While attacks on pregnancy help organizations have slowed significantly since the Dobbs decision, anniversaries like the June 24 Dobbs ruling, holidays (especially long weekends), and major news events can quickly reignite hostility from abortion advocates.

Heartbeat International has created a growing resource to help pregnancy help organizations prepare with practical steps to protect your center, your personnel, and your clients. We encourage every organization to review Protect Your PHO and discuss these protocols internally with staff and leadership.

But what if you arrive at your center and discover vandalism?

Immediate Steps to Take

Ensure Immediate Safety

If suspicious or dangerous activity is actively occurring, alert anyone expected to arrive at your center and instruct them to wait for further direction. Do not attempt to engage with vandals, arsonists, or other hostile individuals.

If there is an active threat, call 911 immediately.

For non-emergency situations, contact your local police department through its non-emergency line. Request that an officer come to the property and file an official police report. This documentation is critical for insurance claims, increasing police presence near your center, and supporting any future legal action.

Threats of violence or vandalism against a pregnancy help organization can also be submitted through the FBI Tip Line. In some cases, this may prompt a faster response than local law enforcement alone. The FBI has previously investigated organized threats against pregnancy centers, including those connected to Jane’s Revenge.

Alert Your Board

Your board is part of your leadership team. Ensure they are informed quickly and included in the response plan.

Preserve the Evidence

As much as possible, do not touch, move, or clean anything until law enforcement has assessed the scene. Preserve the evidence exactly as you found it.

Document the Damage

Take clear photographs of all damage, especially written threats or vandalism. Make sure any messages are readable.

Write down:

• When you arrived
• What you observed
• Estimated timing of the incident
• Who you contacted
• What was reported
• Officer names and badge numbers

If you have security cameras, secure all available footage immediately. Police may request copies, but always retain your own records.

Contact Heartbeat

There may be legal remedies available to organizations targeted by vandalism, threats, or coordinated harassment. If patterns emerge across multiple centers, additional legal protections may become available.

Please contact Heartbeat International at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can help support your response.

We are better together—even in court.

Responding to Protesters and Hostile Actors

Protesters and hostile actors may attempt to disrupt your mission through confrontation, misinformation, intimidation, or public pressure. In these moments, the goal is not to win an argument; it is to protect your clients, staff, volunteers, and ministry while maintaining your witness.

Your response should reflect both wisdom and grace.

Prioritize Safety and Preparation

Develop a clear internal protocol for hostile encounters. Identify a lead staff member responsible for coordinating responses and contacting law enforcement if necessary.

Train staff and volunteers in de-escalation:

• Remain calm
• Avoid direct confrontation
• Use neutral, respectful language

Simple statements such as, “We respect your right to express your views, and we are here to serve our community,” can help lower tension.

Ensure your facility has:

• Secure entrances
• Working surveillance systems
• Emergency exit plans
• Staff familiarity with trespassing, harassment, and free speech laws

Preparation creates confidence.

Effective Communication Strategies

Designate one spokesperson to handle media inquiries or public statements following an incident. Planned messaging should consistently emphasize your mission of compassionate care and life-affirming support.

Document encounters carefully:

• Photos
• Video, when safe and legal
• Written incident reports

This protects both legal and public relations interests.

If misinformation is being spread, respond proactively through your own channels, such as your website, email, and social media, rather than engaging directly with hostile individuals.

For online hostility:

• Monitor platform violations
• Report harassment when appropriate
• Avoid engaging with inflammatory comments or trolls

Do not amplify opposition. Clarify truth and stay focused on your mission.

Lead with Your Values

Every response should reflect the dignity, compassion, and conviction that define pregnancy help.

Moments of conflict can become moments of witness when handled with calm, professionalism, and grace.

These are troubling times, and it is natural to feel intimidated or uneasy.

“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”
— 2 Thessalonians 3:3

As you continue walking compassionately with women, offering help and hope, remember:

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
— Deuteronomy 31:6

We are here for you. We are inspired by you. We are fighting alongside you. And we are praying for you.

Since the overturning of Roe, many states, cities, and local elected officials have turned their eyes toward pregnancy help organizations -- some seek to investigate and restrict the work of pregnancy help, while others look for ways to support and fund the movement. We are seeing attacks coming in many forms from New York passing legislation to “conduct a study” on centers, to Minnesota’s AG issuing a consumer alert, to the city of Columbus funding a pro-abortion activist group to do an investigation of centers. At the same time, 12 states passed legislation funding pregnancy centers in 2023, and Mississippi expanded its state tax credit for pregnancy help centers from $3.5 million to $10 million. As the fight for life shifts from the national level with the U.S. Supreme Court back to the local level with state legislatures and city councils, these battles will likely continue. 

In light of this, we must continue to be diligent in our service to women in our communities providing them with the compassionate care that they deserve. We must also work to build relationships with our local, state, and federal legislators to ensure that they understand the work that we do every day.

