Are you a pro-life physician or know one someone who is? Physicians have a unique and critical role at pregnancy centers to provide life saving medical aid to women and babies that are abortion vulnerable. With about 2,750 pregnancy centers that see 16,000,000 patients across the United States, there is most likely a great opportunity for you engage with medical missions in your own local community.Â
1. Become a Pregnancy Center's
Medical Director or Board Member
Board Member
Medical Director
Become the medical director of your local pregnancy center if you have would like to go above and beyond the responsibilities of a board member. A physician license and oversight is one of the necessary components for a pregnancy center to be able to provide life saving medical services. Some great opportunities that can come with being a medical director are:
- Advising board and executive directors around medical careÂ
- Mentoring and nurturing medical staff
- Decision making for medical policies and procedures
- Ensuring, expanding, or elevating scope of medical care
Dr. Reisser, retired family medicine physician, was the medical director of his local pregnancy center for over 30 years. His experience also included helping a pregnancy center start up, help with the medical conversion process, and act as a medical board member. Watch the video below to learn more about his journey as a pro-life physician that took action.Â
2. Offer Pro-Bono Services
Do you have your own practice? If so, this a great opportunity to lend your equipment, staffing, and resources to help women in unexpected pregnancies at your local pregnancy center or a patient at your practice.
 Referral Slips
Offer referral slips to patients in your practice who might be abortion vulnerable, offering them a free ultrasound examination and further counseling about their options at the nearest center, which has no financial interest in their decision.
Donate Hours from Personal Practice
Donate a certain number of hours from your practice to care for an abortion vulnerable patient in need of follow-up care. Your medical expertise could help her make a life-affirming decision!Â
Dr. McIlhaney is an OB/GYN with his own practice. He partnered with his local pregnancy center since he had the ultrasound equipment and staff. His practice would take in patients from the pregnancy center to perform free ultrasounds. Watch the video below to learn more about his experience and journey as a pro-life physician that took action.
3. Mentor Medical Students and Residents
Are you a professor at a university or college? Encourage medical students and residents through your example. Take them to a pregnancy center to familiarize them with the services and needs. Instill an understanding of their local mission field that exists right outside their door!
4. Galvanize Medical Colleagues
Arrange a tour of the pregnancy center for your colleagues so that you can help heighten awareness of life affirming services available to the medical community.Â
5. Donate
Give to the pregnancy center ministry in your community, knowing that these dollars will translate into lives saved and souls saved. Host a table at a pregnancy center’s annual fundraising gala. Â
Connect with Your Local Pregnancy Center
- Accept or initiate an invitation to meet with the director and/or nurse manager when they call, in order to learn more about the vision of their pregnancy center.
- Ask the director to arrange for you to spend part or all of a day at the pregnancy center, caring for clients and helping them understand their options based on good medical information. This will enable you to see firsthand the services offered. In addition, your presence will greatly encourage the staff – especially if you set aside some time to hear from them about their specific roles at the clinic.
- Make an appointment with the nurse manager at the pregnancy center to learn about in-service training you could provide for their staff and volunteers – or opportunities for public speaking on medical issues.
Additional Links for Pro-Life Physicians
Ready to Take Action?
Are you a physician? Or do you know a physician that is interested in using their unique skillset to support pregnancy centers to help women in unexpected pregnancies choose life? Click on the link below to learn more.Â
Thanks to Dr. Scott Stringfield, Dr. Paul Reisser, Dr. Joe McIlhaney, and Dr. Karl Benzio for their ideas and professional example.Â
