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Over the past year, everything shut down—almost everything. Abortion was deemed essential, and Mississippi’s sole abortion facility remained open. Any time abortion is available in Mississippi, the Center for Pregnancy Choices Metro Area remains even more available with free resources.

With abortions averaging sixty per week in our Fondren community, we know there is an urgent demand for the needs that come from unexpected pregnancies. For every woman who has searched for abortion out of fear and uncertainty and instead found hope and life-changing support from a community that cares, CPC Metro Area is essential. 

We have the freedom to do so in Mississippi. Yet, these free and confidential services, unfortunately, are being threatened. 

For over 32 years, CPC Metro Area has offered free material, emotional, and spiritual support to women facing pregnancy decisions. Their staff walks women through pregnancy tests, offers options counseling for parenting, adoption, and abortion, and gives women the opportunity to have free sonograms. Materially, they offer free diapers, clothes, prenatal vitamins, and other parenting supplies at our clinics. 

Their local partner churches host single mothers’ support groups, throw baby showers and establish long-term communities for young families. They are committed to facing unplanned pregnancies alongside women. They maintain relationships with them from their first call to long after a child is born. 

For women who do choose abortion, they offer confidential abortion recovery groups. While they are a life-affirming ministry, they offer hope to women wherever they are without judgment or condemnation. Jackson’s CPC locations are the largest pregnancy medical clinics in the state, with one of their two clinic locations 100 yards from Jackson’s abortion facility. They represent a variety of resources offered by nearly 40 pregnancy centers spread across the state. 

So why would anyone want to threaten its existence in our community?

The newly established Biden administration has nominated California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as head of the U.S Health and Human Services. In 2018, the same Becerra challenged pregnancy centers in a landmark Supreme Court case, NIFLA v Becerra. Thankfully, the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates, representing pregnancy centers, won at the Supreme Court. The potential HHS leader has already established a strong desire to stifle the speech and existence of pregnancy centers and their free services. 

In the name of “choice,” Becerra appears dead-set on removing the choices of parenting or adoption support from our local communities. 

Women continue to face unexpected pregnancies but with the added financial, emotional, and medical hardships we all have faced in the last year. They continue to find pregnancy centers online for help. CPC Metro Area is funded by local churches and individuals, divorced from any government agency backing, yet this administration seems adamant about limiting their services. 

Service-oriented nonprofit costs have increased and many anticipate increasing needs in 2021. This free-market approach exceeds the normal state agency rates of success at a much lower cost. We need them to remain in our city and throughout our state. 

This is the practical response to the demand for abortion in Mississppi. 

Whether seasons of elections, policy changes, social movements, or pandemics hit the borders of Mississippi, CPC Metro Area will fight to be here. If you would like to join hundreds of Mississippians interested in saving lives today, learn more about their upcoming LifeWalk here. 

Our response as Mississippians is clear—we must focus on practical solutions today rather than place our hope in politicians’ plans for tomorrow. Make your voice heard to keep free speech and freedom of association for abortion alternatives in our community.

In November, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Tennesee may prohibit eugenic abortions of preborn children based on race, sex, or genetic abnormality. This summer, Governor Bill Lee signed an omnibus pro-life bill with a variety of additions to abortion law.  Several abortion advocacy groups immediately filed emergency lawsuits, and District Judge William Campbell temporarily blocked the restrictions from taking effect.

Among the several conditions Governor Lee signed into law, not every limitation is active. Some restrictions will still be challenged in court. However, a ban on discriminatory abortions on the basis of race, sex, and genetic abnormality is now active law. Mississippi celebrates our neighbors to the North joining us in correcting this discriminatory practice. 

Mississippi passed The Life Equality Act (HB 1295) this summer, making Mississippi one of the nation’s leaders in the protection of life. This bill was sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Crawford (R- Pass Christian), and the Senate version of the bill was introduced by Sen. Jenifer Branning (R- Philadelphia) — two powerful female voices for the most vulnerable in our state. 

