A pro-life organization shared strategies for pregnancy help organizations to reach more women who are most vulnerable to abortion at the 2024 Heartbeat International Annual Conference in April.
Life Advancement Group, located in Michigan, helps pregnancy centers market their services online to women most likely to choose abortion. Erika Hale, who has served in leadership roles at pregnancy centers, including as executive director for Pregnancy Center of Lapeer in Michigan, spoke to a crowded room during the Powerful Practices to Double Abortion-Minded Appointments workshop on Thursday, April 25. The presentation focused on engaging Gen Z, women born between 1997 and 2012, and how to best reach them.
Time and message are crucial
A pregnancy center may miss 50 percent of potential contacts because women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy often reach out for help when the center isn’t open, Hale explained, and if the woman does make contact and decides to schedule an appointment, frequently center staff schedule her several days out due to the center’s hours of operation. Therefore, initial response time and scheduling ability can and do affect a center’s no-show rate.
“If she doesn't connect with a pro-life pregnancy center [quickly], she's going to continue her search and she is going to find an abortion clinic,” Hale said.
Methods of communication and words used during an initial contact also affect whether an abortion-minded/determined woman schedules or shows up for an appointment.
Therefore, knowing who the target audience is and understanding their characteristics, mindset, and culture are powerful first steps to getting them through a center’s doors, Hale said.
“I find this generation to be amazing – I’m so impressed with them!” she told the workshop audience. “They're very self-reliant so they really don't have a lot of need to get information from us because they have it at their fingertips.”
Hale said women frequently have already read a lot of information about abortion by the time they reach out. Conversations with others they know, as well as online information they’ve gleaned, including videos, have already likely transpired.
“What they really need from us is the information that they can't find online and to have a safe place to dialogue,” Hale said. “They are smart, open-minded, and very inclusive. They thrive in a space where they can learn, where they engage their curiosity, and where they can find answers to their questions.”
Therefore, having center staff who can be accepted by these women as trustworthy, caring, and easy to talk with is critical in getting them into a pregnancy center and keeping them engaged.
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Technology also critical
Technology use is also important to be viewed by Gen Z as credible.
“They're digitally fluent – they’ve been surrounded by technology since birth and are very uncomfortable without it,” Hale said. “So having eye-catching, interactive multimedia information is going to be central for them, and so is the ability to text – texting with this generation is actually the key for some of them to earn their respect.”
Methods of communication and the words used from the initial contact through the appointment reminders and throughout the appointment itself are critical as well. Highlighting services offered that line up with the client’s questions is also critical.
“Modern scripting that, when we use it correctly, will ensure we're being sensitive to the clients and will likely increase your show rate and your lives-saved rate,” Hale explained.
Be ready with answers to abortion questions
Center staff need to be prepared to answer questions, such as how much an abortion costs and what the state laws are regarding abortion. Doing so makes the center a credible source, Hale said.
She also reminded attendees about the importance of being forthright regarding not referring for or performing abortions. She recommended that center staff note how they really care about women and respect whatever decision they make, and also assure women they are committed to being with clients before and after an abortion procedure.
Women seeking abortion are focused only on that option at the moment of reaching out, Hale said, so it’s important to highlight services that are in line with what she's looking for, work to establish credibility, and convey that you are working to empower her in making a decision.
An app to help serve women
Life Advancement Group has created a program to help centers with their message verbiage and ways to communicate with abortion-minded/determined women. Called LifeLead, the app’s purpose is to provide pregnancy centers with the tools needed to improve communication with potential clients. The program features HIPAA-compliant texting and calling and offers scripting templates and automatic text-back.
“We need to be able to love her right where she’s at,” Hale said.
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Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
