The Morning Center: New pro-life ministry birthed in Illinois

By Angela Wittman

Samaritan Ministries based in Peoria has taken the next step forward in the pro-life movement with developing a new project to directly help mothers and their preborn babies in need of prenatal care: The Morning Center.  Their website states that they were founded in 2011 with the goal to “provide free full-service pre-natal and maternity care to women in urban and under-served areas.” 

Their goal, as stated on the “About Us” section of the website is to eventually establish pro-life hospitals that will offer:

• Complete prenatal care, counseling, mentoring, and professional photography that celebrates the joy of new life.

• A birthing center atmosphere in a full service maternity hospital, allowing a mother great flexibility in making birth choices – from facilities for water birth, and space for family, to highly trained staff and equipment needed for any medical situation.

• Staff members who have a clear sense of God’s calling to demonstrate the Good News of Jesus Christ in a potent and practical way as they care for each mother and baby.

More immediate goals are to provide mobile care units to major urban areas.  These units would be staffed with medical missionaries and staff to provide free prenatal care to expectant mothers in need, including state of the art exam rooms and 3D ultrasound technology. The mobile care units can help provide loving support to women while also working with local churches and ministries for more long term care and/or counseling.

What motivates Christians to provide such care?  Scripture tells us that God is very much concerned about the fatherless and as His people representing Jesus Christ on Earth, it is our duty to help those in need; we are commanded to do no less. The Morning Center will be showing the world the love, mercy and compassion of Jesus Christ with practical and much needed action.