{"id":243907,"date":"2021-04-28T09:38:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T14:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=243907"},"modified":"2021-04-27T16:43:48","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T21:43:48","slug":"pregnancy-help-community-human-trafficking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pregnancy-help-community-human-trafficking\/","title":{"rendered":"The pregnancy help community is at the forefront of serving human trafficking victims"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(Pregnancy Help News<\/a>)\u00a0When considering the services offered by the local pregnancy help organization (PHO) it might not come to mind for some that assisting the victims of human trafficking<\/a> is among the offerings. But the fact is, in the course of their day-to-day work<\/a> of serving women facing unplanned pregnancy, pregnancy help centers\u00a0<\/a>have been<\/a> serving human trafficking victims<\/a> as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Like abortion, human trafficking is a violation of the sanctity of human life, and the awareness of this scourge is starting to catch up with its prevalence.<\/p>\n

Pregnancy help centers and medical clinics are in a unique position<\/a> to make a difference<\/a> through the services they provide and partnerships they have established in their communities.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Experts say traffickers often bring their victims to pregnancy centers for free pregnancy ultrasounds and to avoid hospital emergency rooms, making pregnancy centers a \u2018first responder<\/a>\u2019 on the front lines of this crisis.<\/p>\n

PHOs that are combatting human trafficking<\/a> may be reserved about the actions they take to serve these victims because drawing attention to what they do could put their efforts, clients, and staff at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cPregnancy help centers are vital first responders to this modern slavery,\u201d said Heartbeat International\u2019s Director of Ministry Services Betty McDowell, who has testified on Capitol Hill<\/a> about the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen contact Option Line and come to pregnancy help organizations because we provide free ultrasounds, we have a safe and caring environment, and we can connect them with on-going support and help,\u201d McDowell said. \u201cThis means PHOs are first responders to human trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n

How are they responding?<\/p>\n

McDowell said that much of what is now being adopted in ERs and medical clinics in terms of trauma-informed care are things already being done by PHOs – which encompasses pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) and pregnancy medical clinics.<\/p>\n

This includes:<\/p>\n