About Pregnancy Decision Line
Why did Care Net start Pregnancy Decision Line (PDL)?
Pregnancy Decision Line was launched in 2012 as a result of the experience of Melinda Delahoyde, Care Net’s then-president. Prior to 2012, Care Net was in partnership with another ministry to run a call center that referred women at risk for abortion to pregnancy centers. On a walk through the call center one day, Melinda listened to a harrowing call with a woman who needed immediate help and pregnancy decision coaching. She was crying, desperate, and potentially suicidal as a result of the news of her pregnancy. However, all the call handler was trained to do was refer her to a pregnancy center…which was not possible because the pregnancy center was closed.
Haunted by this caller’s desperation, and the knowledge that (in 2011) the average time between a woman confirming a pregnancy and having an abortion was just 9 days, Melinda cast a vision to create a unique call center that would provide real time pregnancy decision coaching for women like this caller and for women and men who may be reluctant to visit a pregnancy center. Thus, PDL was born. {Of Note: The timeline between pregnancy confirmation and abortion is much shorter today due to the abortion pill.}
Is there Research to support the PDL Model?
Yes. In an effort to better understand what services are important to women considering abortion, Care Net commissioned the Barna Group to conduct a study called “Services To Help Women Considering Abortion.” The study found that women considering abortion place the highest value on being able to talk to a trained counselor about all their pregnancy options, including abortion. Because these women are looking for immediate counseling and support, PDL provides pregnancy decision counseling before referring clients to a pregnancy center. At this critical moment in her search for help, a referral — even one to a life-affirming organization — does not meet her immediate need for answers, and could mean her next call is to an abortion provider. Care Net has found that referrals work best once the caller decides abortion is not her only option.
PDL is Needed Today more than Ever!
Recent developments have dramatically increased the need to expand PDL as quickly as possible:
- The overturning of Roe v Wade resulted in an increase in people searching online for immediate help in making a pregnancy decision, and seeking help after having taken the abortion pill.
- Increased access to the abortion pill has led to a meteoric rise in the number of chemical abortions (now 63% of all abortions). The rise of the abortion pill has significantly reduced the amount of time available for life-affirming interventions to take place, making the availability of immediate help (like PDL offers) critical.
- The federal government and many state governments have created hotlines devoted to providing referrals for “pregnancy-related healthcare services,” including abortion. Considering the strong support of many governing bodies for Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry, and the very public attacks many legislators have waged (and continue to wage) against life-affirming pregnancy centers, it is safe to assume the goal of these hotlines is nothing more than to refer for people abortion. PDL lines must be open to reach as many of these women and men as possible and provide them with compassionate care in the midst of their mental and emotional distress, before they connect with a government sponsored hotline.
