Abortion supporters regularly perpetuate the lie that the pro-life movement only cares about children before they are born. But one tweet – and the viral response to it – is proving them wrong.
On May 15, Sarah Tuttle-Singer, an editor for the Times of Israel, dared pro-lifers to tell her on Twitter how they “personally” have aided mothers in need. Her tweet reacted to the pro-life support of Alabama’s new law that considers abortion a felony offense in most cases.
“Dear Pro-Life friends: what have you *personally* done to support lower-income single mothers?” she asked on Twitter. “I’ll wait.”
But she didn’t need to wait for long. More than 13,000 tweeters flooded her feed with responses, ranging from adoption to financial and educational needs. And, whether they knew it or not, they were answering someone who perhaps most needed to hear them: a post-abortive woman. During a 2012 NPR interview, Tuttle-Singer admitted abortion is a decision “never made lightly.”
“It became incredibly painful later on when I was pregnant with my daughter seven years later,” she said of her abortion in college. “I had a hard time reconciling a previous decision with the excitement of seeing this tiny blip on an ultrasound monitor and saying wow, that's a baby; that's life.”
But that’s exactly why the pro-life movement does what it does: to support life.
“Last year alone, we raised a quarter million dollars to support families and centers who take in moms and their babies,” Emily Zanotti, senior editor at the Daily Wire, responded to Tuttle-Singer’s tweet. “We get them prenatal and postnatal care, help them get started on education, jobs, whatever they need.”
Gloria Purvis, the host of EWTN’s Morning Glory, stressed that not only did she improve mothers’ lives but also they improved hers.
“Besides organizing diaper drives, donating to food banks, and organizing transportation to and from doctors’ appointments and giving emotional and financial assistance, I became personal friends with some of these moms,” she tweeted. “They have blessed my life.”
Doctor Grazie Christie, policy advisor for the Catholic Association added, “I read their fetal ultrasounds for free. I donate lots of money to centers that provide material help. I adopted some good woman’s little baby. I could go on and on.”
Several Twitter users shared even more personal stories – stories of adoption.
“We totally rearranged our lives to adopt a sibling group of three living in a Filipino orphanage,” continued writer and Fordham University professor Charles Camosy.
One dad, Jason Miller, typed, “Adopted 1 and took in 3 foster who are now staying permanently. In addition to my 6 natural children.”
“Spent $40K to adopt a little girl with a chronic liver disease that was left on the doorstep of an orphanage at 2 days old,” wrote a pastor named Chris Ward. “We were helped with $500K lifesaving organ transplant. We are grateful for the birth mom choosing life. Our daughter is worth it!”
Others helped out family – or cared for those in need as if they were family.
“My mom and I lived with my sister for 22 and 12 years respectively to help raise her five children,” one man responded.
Jason Hall revealed, “We supported a single mom for 6 years until she got married. My wife taught her how to drive, we bought her a car, then another when it got wrecked. We helped her pay for school and helped her find jobs. Untold hours of babysitting. We basically adopted a 19-year-old with 2 kids.”
“We have oil changes twice a year for single moms,” one pastor replied. “We serve about 360single moms. We have a food pantry. We provide financial mentoring. We have a Day of R and R where they get pampered with getting their hair and nails done and a massage. We participate with Habitat for Humanity.”
Another urged, “I have taken in a single mother and her two children when her power was cut off in winter. When her car was taken we gave her ours.”
“Our church is heavily involved in a local program for teen moms. It provides meals, life skills classes, interventions in emergency situations, a mentorship program (the girls are paired with another mom), some help with physical needs (diapers, car seats, etc),” one woman tweeted. “I've *personally* donated a couple of car seats, given financially and provided meals.”
Writer Alexi Sargeant tweeted that he “Donated to crisis pregnancy centers” and “Volunteered with the Sisters of Life,” among other things. His wife, author Leah Libresco, added, “Applying for open adoption, to take care of a child whose mother doesn't think she can raise the baby” as well as donating to “pay the bails of black mothers and send them home to be with their children.”
Lisa Moyer wrote, “I’ve volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center. We gave out diapers and baby formula and had a ‘store’ with kids clothes that moms could shop in.”
Meghan Savercool stressed, “I volunteer as a babysitter for an organization that helps single moms complete their college degrees.”
Another continued, “I was a crisis pregnancy counselor. We provided free pregnancy tests and free counseling and supplies during the pregnancy as well as connecting the women with healthcare.”
A pastor named Neil Schori tweeted that he has “helped a significant number of women get free from their abusive partners” while another person, Kim Reid urged, that she does “prison ministry every week in a jail where most inmates are low-income single mothers,” among other things.
These are just a few of the ways the pro-life movement reveals that they care for both the mother and baby – the born and unborn.