The article, written by Yahoo! reporter Sandra Salathe, claims many families with babies do not have access to necessities like diapers, clothing, and food.
With the second sentence reading, "The coronavirus pandemic has played a heavy role in this crisis, and as households seek help from nonprofit organizations, anti-abortion centers (AACs) may be misrepresenting the extent of their services," Heartbeat International spokeswoman Andrea Trudden says one does not have to read too far to see the article for what it is: an unfounded hit piece.
"People were coming to our defense if you read the comments or on Twitter," she tells AFN. "People were seeing the blatant bias from this specific reporter attacking the fact that 2,700 pregnancy centers exist nationwide to provide women and families with care and support, and she was trying to demonize them."
That angle is further apparent considering Salathe went to Equity Forward, which is far to the left on the issue, as a source for her article.
"Instead of providing direct material support to people, they're using this money for overhead costs to pay for staff salaries, to engage with SEO marketing professionals, to expand their outreach to promote themselves, and all sorts of things that are not providing services to people in need," Equity Forward Director Ashley Underwood told Yahoo! Finance about Heartbeat International. "They solely exist to deter people from getting abortion care."
Trudden, however, points out that pro-life pregnancy centers are not mere diaper distribution centers, and she asserts that despite what Equity Forward's "investigative research" claims, they actually do provide prenatal care, parental classes, strollers, car seats, and other services to meet comprehensive needs.
"In this specific article, they're trying to make it seem like any funds that we receive should automatically go towards diapers and it is not going to diapers for families," the pro-lifer responds. "That's simply wrong. The reporter needs to do a little bit more work to understand all aspects of pregnancy help organizations and also where funding comes from."
Local supporters, she says, provide 90% of the money pro-life pregnancy centers have to work with, as well as other items babies need, including diapers.
