(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party, or candidate, on the part of Newsmax.)
OPINION
"The only help people will give me is an abortion."
This is a quote from a young woman who discovered she was pregnant and needed someone to talk to.
While her boyfriend, family, and friends eagerly offered to help her secure an abortion — covering costs, arranging appointments, and providing transportation — her desire to keep the baby shifted the tone from compassionate to judgmental.
This scenario is far from isolated. Calls to Option Line — a 24/7 pregnancy helpline which answers more than 1,100 calls every day — reveal a troubling trend: women facing unexpected pregnancies are often pressured towards abortion rather than being offered genuine support for parenting.
The conversation around abortion has shifted from the principle of being "safe, legal, and rare" to a focal point of so-called "reproductive freedom" and advocacy.
In this debate, the women who wish to parent and who are abandoned by the system and frequently overlooked. Instead of receiving compassionate care, they are often met with pressure to terminate their pregnancies.
Sixty-four percent of women who seek abortions cite feeling coerced by partners, family members, or financial constraints.
Clearly there is a dire need for supportive options beyond abortion.
No woman should ever feel so alone or pressured into feeling abortion is her only option.
Abortion is at the forefront this election season, so it is important that we not forget these women. Every woman deserves compassionate care and loving support when facing an unplanned pregnancy.
Yet, many assume abortion is the only option.
And worse, it's the option most championed.
So, where is a woman to go if she is unexpectedly pregnant and doesn’t want an abortion.
She needs a supportive place to talk through her options, envision her future, and create a pathway to achieve her dreams and be a mother.
Pregnancy help organizations are that place.
Pregnancy centers and maternity homes play a crucial role in filling this gap.
They offer confidential consultations, parenting classes, limited ultrasounds, housing, and various forms of support — all at no cost.\
These centers provide a safe, non-judgmental space for women to explore their options and envision a future with their child.
And yet, life-affirming pregnancy help is demonized by pro-abortion rights politicians, many of which receive campaign financing from Big Abortion organizations like Planned Parenthood, Emily’s List, and Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America).
State attorneys general slap "consumer alerts" on pregnancy centers.
Governors use taxpayer funds to build websites warning women about pregnancy centers and then guiding them to abortion clinics.
The Harris-Walz campaign is currently engaged in a national "Fighting for Reproductive Freedom" bus tour.
All of these efforts are being done to promote abortion and undermine any alternative.
One would think "reproductive freedom" would include parenting as a valid option and therefore welcome the women who make this choice.
Sadly, the current campaign rhetoric champions abortion as the only viable option and dismisses as irrelevant the nearly 3,000 life-affirming pregnancy centers and maternity homes that support the women who, in their "reproductive freedom" have chosen life.
Politicians like Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., who advocate for "reproductive freedom," paradoxically work to undermine the choice to parent by defunding or slandering these centers and even attempting to force them to promote abortion to clients. (Thankfully, that last one was found by the U.S. Supreme Court of the to be unconstitutional in 2018, in NIFLA v Becerra, but it does not negate the fact that it occurred.)
For politicians who care so much about personal choice, it is interesting that they would work so hard to take the parenting choice off the table.
Pregnancy help organizations take little to no taxpayer money, offer their services at no cost to clients, and have achieved 97% satisfaction ratings from the mothers and fathers they serve.
These organizations stand as a testament to the possibility of a supportive, non-political approach to unplanned pregnancies.
Why do abortion activists seem to disregard these women’s needs and undermine the support systems available to them?
Where are the women who want to parent to turn if not for these centers?
The answer is clear, the many pregnancy help organizations across the nation.
Women deserve better than abortion.
They deserve the right to a full range of supportive options, including the chance to parent and build a future with their child. It’s important we recognize and support their choices. That is the truly "pro-choice"/anti-abortion option.
Pregnancy centers are not political, but they certainly are being politicized.
And women in need are paying a very high price.
Andrea Trudden is vice president of communications at Heartbeat International.