Medical Center

What services are generally provided by PHCs?

• Free pregnancy tests
• Pregnancy consultation (information about pregnancy options)
• Material resources (including diapers and formula)
• Post-decision support (including parenting education and abortion recovery groups)
• Consultation with a licensed medical professional
• Limited ultrasound for pregnancy confirmation
• Testing for sexually transmitted infections and diseases
• Abortion Pill Reversal

Want to know more about Pregnancy Help Centers?

Equip yourself with the truth about pregnancy centers at PregnancyCenterTruth.com, where you will find helpful stats and evidence-based answers!

If you would like to support the vital work of Pregnancy Help Centers, you can give here!

¹https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2021/december/pregnancy-centers-higher-customer-satisfaction-than-chick-fil-a

While attacks on pregnancy help organizations have slowed significantly since the Dobbs decision, anniversaries (like June 24 for the Dobbs decision), holidays (particularly long weekends), and various news events can easily reignite ire from abortion advocates. 

According to a 2022 survey, 1 in 6 PHOs experienced targeted harassment ranging from fake online reviews to vandalism, including destruction of property in May or June of 2022.

Heartbeat has created a growing resource that goes over many practical steps that you can take to protect your center, its personnel, and its clients, which you can find here. But what if you arrive at your center to find it vandalized?

1. Ensure your immediate safety. If there appears to be any suspicious or dangerous activity presently occurring, alert those who are expected to arrive at your center in the coming hours and encourage them to await further instruction. We would not recommend that you attempt to engage with vandals or arsonists (or worse). Instead, call 911.
2. For non-emergent scenarios contact your local police through its non-emergency number. Explain what you see, and request that an officer come out to make a police report. This is very important for recovering funds from insurance, encouraging the police to increase its presence near your center, and, potentially in a case against the perpetrators. Threats of violence or vandalism of a PHO can be submitted through the FBI Tip Line at FBI.gov. Sometimes, this prompts a faster response than a local Police Department can or would provide. The FBI is taking this very seriously and has an open investigation on Jane's Revenge.
3. Alert your Board. Your board is part of your team, so be certain that they are in the know and a part of your plan.
4. Preserve the Evidence. As far as possible, do not touch or move anything at the scene. Preserve the evidence exactly as you found it.
5. Document the Damage. Take pictures of the damage. If there are any written messages in the vandalism, be sure to take pictures that ensure that the messages can be read clearly. Write down as many details as you know or can remember about the potential timing of the attack, when you arrived at the center, what you saw, who you called, what you told them. If you have security cameras (you should!), obtain whatever footage you can obtain. The police may take your pictures, notes, and security footage, but be sure to keep a copy of everything. Document the name and badge number of the officer(s) you work with (if it is not on the police report).
6. Contact Heartbeat. There may be certain legal remedies available to a center that is persecuted by these activities. If a connection can be drawn between the vandalism or arson of a number of different centers, that may open up even more legal options. We are better together – even in Court! You can contact us by emailing Beth Diemert, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and please CC This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

These are troubling times, and it is natural to feel intimidated or nervous. “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Thessalonians 3:3. As you walk compassionately with women, offering them help and hope, “be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6.

Heartbeat is here for you. We are inspired by you. We are fighting alongside you. And we are praying for you.

In 2013, Ruth was referred for an abortion by one of her specialty doctors. As he talked with her, he assured Ruth it was the best option. Ruth visited “yet one more specialist” who referred her to the Pregnancy Care Center (PCC) of Wooster, Ohio.

When Ruth arrived at the pregnancy center she was scared, unsure of what would take place during an abortion and very confused.

Her main question was, “why would my doctor tell me to have an abortion if it isn’t the best thing to do?”

The pregnancy center staff and client advocates worked together to supply Ruth with the information she needed to make an informed decision. She chose life for her baby boy and named him “Victor.”

Victor was also the first baby PCC viewed through its ultrasound services in January 2014!

Ruth has been a strong advocate for the Center in the last eight years since Victor was born. Through banquet testimonies, newsletter articles and sharing her testimony with other women, Ruth has saved and changed lives for eternity.

Even as she was pregnant with Victor, Ruth brought in a friend who was also planning to have an abortion. Ruth’s friend left her appointment and the pregnancy center with a changed decision to also carry her baby!

Today Victor is 8 years old.

It is not uncommon for him and his mom to visit the Center, always ready to hug everyone and tell us he loves us.

At our 2020 annual banquet, Victor through a personal appearance, shared that his mom had a scary time when he was in her tummy, but she came to the pregnancy center and the people there helped her.

During PCC's 2021 banquet, Victor served as a greeter and talked with people as they arrived. He is one special guy! We, at the PCC, are excited to see what the Lord has in store for him!

Victor spoke at our 2020 Friends for Life Banquet by welcoming guests and keynote speaker, Jor-El Godsey of Heartbeat International.

Meet the other moms joining us at Babies Go to Congress.