Joylene* hadn’t taken a pregnancy test, but after missing her period, she discussed options with her long-time boyfriend who told her he “would be supportive of any decision she made.”
She then called our Pregnancy Decision Line (PDL) for information about abortion, wanting to make an informed decision.
As the PDL coach and Joylene talked, the PDL coach encouraged Joylene to consider the support she had around her. The expectant mother explained that she and her boyfriend planned to get married.
Joylene’s situation highlights two truths: fathers matter and marriage matters. Unfortunately, Joylene’s boyfriend’s response reflects a culture that demands fathers remain silent. But his quiet support and desire to marry her gave Joylene gave strength to explore all of her options.
A recent study by Lifeway Research found that 4 in 10 women who have had an abortion say the father of the baby was most influential factor in their decision.
This means fathers are the primary influencer in 400,000 of the 1 million abortions that occur each year!
That is why, through PDL and our network of over 1,100 affiliated pregnancy centers, Care Net is working to engage fathers and celebrate and encourage marriage whenever possible.
Now for the great news! Joylene agreed to allow the PDL coach to send her Care Net’s Before You Decide (BYD) magazine and to receive a follow-up call. When they connected again, Joylene expressed how grateful she was for the coach’s support and, as a result of reading through BYD Magazine, she declared that abortion would never be an option for them.
Your support makes stories like Joylene’s possible! But we need to raise $402,000 in the next 30 days in order to keep answering the phones at PDL, offering pregnancy centers the resources and training they need to be effective, and equipping churches to engage in pro-life ministry.
Please give generously today.
* Names are changed to protect the privacy of individuals.