Here are some key resources for you as you work in your state to advance the work of pregnancy help:

Legislators

As always, stay alert to what your local officials are working on. Building relationships with them will allow you to speak up for pregnancy help when it is under attack and open the eyes of the legislators to the life-changing impact that you have in their community.

• Turning Legislators into Allies - Webinar
• Find Your State and Federal Legislators

Legislation

• AUL State Legislation Tracker - You can find Pregnancy Help-related legislation under the "Pregnancy Resource Centers" category.
• Plural Policy Legislation Tracker - Search and track any legislation both state and federal.

Status of Current Abortion Laws

• Guttmacher Institute's Overview of Abortion Laws - Guttmacher is a pro-abortion research organization, however, their information on the status of all current abortion-related laws is the most detailed available at this time. This will allow you to stay up to date on the laws in your state and where they stand in the courts.
• FRC's Pro-Life Laws in the States - View your state's current abortion limits and other abortion laws on FRC's interactive maps!

Additional Resources:

• Pregnancy Help in Your State - Talking Points and state by state numbers
• Pregnancy Center Myths Debunked - Podcast
• Abortion Myths Debunked - Podcast
• Pregnancy Center Truth - Website
• Pregnancy Help News - News Site

by Lauren Bell, Extend Web Services Manager

The average internet user will spend nearly seven hours per week watching videos online and Millennials tend to hit 10-20 hours of video viewing each week.In 2022, 82% of internet traffic came from video streaming and downloads. (Shepherd, 2023) With all this video content being created, consumed, and shared, is your organization utilizing the opportunity to reach your target audience through video?

 5 reasons to incorporate video into your outreach efforts:

1. Videos are engaging: Whether your target audience is a young woman searching for help or a major donor looking to fund a project, videos will engage your viewer. Videos educate and inspire, but most importantly people will watch them.

2. Videos invoke emotion: Videos make people feel. Emotions help you connect with your target audience quickly and effectively. It’s important to make an emotional connection quickly because you don’t have much time to reach someone on a digital platform. It’s not unusual for a woman to spend just a few seconds on a website before clicking away, but if you can connect with her through video in the first few seconds, you’ve increased your chances of building trust and prompting action.

3. Videos prompt action: Once you’ve invoked emotion in your audience through video, people are more likely to act. This will boost your conversion rates considerably. Whether it’s to make an appointment or give a gift, nothing will spur that action quicker than a well-crafted video.

4. Videos work on multiple platforms: One video can be a tool used across multiple platforms. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. A video used on your website can easily be uploaded to social media. Just be sure you are using the correct format and orientation when you share. Video is great for mobile phones and since the vast majority of internet traffic comes from mobile devices, video is a tool you want on your platforms.

5. Videos increase your search result ranking: Simply put, Google loves videos, especially videos embedded on YouTube. Having at least one video embedded on your website will increase your chances of being ranked higher on search results. Be sure your video content is relevant to the content on your page.

At Extend Web Services, we offer a wide variety of digital marketing tools to help you reach women in need as quickly and affordably as possible – now including video!

With any marketing tool, it is important to test out what works best for your marketing plan and keep trying new ways to increase your reach online. We hope you’ll take advantage of the new videos offered by Extend as we continue to partner with you to reach and rescue lives each day.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Shepherd, J. (2023, May 15). 30 vital video marketing statistics you need to know in 2023. The Social Shepherd. https://thesocialshepherd.com/blog/video-marketing-statistics

(If you need help setting up your Amazon Baby Registry, click here for a how-to guide.) 

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, the champion of Dobbs, has rallied other pro-life Attorneys General who are eager to celebrate you and your life-affirming work. And your state's AG said yes! So, together, we are collecting Amazon Baby Registries from pregnancy help organizations in your state and eight others for a virtual baby shower.

if you live in Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, or Utah, your Attorney General has said "yes!" to supporting this event! If your state's Attorney General is not listed in the form below, that means that they have not committed to participate in this year's donation drive event and therefore, you will not be listed on the main page with Her PLAN. We encourage you, still, to take this idea and create your own Amazon baby registry to share with your community. This is a great way to connect with your community and provide a tangible way for them to show support for your great work!

Simply complete the form below sending us a link to your Amazon Baby Registry by June 12, 2023. That's it! We want you to capitalize on this unique, multi-state opportunity!

Complete the form below by: June 12, 2023 
Event dates: June 19-24, 2023
Location: Online
​​​​​​​Questions? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We are happy to help! 

Creating an Amazon baby registry is an easy and fun way to get the items you need for your center. You can register for exactly what you need, and items can be sent directly to your center! It also allows your donors to feel even more personally connected to the moms and babies you serve as they can pick out their gifts and see what their money is going towards.

Setting up the registry is a super simple process, and we will walk you through the steps below!

1. Go to https://www.amazon.com/registries. You can go back to this link anytime to view your registry, add gifts, and make changes.

2. Click “I’m welcoming a baby” 

3. Then click “Create a Baby Registry”

4. Fill out the Baby Registry form

5. Add items! Search Amazon for any item you want and click "Add to Baby Registry"

6. Complete the Donation Drive Details form here!