A couple’s decision to forego purchasing a home to instead buy a van to help pregnant women in crisis has turned into a life-saving operation that aids women across America.
Joe Baker and his wife founded Save the Storks — a nonprofit in Colorado Springs offering free sonograms, pregnancy tests and resources to women who are considering having abortions.
The organization’s mission aids in informing abortion-vulnerable women about other options so would-be mothers feel they have a choice. The nonprofit also partners with pregnancy resource centers to further reach its goals. Its vans are equipped with state of the art medical equipment and highly qualified medical professionals. (RELATED: Iowans Applaud Newly Passed Abortion Law)
“Shame, anger and fear don’t work,” the organization posits in its video. “If we really want to help, the answer lies in a simple heartbeat.” Simply offering free sonograms to women who were uncertain about whether to abort or not changed the game, Baker explained. Close to 70 percent of women whom Save the Storks has Served said they felt pressure to abort, according to the organization’s website. Four out of five women who got on Stork Buses, however, chose to not have an abortion.
“That bus changed my life,” New Jerseyan Yakemah said. “Not only did I decide to keep my child, I also left feeling empowered to leave the abusive relationship I was in and find a better life for my children.”
WATCH:
In the van’s first year of operation, 2014, 394 mothers chose life instead of aborting their babies as they had planned. Save the Storks now operates 42 buses in 26 different states, thanks to help from a number of donors and a passionate advertising team. (RELATED: Pro-Life Activists Emboldened With New ‘Intensity’ As The Nation Embraces Life, Report Shows)
Save the Storks is “personal, compassionate, and affords women real choice,” organization spokeswoman Victoria Robinson told The Daily Caller News Foundation Thursday.
To date, the group has helped over 4,000 pregnant women who are now mothers. The number of lives the organization saves each year is more than doubling.