The bill's first step was made possible by Rep. Nick Bain's ( R-Corinth) leadership during the House committee vote. Sen. Brice Wiggins (R- Pascagoula) led the Senate committee vote, advocated for boldly by Sen. Joey Filingane (R-Sumrall) before the Judiciary B committee. Sen. Jeremey England (R- Ocean Springs) took to social media for this critical piece of legislation, “I believe it is of the utmost importance that our laws are applied equally and that they provide equal protection of our God-given rights.”

The Mississippi House Members who co-sponsored the bill alongside Rep. Crawford were Rep. Brady Williamson, Rep. Steve Hopkins, Rep. Stacey Hobgood-Wilkes, Rep. Lester Carpenter, Rep. William Tracy Arnold, Rep. Dana Criswell, Rep. Donnie Scoggin, Rep. Dana McLean, Rep. Chris Brown (20th), Rep. Dan Eubanks, Rep. Shane Barnett, Rep. Jansen Owen, Rep. Gene Newman, and Rep. Randy Boyd. 

The law signed into effect by Governor Tate Reeves prevents abortions from taking place because of diagnoses like Down Syndrome or Cystic Fibrosis. Even in non-fatal cases, as many as 67 percent of babies with Down syndrome are aborted in the United States. Respectively, an estimated 95 percent of babies given a prenatal diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis are aborted. Increasingly, evidence displays the presence of abortions taking place when families prefer male babies to female. Just as devastating, pregnancy decisions are sometimes made on the basis of the race of the child. This bill makes a strong stand against the taking of a preborn life due to prejudice. Mississippi has made it illegal for abortionists to knowingly carry out discriminatory abortion, with criminal penalties. 

What does this mean for Mississippi?

With more states joining the movement to end discriminatory abortions each year, many legal experts anticipate these limitations soon moving to the US Supreme Court. This will be a groundbreaking case to follow because it may set the precedent on states’ abilities to restrict abortion before the age of viability when there is a proven state interest in providing protection to minority groups. This case, in turn, could call into question previous rulings across the courts of America. Tennessee and Mississippi will be strong allies calling to question—do states have the right to protect those being discriminated against, whether in the womb or outside of it?

Every year, the 2,700 pregnancy resource centers in America serve women in the midst of an unexpected pregnancy. They offer medical, material, emotional, and spiritual resources for women and men facing a decision about their pregnancy. These centers walk with women and their families from the first pregnancy test to long after the baby’s birth. 

Last month’s release of Charlotte Lozier Institute’s Pregnancy Center Services Report revealed stunning findings about these local non-profits. 

Nationwide in 2019, pregnancy centers served local communities with: 

In Mississippi, we have nearly 40 pregnancy centers dispersed throughout the state. 

These centers offer their services completely free to their communities. They are loosely banded together with national network partners like Heartbeat International and CareNet. This decentralized movement of free service clinics and centers include the assistance of nearly 69,000 staff and volunteers, with 78 percent of them being volunteers. Over 10,000 of these staff and volunteers are licensed medical workers.

It is estimated that pregnancy resource centers saved American taxpayers $270 million in 2019.

The vast majority of pregnancy centers receive no government funding whatsoever. Despite not having the support of government agencies and grants, pregnancy centers are extremely efficient at distributing goods and services according to the needs of their cities and counties. 

One of The CPC Metro Area’s two clinics can be found 100 yards from the state’s last abortion facility in Jackson. Inside, you can find a sonogram machine donated by an evangelical non-profit. This allows women considering abortion to view their child on a big screen, funded by local donors, for free. 

The waiting room and counseling rooms are filled with donated brand new furniture, the hallways lined with art donated by local artists. 

The clinic is kept cool and warm by a donated HVAC system. 

Medical and administrative staff and supplies are solely funded by churches and individuals from the greater metro area. 

