Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report indicates a five percent increase in the number of abortions performed by the abortion giant compared with the previous year. Statistics also show that 63 percent of all U.S. abortions are the done via chemical abortion. Given these figures, those working in pregnancy help organizations may feel overwhelmed and defeated in reaching pregnant women determined to abort. However, outreach to those who see abortion as their only option is possible, according to Ginna Cross.
Cross presented a workshop titled, “You CAN Reach the Abortion-Determined,” during Heartbeat International’s Annual Conference, held April 24 – 26, 2024 in Salt Lake City. Cross encouraged those in attendance to persevere in outreach to pregnant women on course for abortion. Abortion-determined women are assessed as those who see abortion as their only option and plan to abort. Reaching them and drawing them into pregnancy help organizations (PHOs) takes a “laser-focused” approach, she said.
“The abortion-determined client is not going to walk through our doors on her own volition,” Cross said. “She’s going to choose somewhere else to go unless we are actively seeking to reach her.”
She provided five guidelines for reaching out to and working with abortion-determined women.
- Brutal honesty
- Drastic action
- Hiring will make or break you
- Get with the client services program
- Easy button fundraising
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Brutal honesty
The abortion-determined woman is “an extremely different client” from the abortion-vulnerable woman, therefore, she told those gathered to discontinue combining statistics of both categories of women.
“Anyone can be abortion-vulnerable,” she said.
Cross used herself as an example: a 40-year-old woman with six children, including toddlers.
“If I ended up pregnant and went into a pregnancy center, it would be easy to look at my vulnerabilities and say, ‘Oh, she’s abortion-vulnerable,’” Cross said. “Someone like me is not someone your donors are thinking of when they’re thinking of the people you’re reaching.”
Merging abortion-vulnerable and abortion-determined clients when talking about the number of lives saved is not providing an accurate picture to donors and the public because not all of those women are planning to abort and then changing their minds, Cross said. Spending money to market to abortion-determined clients is well-spent, she said.
“Women who are likely to carry and abortion-vulnerable will always be able to find us,” Cross stated.
She suggested PHO leaders pull statistics from the past 10 to 15 years on the number of undecided and abortion-determined clients and ascertain the average number of these women seen in the center and give those numbers to the board of directors.
“Then have an honest discussion of where you’re at as an organization,” she said.
Cross did this with her organization, Alliance Family Services in Wisconsin, and concluded the two clinics Alliance was operating weren’t seeing the numbers of abortion-determined and undecided clients and lives saved as they thought.
“We were definitely not on mission,” she said. “We saw an average of two abortion-minded women every year, 30 over 15 years. Now we see 30 abortion-minded women every six weeks.”
Change came in 2018.
Drastic action
The Alliance board “made a bold statement that if we couldn’t get back on mission, saving lives as our donors thought we were doing, we needed to close our doors,” Cross said.
“We are here to save lives, that is why we exist,” she said.
A staff assessment took place to determine if everyone was “in alignment with the needed shift,” and discovered not all staff members were. “The buck stops” with the executive director and the board needs to hold him or her accountable, Cross stated.
Bringing in a marketing company to help with the outreach to abortion-determined women is also critical because center staff are not always equipped in knowledge or skill to effectively market. She also suggested asking marketing companies for “very specific numbers” of abortion-determined women walking through the doors of a PHO to determine how successful working with such a company might be.
Alliance also rebranded in order to reach abortion-determined clients, removing barriers that would prevent those women from coming to the clinic.
“Go all in,” Cross told workshop participants.
That includes setting “an aggressive timeline” and goals.
Alliance closed their second location for a while in order to focus on reaching abortion-determined clients, which “helped us to not be spread so thin that we could actually be laser-focused,” Cross said.
Staff crucial to success
As previously noted, not all Alliance employees supported the changes.
“We had an entire changeover in our staff,” Cross stated. “The abortion vulnerable are often a joy to serve … they’re just in a tough spot. The abortion determined client is not that way, generally. There’s often a hardness. There’s a lot of layers, a lot of trauma, with these clients. We have to be ready for those difficult conversations.”
“You need a staff for whom this is a mission, not just a job, who have a genuine heart to reach these women,” Cross said.
PHO staff need to possess a firm stance on abortion and an ability to articulate the Gospel, two facets that are controversial in today’s society, she added. Cross encouraged her audience to “embrace the controversial,” to not back down on what abortion truly is nor talk with clients about the truth of the Gospel.
Supporting women through various services, including materials assistance, is something PHOs do and are given “accolades” for, and therefore, many focus on those things because they are less controversial, Cross said. However, that applause isn’t given when pro-life organizations stand firm on what abortion is – the killing of an unborn child. She encouraged workshop attendees to have “an uncompromising, anti-abortion stance” and to ensure their center employees possess that same stance.
“When you are sure and clear about what abortion is, it will make you extremely driven to reach the abortion-determined client, because you know how devastating that choice is,” she said. “We want that chance to make an appeal for that life, and for her life.”
Tweet This: When you are sure about what abortion is it makes you driven to reach the abortion-determined client-because you know how devastating it is.
Cross also encouraged workshop attendees to not be afraid to talk about sin and every person’s need for a Savior. However, she cautioned to do so “in a kind, considerate way” while not fearing being “offensive” to others.
“This is a divine appointment,” Cross said. “If the Lord has brought them through our doors, we don’t know if we’re going to have another opportunity with them. We are serving clients who are, by in large, unreached, who have no idea what Christianity is, who have never heard the true Gospel, and they are desperately in need of it.”
Women abort because of life challenges
“Real or perceived, they have a reason in their mind why they need to choose abortion,” Cross said. “One of the most effective ways of promoting life is providing solutions to those challenges.”
That could mean helping a woman find a job or finding her a safe place to live if that woman endures a domestic violence situation. Cross suggested PHOs have one staff member devoted to the job of working one-on-one with women for the purpose of finding them the resources they need in order to choose life.
“Every client is going to have different needs, different barriers,” she explained.
Meeting those needs and helping the client set goals builds a relationship with and therefore develops trust.
Saving Lives = Easier Fundraising
Sharing stories and seeing action and positive change inspires people to give, Cross said.
“Cast what you’re doing in a positive light for your donors,” she said. “This is a front lines mission – we are going right to the point of death. We need to have the mindset … we are missionaries in our own cities.”
Bringing churches alongside PHOs allows for not only earthly partnership but also eternal impact.
“This has to be very collaborative,” Cross said. “The more churches that are envisioned with that, the more exciting it is and the more unity there is in the body of Christ.”
Increasing budgets and growing as an organization should be a priority, she added.
“You’re either growing or you’re dying,” Cross stated. “Maintenance mode is the kiss of death. It’s time to be advancing the Kingdom of God in the pregnancy help movement.”
Reaching abortion-determined clients is possible
Cross encouraged attendees to remember, “We can do this!”
She reminded them about David and Goliath and who won that battle.
“Get on your knees, get before the Lord and say, ‘God, help me! Help me to take the steps I need to take.’ He will bless you,” Cross said. “We are called to serve these women. The pregnancy help movement is crucial in this fight.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
