The future of women's health care: Trusting pregnancy centers to meet women's needs

"I came to Choices Women's Center because I was building my exit plan."

Those were my patient's words, and that exit plan included leaving her marriage and possibly ending the life of her child. As she said, "I was 100% considering aborting my baby."

Pregnancy centers are essential in the landscape of women's health care, providing access to compassionate, high-quality, life-affirming care for women just like this patient.

As a board certified obstetrician and gynecologist and medical director of four pregnancy centers in North Carolina, my medical practice specializes in the care of women with unplanned pregnancies. I witness firsthand the critical role these four centers and the 2700-plus across this country play in saving lives -- both of women and their unborn children.

Pregnancy centers offer exceptional care in state-of-the-art environments, standing as an alternative to facilities focused solely on induced abortion. Patients are seen by a highly qualified team of licensed and board-certified health care professionals.

Data from a Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) survey of 2,750 pregnancy centers in the United States demonstrated in their 2022 Hope for a New Generation Report that 16 million client/patient visits occurred at no charge, both in-person and through tele-health in 2021.

Women and their families received services and goods valued at $358 million dollars, including appointments with health care professionals, pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, parenting education programs, material goods and much more. Ninety-seven percent of the women served reported a positive experience.

Those of us who work in pregnancy centers see the merit of the life-affirming medical care we provide -- care that values both women and their unborn children. We recognize that the purpose of medicine is health, healing and wholeness and thus the direct and intentional killing of one of our patients, an innocent human being, is not health care -- it never has been and never will be. Our approach aligns with the majority of obstetrician/gynecologists who do not perform induced abortions as part of their medical practice.

There is, however, a critical need to educate the public and rebuild trust in pregnancy centers that have been intentionally attacked by medical organizations that have become an openly partisan wing of the abortion lobby at the expense of both babies and moms.

Two weekends ago, I attended the Women's March in Washington, D.C. (now renamed "The People's March"), and spoke to many women who have experienced abortions. One woman told me she was pro-choice because of the story of a friend whose baby had a potentially life-limiting diagnosis, and who was told she needed to go to another state to get an abortion. When I asked her if her friend was told about the option of prenatal palliative care, similar to hospice, she said no. This lack of doctors sharing options is unlike what occurs at pregnancy centers in which women are empowered with information and provided with a host of care options.

What's more, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) works to advance extreme abortion policies with no limits or barriers -- going so far as to release briefs to both their membership and the public that discredit our medical services and state that pregnancy centers "operate unethically." They have lost sight of their mission to care for both maternal and fetal patients.

If ACOG truly cared for women, they might encourage health care professionals to refer patients to pregnancy centers and stop misleading women who need care, thus denying them services that can often be provided the same day and at no charge.

As a veteran medical director who is pioneering a regional medical model that is serving some of the poorest and most rural counties in my state of North Carolina, I have seen the progress that can be made when we fill in the gaps of care for women who cannot access the support and treatment they need elsewhere.

At pregnancy centers, we don't just provide medical care, we walk with women through this time that can prove challenging in their lives. One very valuable service we provide brings case workers into our centers to aid pregnant women and girls. Sixty percent of women say that they would not have sought abortions if their life circumstances were different.

We serve as a lifeline for vulnerable women to access better health care and address disparities they might face. Through our case workers, we have supported several mothers who were unsure whether they wanted to give birth due to lack of housing, childcare, food, clothing, insurance and transportation.

By addressing the barriers they faced, we helped these women choose the better option for both themselves, and their child. We partner with hospital systems, health departments, private practices and other nonprofits to create a network of care that ensures no woman is left behind. In short -- we provide more viable options for women than the local abortion facility.

The future of women's health care lies in building trust and expanding the reach of our centers. My mission is to encourage more of my physician colleagues to consider working with pregnancy centers to reach underserved patients. I also want to encourage the millions of women who have received exceptional health care at pregnancy centers to let your stories be heard.

My patient exited the doors of our pregnancy center with a different plan than when she entered, largely due to the exceptional care she received. "They held my hand until I was confident and had hope…"

Pregnancy centers are an essential part of the solution to addressing gaps in the medical community, offering compassion, resources and -- most importantly -- high-quality care. It is time for all of us -- medical professionals, community leaders and the public -- to work together to support these centers and ensure every woman has access to the excellent care and support she deserves.