The free prenatal vitamins are covered by a local pharmacist. 

The sonograms reviewed by radiologists who donate their time and expertise. 

An OBGYN compassionately offers expertise as a medical director. 

The single moms’ support groups are hosted by some of the nearly 100 local church partners, and baby and maternity supplies rush in so quickly, storage can barely be maintained. 

Even the Center’s websites, graphic design, and video production is given as free talent and time from local professionals. This is just one of the three dozen PRCs Mississippians support by their own accord. 

When left to coordinate needs with resources freely, it’s amazing what this spontaneous assortment of non-profit centers can accomplish. 

The Life Equality Act, House Bill 1295, passed out of Senate Committee Judiciary B last week. If signed into law, it will prohibit abortions from taking place in Mississippi on the basis of race, sex, or genetic abnormality except in medical emergencies. 

It might come as a surprise to Mississippians that this discrimination takes place at the earliest stages of life. Diagnoses of genetic abnormalities like Down Syndrome and Cystic Fibrosis lead to termination of the child more often than not. Even in non-fatal cases, as many as 67 percent of babies with Down syndrome are aborted in the United States. Recent evidence suggests that as many as 95 percent of parents receiving a prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis elect to terminate the child. On the basis of race and sex, a family’s preference for a male or a non-bi-racial child must absolutely come to an end in Mississippi. The pressure many women receive to have a particular kind of child is unacceptable in our diverse society. 

The Senate committee was the most recent checkpoint for The Life Equality Act on its way to being added to state law. Led by Sen. Brice Wiggins (R-Pascagoula), the Judiciary B Committee Chairman, an affirmative voice vote sent this law to the Senate floor for consideration.

A proponent of the bill and member of the considering committee, Sen. Jeremy England (R- Ocean Springs), spoke out on social media with his support, “I believe it is of the utmost importance that our laws are applied equally and that they provide equal protection of our God-given rights. This of course includes the right to life.” 

Presenting the bill to the committee was Sen. Joey Fillingane (R-Sumrall), who answered questions from the committee members on Tuesday. A voice vote for the bill was then carried out which offered an overwhelming affirmation. 

The bill was introduced in the House by Representative by Rep. Carolyn Crawford (R- Pass Christian) and the Senate version of the bill was introduced this year by Sen. Jenifer Branning (R-Philadelphia) – two women dedicated to the protection of life in Mississippi. 

The bill got a boost from the support of Mississippi’s Catholic Bishops, Joseph Kopacz and Louis Kihneman III, of Jackson and Biloxi respectively. The two Catholic leaders sent a powerful joint letter in support of the legislation.

If this law is passed, it pushes against the narrative and legal precedent that states do not have an interest in protecting life before the viability of an unborn child. In fact, race, sex, and genetic abnormalities can all be determined before the stage of viability. Eugenic practices and discrimination are certainly interests of the state-level government. 

It is critical that our state stand against discrimination in the womb. Mississippians affirm that life has value- regardless of race, sex, or ability. With conversations surrounding discrimination at the forefront in our society at the moment, it is critical that we seek to defend the voiceless as well. Those innocents in the womb are unable to defend themselves but are worth defending nonetheless. 

In Mississippi, it is legal to have an abortion because the preborn child’s race, sex, or disability is not preferred by the baby’s parents. 

This has prompted Rep. Carolyn Crawford (R-Pass Christian) and Sen. Jenifer Branning (R-Philadelphia) to bring the Life Equality Act to Mississippi. This proposed law would prohibit abortions from taking place because of the preborn child’s race, sex, or disability.

We should not tolerate the terminal discrimination of preborn children because some extended families do not approve of interracial relationships, or because a parent prefers to have a son to a daughter. Still more common is the termination of those with disabilities, a tragedy that no one would attempt to justify outside of the womb.  

