Miscellaneous
The Malcolm Family
A college sophomore nineteen years old and 4 months pregnant! I had done exactly what my parents tried to protect me from. I was so afraid of disappointing my parents, who had been so proud of my success in high school and college. But after the initial shock, they chose to support my decision. My boyfriend, Nolan, was there for me from day one. Even with the support of my parents and Nolan, I was overwhelmed and scared; there was so much to learn, so much to prepare for.
I learned about Pregnancy Care Center through Nolan’s sisters. The Center welcomed us with open arms and positive reinforcement. Mentoring and the many classes helped us learn about nutrition, pregnancy, child safety, and parenting. Relationship classes taught us how to work through issues together and to strengthen our relationship as a couple. Nolan took a Fatherhood class to help him become the kind of father he wanted to be. Attending classes earned us “points” we could exchange for diapers, clothes, blankets and other baby necessities in the Center’s Baby Boutique.
Nolan continued to work while I continued with college. Our relationship grew stronger, and in July we were married. Our son, Beckham, was born in October. From the first day, we used techniques we learned in classes, such as swaddling and infant massage.
Being a parent isn’t always easy and is sometime stressful; but at the same time parenthood is extremely rewarding and worth every sleepless night. The classes, the opportunity to prepare and stock up for Beckham’s arrival have been very valuable to me, my husband and our baby.
Beckham is now three months old. I still remember tears of joy running down my face when he was born; he was our miracle. I know that without Pregnancy Care Center’s help, the past fifteen months would have been very different. God has truly blessed us; and while I know there’s still a lot of work ahead of us, I know our family can do it.
Stories of Lives Saved
>> Click Here to Discover Lives Saved through the Abortion Pill Rescue Network <<
Each story below represents a woman's experience with one of our pregnancy help organizations. One by one, these women overcame challenges through the help of the pregnancy help movement. Receiving support and care, and in some cases, even a roof over their heads, they know the value of pregnancy centers and maternity homes because their lives were changed by their service. And now, they share their personal stories so that no woman feels so alone she feels abortion is her only option. These families champion life!
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In 2025, Option Line, Heartbeat International’s 24/7 helpline, surpassed 2 million connections, more than five times last year’s total. This milestone belongs to you. Because of your partnership, individuals in desperate need of help are connected from Option Line to local pregnancy help like yours for compassionate, life-affirming care and support. Thank you for being the trusted destination when someone reaches out for help.
Rescuing Lives from Abortion
Option Line® is a pregnancy help contact center, available 24/7 for anyone reaching out for help. Conveniently accessible via phone, chat, email, or text, Option Line offers compassionate, personalized guidance for all who reach out. Our empathetic confidants provide guidance on their true options, as well as hope for a new shared future for woman and baby. With Option Line, help is within reach.
Established in 2003, Option Line is the only fully staffed, bilingual pro-life contact center in the U.S. Since we first answered the call, we’ve reached millions of women and men, many who are desperate for answers in an unexpected pregnancy.
More than 5,000 people reach out to Option Line daily for help. The number of women and men Option Line reaches continues to grow. As a result, more lives are rescued from abortion.
Option Line At-A-Glance
- Over 9 million people reached
- Answers in English and Spanish
- Established in 2003
- 24/7/365 contact center and website
- Only fully staffed, bilingual pro-life contact center in the U.S.
- Above industry standard answered call rate
- Connects women with their local pregnancy help organization
- Provides consultation on abortion, adoption, and parenting
- Schedules appointments in real time through a state-of-the-art system
- Answers after-hours calls for pregnancy help organizations and partner organizations/hotlines
Real Lives, Real Help
Each day, our professionally trained consultants answer over 5,000 desperate cries for help. Below are real women who called Option Line in search of help. Each woman was connected to her pregnancy help center for ongoing care.
Can you imagine what their lives would be like if Option Line had not answered their calls?
Reach Rescue Renew
Heartbeat International's mission is to Reach and Rescue as many lives as possible, around the world, through an effective network of life-affirming pregnancy help, to Renew communities for LIFE. All Heartbeat International policies and materials are consistent with Biblical principles and with orthodox Christian (Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox) ethical principles and teaching on the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of human life. Click here for more information.
We REACH those who are abortion-vulnerable through Option Line's 24-hour contact center and cutting-edge website, www.OptionLine.org.
"Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me..." - Psalm 144:7
We RESCUE those who are reached through our life-support network of pregnancy centers providing true reproductive health care, ministry, education, and social services where lives are saved and changed.
"Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; protect me from men of violence." - Psalm 140:1
We RENEW broken cities around the world by developing pregnancy centers where abortion clinics are the only alternative for abortion-vulnerable women.
"He sent me to bind up the brokenhearted... to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor... They will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." - Isaiah 61:1-4
The 8 Essentials of Leading Teams
The track being considered is The 8 Essentials of Leading Teams and it focuses beyond leading oneself to leading others.
The 8 essentials addressed are as follows:
- Build Trust
- Build Your Pursuit of Personal Excellence
- Build Your Vision
- Build Sustainable Results
- Build Your Team
- Build a High-Performance Culture
- Build Leaders
- Build a Legacy
New Director Track Submission Confirmation
Thank you for your submission to be considered to receive a scholarship for Heartbeat's New Director Track.
Please note: Submission of this survey does not mean you are automatically granted a scholarship from Heartbeat International. You must first qualify to receive a scholarship. You will be notified by email regarding your survey submission.
For informational purposes only – Travel expenses (airline and/or ground transportation) is the sole responsibility of the Scholarship recipient.
