Every time I read a Planned Parenthood Annual Report the same thought pops into my mind: “Pregnancy Help Organizations do more!” Being transparent here, this makes me mad.
Because whenever its Annual Report comes out, the PR machine at Planned Parenthood goes into overdrive, telling us of all the wonderful services they provide. Of course, they downplay abortion, but that’s another story for another day.
In its most recent 40-page soliloquy on itself, Planned Parenthood claimed 9,455,582 total services, from STD testing to abortion. It’s interesting they only count 17,419 “Prenatal Services” in that number, meaning that an organization claiming the name “Parenthood” serves an actual parent-to-be with only a tenth of one percent of its services. Whatever.
So yes, I get angry—because we do so much more.
If one were to add up the services all 2,600 pregnancy help centers and medical clinics in the U.S., I’m willing to bet we would rival and likely surpass the number of services Planned Parenthood talks about.
Looking at individual services, Planned Parenthood claims they provided 1,172,989 pregnancy tests during the 2014-2015 fiscal year. If our 2,600 Pregnancy Help Centers average 38 pregnancy tests per month (that’s an average, as some centers will do fewer, some many more), we would top Planned Parenthood.
Adoption referrals? Planned Parenthood’s number is 2,024 for the entire year. We’re talking referrals, not actual adoptions. Let me take a wild guess here; we can beat that number.
We could run through our list of peer counseling sessions, ultrasounds, STI testing and treatment, Earn While You Learn classes, fatherhood support, post-abortion recovery . . . we could go on.
Wouldn’t it be amazing to send our Annual Report to the media, highlighting our outreach? Our initiatives? Our support which empowers women and men to choose life? Wouldn’t you like to see our numbers and stories in the national news, highlighted across the Web and hear one of our own leaders on national television, speaking of our success?
When I first heard of Next Level, announced at Heartbeat International’s conference in Chicago last week, my mind immediately shifted into high gear. For the first time, we—the Pregnancy Help Community—have a software management system we can all utilize, automatically pooling our data together.
For so long, pregnancy help centers compiled statistics through several software programs, sent them to various affiliate networks and unfortunately, never got a true sense of all we are accomplishing.
No more. With Next Level, our statistics will compile together, offering every pregnancy help center the opportunity to find out what is working, where we can improve, who we are reaching—everything.
Tweet This: Next Level from @HeartbeatIntl is a game-changer for #prolife help. @KirkWalden
Full disclosure; as a staff member at Heartbeat one might expect me to beat the drum for a new initiative. I get it. But anyone who knows me understands my mission is to see us change the narrative by competing head-to-head with the abortion industry . . . and winning.
This initiative is a game-changer, if we—the pregnancy help community—come together.
If every pregnancy help center got on board with this concept, can you imagine? We could show the world—in an instant—more women are coming to us for pregnancy tests than Planned Parenthood, exploding the myth that Planned Parenthood is the first choice for those facing an unplanned pregnancy.
We could also produce scientific data indicating women—more and more—are choosing life for their children. If we can do this, more women would be encouraged to choose life as their peers show them the way—through our pregnancy help centers.
We need this. And we need it now.
Now is the time to destroy the myths. Now is the time to tell our story in a new way—with the numbers to back it up.
The abortion industry is beginning to crumble. It’s time to take our game to the Next Level. Let’s do this, because as many of us heard last week in Chicago, we are better together.