A medical review looked at seven population-based studies and found that the average abortion rate after a Down Syndrome diagnosis was 67 percent. A comprehensive survey facilitated by the Charlotte Lozier Institute took opinions of people with Down Syndrome and their families and found the following:

One only has to spend a brief moment with an individual who has Down Syndrome to witness the joy they bring into a room. Many individuals with Down Syndrome go on to live independently, attend university, marry, and maintain jobs.

However, even if these facts were not the case, individuals with Down Syndrome have an unalienable right to life. Down Syndrome and many other disabilities come as heartbreaking news to expectant mothers. Some disabilities display themselves so prominently in children that they are unable to walk, eat independently, or use the restroom alone. Some diagnoses in the womb are terminal or tragically involve the early death of babies and young children. 

None of this should be minimized.

What do we, Mississippi, say of these lives? 

It is unfathomable to those of us who have not faced an unforeseen diagnosis of a preborn child to know the emotions and financial strain these parents face. It is up to us, Mississippi, to step up, come alongside these parents, and support them. Over 40 privately funded pregnancy resource centers provide free, confidential resources and information for families facing a diagnosis. Local non-profits, churches, and local support groups offer emotional and financial support to families with children with disabilities. We certainly have room to improve and increase these services in Mississippi, but improving the world for families with disabilities requires respect for their lives, not the promotion of abortion.

For terminal cases when infants only live for a short time after birth or have a chance of passing away in the womb, perinatal hospice and palliative care programs are available to Mississippians. Care for the mother and preborn child is the ethical response to severe anomalies. Abortion does not resolve cases where a lethal fetal anomaly exists; it merely destroys the life of one of the patients. Patients and their families can and should be offered the ethical options of perinatal hospice or palliative care to support them in the same way we do families with an adult member for whom treatment has become futile. Even a brief life has meaning. 

There are times diagnoses do not result in a worst case scenario. A woman in Flowood, Tina Oates, was pressured by doctors in Mississippi to abort her son, Coit, after she contracted Cytomegalovirus. In some cases, CMV passed through the placenta during pregnancy leads to disabilities in the child. Tina’s family went against persistent medical objections, sought treatment, and have a perfectly healthy little boy today.  

Even in non-fatal cases, evidence suggests that as many as 95% of parents receiving a prenatal diagnosis of cystic fibrosis elect to abort the child. Madison resident Joseph Edge, MBA student at Millsaps and MSU Alum, has battled Cystic Fibrosis since birth. He has endured extended hospital stays and emotional and physical hurdles due to his condition. This brilliant young man is loved by his community, loves his bulldogs, and his life is certainly no less valuable than ours.  

Consider this Mississippi child, 13-year old Joseph Smith, born with Muscular Atrophy. He is adored by his community, church, and large family as the youngest of seven children. He is unable to walk, speak in full sentences, or eat orally. He requires very regular medical attention and assistance from his family for most daily functions. Joseph has favorites—cowboys and zoo animals. He has dislikes—thunderstorms and the cold. He’s friendly and loving and communicates mostly with gestures and expressions. His life is of equal value to everyone else’s. It’s time for our laws to catch up to that self-evident truth.

Each life has an inherently equal value, no matter the race, sex, or ability of the individual. Mississippi has the chance to be a national leader on this issue and can affirmatively state that it rejects the throwaway culture so prevalent in our society today. The Life Equality Act does just that and deserves to be made law.

At least one college not far from Mississippi wants to make sure you think twice before sharing cards with a guy or girl you may have your eye on this Valentine’s Day.

Growing up, you may remember Valentine’s Day as a fun holiday in elementary school. Maybe you would pass out Valentine’s card to classmates, saving the best or biggest card for the person we had a crush on. Maybe that card even had a special note in it that only a 10 or 11-year-old could think up.

It was innocent fun on a day that meant lots of pink or red hearts and chocolate to go along with it. Eventually, perhaps, Valentine’s Day became more serious.

