(The Washington Times) Aid for Women was vandalized during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but that hasn’t stopped the pro-life pregnancy center from spreading Christmas joy to young women like Chasty.
The 29-year-old woman is celebrating her first yuletide as a mother with her 4-month-old daughter Zehari at Monica’s House in Chicago, one of two maternal homes run by Aid for Women.
The festivities have already begun. She and Zehari, both decked in red party dresses, attended Aid for Women’s annual Christmas party for past and present clients earlier this month at Saint Aloysius Catholic Church in Chicago.
“It was so much fun,” Chasty, who asked that her last name not be used, told The Washington Times. “We sang songs, we let the kids take pictures with Santa. It was just a really great, family-oriented event.”
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Since moving into the maternal home in April, Chasty said the nonprofit organization has provided her with material support as well as helping her with transportation to doctors’ visits and storage for her belongings.
The center even helped her fly to Georgia for a “gender reveal” party with her mother and sisters.
“I was really hoping to get some help, guide me as to food, support and definitely a roof over my head to help with my baby,” Chasty said, “and that’s what I received.”
Her experience comes with pro-life pregnancy centers under siege by abortion-rights vandals and blue-state lawmakers since the June 2022 fall of Roe v. Wade.
The nation’s 3,000-plus crisis pregnancy centers offer a host of free resources ranging from ultrasounds to diapers to car seats, but they don’t refer women for abortions. They’re also unabashedly pro-life.
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Founded in 1978, Aid for Women runs eight pregnancy care centers and two live-in maternity homes in Illinois.
“Aid for Women has helped tens of thousands of women like Chasty for more than 46 years,” said Susan Barrett, Aid for Women executive director. “The vast majority of women considering abortion don’t want to do it, but they feel pressured to do so. Our goal is to reach as many of these women as possible, and let them know about resources and programs that are available to them, so they can choose life while continuing to pursue their goals for the future.”
Aid for Women also operates in hostile political territory. One of its centers was vandalized in August during the DNC by still-unknown culprits who glued the locks, splashed the windows with red paint, and spray-painted “fake clinic” on the exterior.
The Illinois legislature passed a measure last year banning pro-life pregnancy centers from engaging in “deceptive practices,” but the state stopped enforcing the law after a federal judge called it “stupid and very likely unconstitutional.”
Even so, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to “do what’s necessary to keep organizations like the crisis pregnancy centers from providing misinformation.”
Chasty’s story
After learning she was pregnant, Chasty said she briefly considered abortion as one of her options, but never visited a clinic because “deep down inside I knew I wanted to keep my baby.”
Then she did what any other woman in her situation would do: She took to the internet.
“I pretty much fell on hard times,” she said. “I just stayed up night after night, praying and searching the web hoping I would find housing for a pregnant woman. I was about a month along at the time. And what popped up was Aid for Women.”
She said she was so nervous and uncertain that she missed her first two appointments.
“It took me three tries because I was going up and down. I was feeling depressed, as well as stressed. I didn’t know what to do,” Chasty said. “I finally went on the third try to their downtown location.”
Living at Monica’s House with two other young mothers has been “really good,” she said, as they help each other learn the ropes of parenting.
“It helps a lot because not only am I going through things learning how to be a new mom, but pretty much all of us are new moms,” Chasty said. “Asking questions about things I don’t know and not feeling like I’m just stupid or something because honestly, we’re helping each other out.”
She also said she would recommend Aid for Women to other young pregnant women who may feel like abortion is their only alternative.
“I would tell them to definitely view other options,” Chasty said. “There are people out there who really care about you as a person as well as the baby inside you. There are other choices. I think abortion mainly comes to mind when people think that they can’t afford it, or won’t have the support, but Aid for Women has been mentally, physically and financially helpful in all those aspects.”
Editor's note: This article was published by The Washington Times and is reprinted with permission.
