You don’t need to be a rocket scientist or a prophet to know that, in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, it’s going to get very ugly on the streets of America. Attacks on churches and pro-life clinics are already getting out of hand. As of June 15, as many as 59 cases of ‘pro-abortion violence and intimidation’ have been reported since the leak of the Supreme Court draft decision that aims to overturn Roe v. Wade. One of the most active activists groups leading this hateful movement is called Jane’s Revenge.
Even the left-leaning Wikipedia describes Jane’s Revenge as “an American far-left terrorist group, which has perpetrated and threatened domestic terror attacks in the name of defending abortion rights. The group has committed acts of firebombing, vandalism, and arson.”
They recently issued this chilling threat against pregnancy centers, “From here forward, any anti-choice group who closes their doors, and stops operating will no longer be a target. But until you do, it’s open season, and we know where your operations are.”
Vandal spray painted on a pro-life center in Wisconsin, “If abortion is not safe, you are not safe either.”
But if you think that pregnancy centers are allowing threats like these to keep them from (literally) doing the Lord’s work, you’ll be surprised at their courage. I spoke with the director of a pregnancy center in Georgia and received some quotes from the chaplain at a center in Ohio. I think you’ll be encouraged by what they have to say. Note: In both cases, I’ve chosen to keep the names of individuals and centers anonymous for the sake of protection.
The pregnancy center in Ohio issued a statement that it won’t change its mission in the event that the Court overturns Roe. The statement reads in part:
In the wake of the Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Supreme Court decision, the mission of the Pregnancy Center remains the same. We acknowledge that women and men in our community will still be in crisis. We want to engage, equip, and empower women to make healthy pregnancy decisions that are alternatives to abortion.
We are committed to providing excellent care to all of our clients. Our medical clinic provides lab-quality pregnancy tests, Ultrasounds, and STD testing and treatment. We also provide parenting classes, material assistance, fatherhood programs, school abstinence programs, referrals, and reproductive loss and after-abortion bereavement classes. All of our services are free and confidential.
Our team promises to be trustworthy, genuine, and compassionate in all circumstances. To those women and families who feel overwhelmed, confused, or afraid we are here for you.
When I asked how the Georgia pregnancy center is preparing for a post-Roe society, the director said that she and her team will keep doing what they’ve been doing. Pregnant women will still need help, as the COVID-19 pandemic (during which the center remained open) and the current baby formula shortage have proven.
“Seventy-five percent of our clients need help with food, formula, diapers, and education resources rather than abortion,” she told me. “There’s no shame in that; half the women who work here have been in that situation.”
I asked her how her center is treating the threat from Jane’s Revenge, and she replied, “Very seriously. Their threat is not based on reason, they don’t want discussion, and they don’t believe in other views — it’s theirs or nothing.”
The Georgia pregnancy center director told me that her center is working with local police for protection and is working on fortifying the facility. They’re also searching for volunteers to help with security. “But most importantly we update our prayer warriors and supporters to put a hedge of protection around us all.”
She believes that the threats won’t intimidate the pro-life movement but will instead serve to steel the resolve of its fighters.
“Every pro-life agency has been sounding the alarm,” she told me. “We’ve had threats before, but It’s never been like this, with an administration egging it on and giving credence to these people.”
“I don’t know anyone in the pro-life movement who walks in fear,” she added. “These pro-abortion people don’t know pro-life people well. If the objective is to shut us down, it didn’t work. They’ve only strengthened us.”
Even if something happens to the center, she says that it won’t matter because “I don’t need a building to spread the gospel. This won’t dampen my desire to serve the Lord; all it does is make me want to serve Him even more.”
Public relations and prayer can work hand in hand to keep the community aware, and that’s what the Ohio pregnancy center is doing.
“We’re trying to set up a walk-through for local media to better know who we truly are rather than what some folks are trying to make us out to be,” she said. “We as a staff are choosing to pray for those folks in what we refer to as Jane’s redemption.”
I asked the Georgia pregnancy center director what ordinary people can do to support pregnancy centers like hers. She said that centers all over the country need volunteers, prayer, and financial security.
“The main thing is monthly donations because these allow centers to set their budget,” she told me. “$10 a month may not be much to one person, but it helps centers with stability.”
“But God has never failed to supply our needs,” she added. “I think of us as being like the well where Jesus met the woman [in John 4], and I often say that we’re the church during the week.”
Find your local pregnancy center. Pray for it, support it with donations, and volunteer if you can. The staff and volunteers at places like these need to know that they’re not alone in this fight.