But not at the University of New Orleans. It has been awarded the “speech code of the month” violator by the Foundation for Rights in Education (FIRE) for February. This public university has a speech code so vague that an unexpected Valentine could be considered sexual harassment.

One can wonder if a secret admirer might quickly be deemed a stalker by campus code.

UNO’s ambiguous speech code cites examples of harassment as “visual displays such as leering” and “displays of sexually suggestive objects” such as cartoons. The College Fix suggests that icky handshakes and some of The Simpson’s cartoons might meet this criteria.

A Valentine should only constitute harassment if it is part of a “pattern of conduct,” FIRE asserts. If the campus regulations are not clear for students, they will be forced to interpret the fuzzy rules as literally as possible.

In that case, it is safer not to pass out little love notes or cards with puns this Thursday.

This free speech issue at UNO is part of a pattern itself—a pattern of little respect for First Amendment rights. Not only have campus rules and the collective left possibly banned hearts day; they’re on their way to ban every traditionally American holiday.

Halloween? Costumes are offensive. 4thof July? America is a constant disappointment. Easter and Christmas? Get your patriarchal religion off their quad. Thanksgiving or Columbus Day? Imperialistic. Super Bowl Sunday? Don’t even think about it.

This upcoming holiday, Harvard students will be given 100 characters to specify their gender on an online campus dating program. This option became available following a student protest and a public apology from The Harvard Computer Society for originally creating a gender binary program. And conservatives are hostile to science?

To be clear, speech on college campuses is allowed as long as campus ideology agrees.

Free speech seems to be a reward on campus only for those who meet the ideological bandwagon standard in academia. That is not the way it should be. While the war on Valentine’s Day cards allows us to poke fun at the often-goofy campus speech codes, they are no laughing matter.

Free speech should not only be tolerated, it should be encouraged on college campuses. First Amendment rights cannot be limited to just a remote area deemed acceptable by administration far from any students. Stimulating curiosity and intellectual debate has long been a hallmark of American college campuses. Unfortunately, that is no longer the case on too many campuses.

That is why every state in the country needs legislation protecting free speech for college students. Because relying on college administrations is not working.

Last summer, tragedy struck in Oxford when 22-year-old Ally Kostial was violently murdered and found just miles from the Ole Miss campus. A member of the Greek community and active as a pilates and yoga instructor on campus, Ally’s death shook her community to the core. Mississippians, alum and students, have asked themselves since that day in July — How could this have happened at Ole Miss?

Some of Ally’s friends reported that Ally was pregnant with her alleged murderer’s baby. Some of her community believes her denying the choice of abortion led to the murderous rampage of her on and off-again boyfriend. It’s been reported that her own sorority sisters knew about her pregnancy, her choice to not abort, and the anger her alleged murderer felt that she was not planning on having an abortion. 

Whether or not this was the case for Ally or this was the motivation for her brutal murder, one thing is clear — the Ole Miss student body did not know where to send an unexpectedly pregnant student. 

Just miles from campus, a free, privately funded, confidential place for pregnant women offers life-saving services. Pregnancy Center of Oxford is a “warm caring, judgment-free environment” to receive medical-grade pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and options counseling that is designed to look for red flags in relationships like abuse and coercion. No matter the choice a mother makes — for parenting, adoption, or abortion, there are confidential and free services for women in Oxford. 

This is one of over 40 pregnancy centers like its kind across Mississippi, one that saved American taxpayers $44 million in 2018. 

In the wake of this tragedy, Ole Miss students Jack Dellinger and Lauren Moses were inspired to restart a pro-life group on campus that had died off in the last few years. The Ole Miss Students for Life exists to educate and dialogue with peers about abortion, provide resources to pregnant and parenting students, and empower the choice for life when their peers face unexpected pregnancies. 

Summer Farrell, the Executive Director of Pregnancy Center of Oxford comments, “We are so grateful that the chapter has been renewed, trained, equipped, and empowered to move forward and provide education to fellow students facing an unplanned pregnancy. We are grateful to Sarah Zarr, the Southern Regional Coordinator with Students for Life, for investing in the Ole Miss campus.”