More...
Matennah's Story
Alpha Pregnancy Services saves lives and builds families; to that I can testify. Here is my story:
I first learned about Alpha while flipping through the yellow pages in 2008. However, I did not take advantage of their services until a couple years later, when I learned of my second pregnancy.
In November of 2010 I went to my family doctor to get on birth control, only to learn I was pregnant. My boyfriend and the doctor were very happy, but Me? I was full of questions, in disbelief, and scared. I had a two year old at the time and was thinking, “What was I going to do with another child?”
My boyfriend was very sure about having our child, and did not think about how we were going to take care of two children, with only our part time jobs. Concerned, I decided to reach out to family. Some shared their disappointment and wished me luck; others suggested abortion was the best solution for me. Abortion had never crossed my mind, though I felt it was something to look into.
Then I went to the doctor. She told me that I still had time if I was thinking of abortion. The ultrasound showed I was having identical twins. With shock, I cried like a child. By this time my boyfriend was in jail and I felt alone and scared. Also, more overwhelmed and confused than ever. Some felt twins were all the more reason to abort. To me—I felt twins were a blessing and all the more reason not to.
I decided to carry to term. I felt the only local support I had was my boyfriend and my daughter. Then I turned to Alpha for help. I have been working closely with Jamie and Sue since I was four months pregnant. They have helped me with everything a friend, doctor, mother, and auntie could have helped me with, and more. At one point I only had God, my family, and Alpha in my corner. They were still supporting and motivating me to keep going.
Alpha did not only help me become a good mother, they helped me build a stronger relationship with God, myself and my family. Alpha is the one place on earth I can go to and know I will not be judged, and I can leave with a change for the better at every visit. My New Year’s resolution is to make sure that Alpha and programs like these are heard about, so when the opportunity came to go to Congress, I felt grateful to be a part of it.
Foot Soldiers Armed with Love
An artist who committed suicide after an abortion, a friend who had a dream about the artist and a pregnant girl in a dark woods, a Bishop who met a man on a train who accused the church of abandoning people in the dark woods . . . all this was used by the Lord, almost 40 years ago, to prompt one of Heartbeat’s founders to say “yes” to His call to provide light to those in darkness.
This story and others, including her personal story, is told by Peggy Hartshorn in Foot Soldiers Armed with Love: Heartbeat International’s First Forty Years.
Moving stories, mixed with historical pictures, and interesting facts about the thousands of heroic Foot Soldiers in the pregnancy help movement, will encourage you and illustrate how the Lord is using YOU to make abortion both unwanted now and unthinkable for future generations.
"As this history lovingly documents, from humble beginnings, Heartbeat International has grown to become one of the most significant and far-reaching pregnancy help ministries in the world. Heartbeat is involved in the active, day-to-day mission of touching individual lives with God's grace. I cannot imagine a more important calling than that!"
-Jim Daly
President, Focus on the Family
This book, only available until this limited edition has sold out, can be shipped for a suggested donation of $20 or more.
Meet the Moms and Babies - January 2013
Mapi and Marella
In February 2007 I found myself in an unexpected pregnancy.
I was alone in this country trying to make it on my own. I was not married and I was not sure how the baby’s father was going to handle the news.
I went to a doctor and he told me that I was at a 90% risk of having a Down Syndrome baby because I was 35 years old. He recommended that I have an abortion. I felt all alone, desperate and all I could do was cry.
As I was driving home, I turned the radio on and there was a gentle voice answering questions at a Christian talk show. She was saying how this organization could help women with an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. She said that Heartbeat of Miami Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics could help. I was not sure how they could help but I was desperate.
When I called the number, I spoke to Martha who told me that they could offer alternatives to women that did not want or could not have their baby. She asked to meet with me just to talk and share with me the options that I had.
I had already made an appointment with an abortion clinic but I decided to meet with Martha first. She arranged for me to have an ultrasound. That is when I saw my baby for the first time and heard her heartbeat. The ladies in the clinic treated me with much love, dignity and respect, never judging me and giving me the opportunity to see my baby. They offered to help me with different resources and also a plan of adoption. They spoke about faith, about life. Even if my baby was indeed Down Syndrome, there were people willing to adopt her. At that very moment I knew I did not want an abortion. How could I end the life of my baby?
We prayed at the Clinic and I felt strong even though I knew there were very difficult times ahead of me. However, I didn’t feel alone anymore. I felt there were people that cared about me and the baby with no hidden agenda, with no other interest than my well being.
Martha kept her word to be there for me. She followed up on me. I was a total stranger, yet she treated me as family. I felt more encouraged that I wanted my child more than anything.
The girls at the clinic continued to follow up with me making sure I had the resources I needed it. The joy came back to me and I had hope to face tomorrow. I no longer felt alone, I felt I had a new family that truly cared.
When the time came to have my baby girl, Martha and Jeanne (the Clinic Director) where in the hospital with me. When my baby Marella was born, she became the first baby born to this wonderful ministry.
Five years have passed and my daughter Marella is everything for me. She fills my life with joy and she is the most beautiful gift I have ever received. I work as a Realtor and I am able to raise my daughter with everything she needs and her father is a very important part of her life. He loves her and helps support her. She takes dancing and music lessons. She also takes art lessons and paints beautiful pictures that I proudly frame. She is intelligent and well behaved doing wonderful in school.
I thank God for Heartbeat of Miami Pregnancy Help Medical Clinics. If it hadn’t been for them, Marella wouldn’t be here today and I might have never had the opportunity to experience the blessing of being a mother.