We’re Open Arms

When a client walks through the doors of the ABC Women’s Center in Middletown, Connecticut, she is greeted by muted gray walls and a welcoming space with sofa chairs and white décor.

“The stereotype about pro-life centers is that they manipulate women with pictures of babies or gruesome abortions,” commented Sheila Toal, who has volunteered at the center for the past two years. “But this isn’t true. We just want to give them honest information.”

The ABC Center provides free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, resources, and counseling to women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy in an atmosphere of safety and respect. “We try to determine if women are abortion minded, abortion vulnerable, or likely to carry,” explained Sheila. This is because some women do not want to abort—but feel trapped. The ABC Center dreams of women receiving support and compassion, rather than making decisions out of fear.

But while the center is explicitly faith based and pro-life, they do not push any agenda onto their clients. “It’s not my responsibility to try to change their mind or convince them [to carry],” Sheila added. “It’s to love the women.”

In Connecticut, crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) have been accused of deceiving clients with “misleading health information” and false advertising. When CT House Bill 7070, which would have regulated the advertising of CPCs, failed to pass the Senate in 2019, this sparked an outcry against these supposed “anti-choice extremists.”

These accusations, however, seem to twist the truth. At the center, women are given information that abortion centers, eager to make a profit, neglect to provide about the harmful psychological and physical consequences of having an abortion. Clients are also made aware of alternatives, such as adoption, which they may not have considered so that they can make an informed decision.

As one client on the website reported, “The choices about the pregnancy were asked, and they respected my choice.”

Ultrasound technician Robin Cook decided to leave her job in a hospital after being transferred to an abortion ward. Now, she offers free ultrasounds at the ABC Center to women contemplating their options. While women and their partners are not obligated to view the ultrasound images, if the fetus is still too small to see a discernible heartbeat, Robin encourages the women to come back in a week or two. For many women, seeing these images is the defining factor in their decision-making.

For those women who choose to carry the baby to full term, the ABC Center provides baby clothes and supplies, training courses on parenting and family through BrightCourse, and other forms of support that many new mothers lack in their families and social circles.

Otherwise, the center offers counseling to help women overcome the trauma of having gone through an abortion. “We’re happy to help them in any way. We’re open arms,” insisted Kelin Rosario, client service manager, who made the decision to carry her own baby four years ago.

“If I could label this center,” Kelin continued, “it would be ‘hope.’ We give women hope that even with a child, they can accomplish anything.


Kara Barlow is from Windsor, Connecticut. She attended WJI Europe 2024.