At a Mississippi Center for Public Policy panel discussion just a month after Ally’s death, a question came from the audience regarding resources at Ole Miss for pregnant women on campus. This question was like a call to action for Jack.

“My co-president and I have always been pro-life, but that tragedy was a wake up call to Lauren and me. It showed how abortion affects so many people around us. We just don’t normally see it.”

Since then, the Ole Miss group has held campus events, had meaningful, peaceful dialogue with those who agree and those who disagree on campus. They’ve had dozens of peers interested in joining their group. 

Just last month, the co-presidents attended the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. This 47-year-old march was the largest ever, attracting over 225,000 people, with half of marchers estimated to be younger than 30 years old. President Donald Trump spoke at the event this year, becoming the first president to speak at March for Life.

The students then received apologetics and practical training for their group at the annual, National Pro-Life Summit, held by Students for Life of America, Live Action, Heritage Foundation, and Alliance Defending Freedom. They were joined by students from other campuses in Mississippi like Pro-Life MSU and Mississippi College Students for Life.

Less than a year later, this brutal tragedy has ignited a fire in our state. Oxford as a community and Ole Miss as a student body are prepared to serve women in a crisis like Ally Kostial may have been. The hope of these students and the pregnancy center community is that students know where to send their friends facing unexpected pregnancies. Pro-Life students at Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Mississippi College, and the over 40 pregnancy centers sprinkled across our state are free market resources, providing help to those in need.

While liberal states push to legalize abortion to the moment of birth, pro-life states are responding. 

Last week, Alabama passed the strongest pro-life legislation in America. Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law The Alabama Human Life Protection Act, banning abortion in nearly all cases. The only exception has been reserved for the physical endangerment of the mother’s life. Mental and emotional reasons for aborting will not qualify.

Predictably, left-wing media headlined that 25 men passed the pro-life bill. Also predictably, they left out the Pew polling data that Alabama women are more pro-life than the men of the state. This came after a debate where Alabama State Rep. John Rogers shocked America with a despicable statement that “some kids are unwanted, so you kill them now or you kill them later.”

This year, pro-life measures such as Heartbeat bills swept the nation, limiting abortion at the point of an ultrasound detectable heartbeat. A fetal heartbeat begins around 21 days post-conception but is currently detectable with ultrasound closer to 6 weeks gestation. Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi worked tirelessly to pass these Heartbeat bills, which were all almost immediately halted by activist judges. 

Unsurprisingly, the Hollywood elite raged online about trending Heartbeat bills. A slew of celebrities even promised to boycott Georgia for filmmaking due to their Heartbeat bill.

While a growing number of states stepped up to protect life, a couple of states tragically passed pro-abortion legislation. New York, being the most extreme, legalized abortion to the moment of birth and decriminalized the death of any preborn child. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was in favor of similar legislation in his state that ultimately did not pass. Gov. Northam infamously added in a radio interview how medical professionals might keep born alive infants “comfortable” while they die following a failed abortion.

In Connecticut, pro-life pregnancy centers are fighting for their lives as the legislature considers restricting their ability to ethically advertise. If successful, this legislation will meet a battle with NIFLA, the pro-life organization that triumphed at the U.S. Supreme Court last summer with a similar case brought forward in California.  

Given this traffic jam of pro-life and pro-abortion legislation across the country, one might ask why now? What’s causing this huge flux in abortion legislation? 

In short, the battle has restarted over Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court decision that first legalized abortion in all 50 states in 1973. Pro-life legislation like Alabama’s are welcoming disputes to higher courts. 

