Mary’s House: Catholics Reaching Pregnant Women
“There isn’t a place for Pro-Life Catholics to volunteer and reach women in unplanned pregnancies.” In 2013, a Catholic Pro-Life woman who prayed on the sidewalk at Hope Medical Group made that comment to me. She was very concerned about abortion in Shreveport and that there were more abortions here than in Baton Rouge or New Orleans.
Thinking and praying about that comment, I took a tiny step and asked for an appointment with Bishop Duca. He encouraged me to research and get more information. The idea of Mary’s House was born.
In 2015, the vision for Mary’s House Pregnancy Care Center was cast to the attendees at the Bishop’s Pro-Life Banquet. I described the emotional rollercoaster a young woman feels when she finds out she’s pregnant and it’s not good news to her or her boyfriend.
Or the teenager who is afraid to tell her parents. She thinks if she can get an abortion, the whole mess will go away, and no one will know.
Then there are the parents of a young woman in college. They are proud of their daughter, everything is going great, but then she drops the bombshell – she’s pregnant. The conflicting emotions of embarrassment, what’s the right thing to do, and how to help their daughter is so stressful.
What about a single mom with two children whose husband just left her and she’s pregnant. Not only is she brokenhearted, but she’s also afraid and angry.
Imagine the stress, fear, anger, and broken dreams that you might feel with the news that you’re pregnant and in one of those situations. The emotions are overwhelming and everything you always believed goes out the window because you’re afraid. You just want to get out of the situation – you think, abortion is the answer, and no one needs to know.
But God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. We know He loves us. The staff and volunteers at Mary’s House help people in these pregnancy situations find much-needed hope and peace. God can make this baby the best gift ever even though at present this pregnancy seems like a huge mistake.
At Mary’s House, detailed information about the two abortion processes and adoption are shared. The counselor and woman discuss the resources available to her when choosing life and becoming a mom.
Our volunteers know that each woman is a child of God, made in His image. We respect that she has free will and that having facts and a calm place to talk about her fears and thoughts can help her move through fear into hope. That’s when many women can choose life – when they have hope.
Mary’s House is a non-profit organization. While the Diocese of Shreveport donates to Mary’s House, Catholic individuals and businesses also support the vision to help women in these stressful circumstances. With your help and support, we strive to make abortion unthinkable in Shreveport.
For more information, visit www.maryshouseofla.org.
“Most Reverend Francis I. Malone, Bishop of Shreveport, has authorized a second collection during the month of October in alternating years, for the benefit of the good work and outreach ministry which has been done through Mary’s House Pregnancy Care Center. This is an approved second collection and will be collected on alternating years beginning with the weekend of October 16/17, 2021.”