Reachout Women’s Center in a Post-Roe World

Reachout Women's Center is a crisis pregnancy center and medical facility. They provide services based on the belief that individuals have the right to be fully educated on their options for their unplanned pregnancy before making a final decision. They offer free pregnancy testing, limited obstetrical ultrasounds, and peer counseling. They do not provide extended OB/GYN or pre-natal care, birth control, abortions, or abortion referrals.  

Reachout’s primary goal is to serve and care for mothers – their whole well-being, including their physical, financial, social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual state. Reachout Women’s Center is located at 2648 N. Campbell Avenue and has been serving the women and children of Tucson for almost fifty years, having opened its doors in 1973, the same year that Roe v. Wade was decided in Supreme Court.  

Reachout’s Executive Director, RJ Saavedra, explains that while the Center’s mission is widely known for saving babies from possible abortions, it is primarily women that they serve and care for. It has always been the women that the services are geared towards, and more than anything, Reachout wants women to be “empowered to make the best decision they can make based on the facts and not fear. [They] are here to walk with women through the initial steps of their pregnancy, and through the first 36 months of their child’s life. All services are free and confidential.”

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, Reachout Women’s Center knows that the fear surrounding an unplanned pregnancy will only increase. 

“Women facing unexpected pregnancies will need answers, compassion, and life-saving help LIKE NEVER BEFORE,” says Saavedra. “The heartbreaking reality is most young women who have an abortion don't do so from a place of empowerment. Rather, 75 percent of moms seeking abortion say they would prefer to parent if their circumstances were different. Our agency offers moms true empowerment, as we give them the help and hope that enables them to stand on their own two feet and care for their child and family.We at Reachout will be expanding our services to include the following, for which we currently have no budget, yet recognize the importance and need to implement NOW!” 

These expanded services will include: 

1. Material support for children up to the age of 5 years (currently up to 3 years) with a focus on preschool and kindergarten school supplies. 
2. The hiring of a "Family Care Specialist". This position will provide direct counseling and social services to clients facing unexpected pregnancies, with a focus on expectant parents making the best decision for their unborn child. This will primarily involve decision-making, adoption-related counseling, and parenting support. This position will work in collaboration with other external program areas specifically on how to navigate the adoption process.  
3. Education services by way of Outreach. For example, attend Career Days at middle schools and high schools, offer service projects to Catholic Schools and religious education programs, and share/educate/present our services at other social service agencies.