On a national scale, this is the most politically feasible time to introduce pro-life legislation since the Reagan era. With two Trump-appointed SCOTUS justices, the first president to speak at the March for Life, lower court appointees recommended by conservative groups like The Heritage Foundation, the first Pro-life Senate Caucus, a pro-life cabinet, a civilian pro-life advisory council for Trump, a Supreme Court win for pregnancy centers, an executive order to end funding for the Mexico City Policy, and large social demonstrations such as last week’s ultrasound blasted in Times Square, it’s a good time to be pro-life. 

The pro-abortion lobby also knows this. They also know that the number of abortions in the country continues to decline. 

They have responded accordingly – with a screeching war cry. The left has tried so hard to back peddle this progress that they have gone too far even by some self-described pro-choicers standards. The U.S. Senate blocked efforts to protect babies born alive from failed abortions. New York, Virginia, and other usual culprits scrambled to become America’s biggest loser on abortion policy. 

In some cases, these efforts brought them to a 360 degree, not a 180 degree, turn. Actress and social activist, Alyssa Milano, laughably called for a “sex strike” in response to the success of the pro-life movement. “Our reproductive rights are being erased,” she tweeted.“Until women have legal control over our own bodies we just cannot risk pregnancy. JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back. I’m calling for a #SexStrike. Pass it on.” 

Of course, conservatives have always offered abstinence as a great option to prevent unplanned pregnancies. In a strange twist of mental gymnastics, many on the left joined the #sexstrike and joined the sentiment of the religious right—only introduce sex when you are willing to accept the possibility of a child being conceived.  The dichotomy has joined the ranks of the twilight zone. So, what can we pull from this conglomeration of legislation, cultural response, and political climate? 

It’s come down to this – there is a blossoming Culture of Life and an aggressive Culture of Death. The Culture of Death will not passively lose. It’s becoming more and more difficult to take a stance in the middle, as the culture of death becomes more radicalized against any choice other than abortion. 

When our descendants look back on this critical era, where will you say you stood? 

Mississippi recently hosted its largest pro-life walk yet. 

Three-hundred and fifty eight registered walkers and 52 partner churches raised over $70,000 for The Center for Pregnancy Choices Metro Area at their first annual LifeWalk. This exceeded their goal by over $20,000. 

Due to generous local business partners underwriting the event, 100 percent of LifeWalk proceeds will go to serving the women of Hinds, Rankin, and Madison counties facing unplanned pregnancies. 

The CPC Metro Area offers free and confidential medical-quality pregnancy tests, high-quality sonograms, options counseling, literature, parenting classes, referrals to community services, infant supplies, and prenatal vitamins. They are funded solely from the generosity of local Mississippians, their businesses, and their churches. 

The two clinics in North Jackson and Fondren are staffed with registered nurses and trained decision specialists. Their medical capabilities are made possible by their medical director, two volunteer radiologists, and a pharmacy that provides prenatal vitamins. 

Truly, the Jackson area community makes their mission possible. 

Each of the 52 participating churches had a Walk Ambassador who assembled their own walk teams. Each walker raised their own sponsorship in their respective spheres of influence and set personal goals accordingly. Highland Colony Baptist Church stands out as a church that went above and beyond, raising the most funds of any participating church. Nine families raised $1,000 or more for the clinics, while 22 others raised $500 plus by their own accord. First Baptist Church in Raymond formed the largest team, with 32 walkers. A young woman from Clinton raised over $2,700 as an individual. Funds poured in from Madison, Ridgeland, Jackson, Flowood, Brandon, Pearl, Terry, Florence, Raymond, Clinton, Star, and Pelahatchie.

It is abundantly clear—Mississippi is a pro-life state. We are ready to put our money where our mouth is. We are literally walking the walk we talk. Following Gov. Phil Bryant signing our Heatbeat Bill this session, recently halted by a court order, we see that Mississippians will not wait for courts to catch up with our progress. 

Neither the state nor federal government fill the gap for the women of Mississippi quite like The CPC Metro Area does. 

Voluntary associations and local philanthropy show us that private institutions and individuals support women in crisis. 

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