The Life Choices Pregnancy Center in Longmont, Colorado was vandalized and set on fire in the early morning hours of June 25, 2022, one day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
The damage was extensive. The building was uninhabitable. Life Choices had to direct clients to their other location in Loveland, Colorado, or to the nearest pregnancy center. The facility was also spray painted with pro-abortion slogans such as “Bans Off Our Bodies” and “If abortions aren’t safe neither are you.”
Life Choices Pregnancy Center Rebuilds
The attack on Life Choices was one of several in the days following the historic Supreme Court Decision. According to CatholicVote.org, at least 82 pregnancy resource centers and pro-life groups have been attacked and vandalized since a draft of the Supreme Court opinion was leaked in May of 2022.
Watch the full video: Life Choices Pregnancy Center
At Life Choice Pregnancy Center, hope has arisen out of the ashes of despair. Reconstruction is underway and a move-in date is estimated to be sometime in July.
“It has been a slow process due to the significant amount of damage and all the extra processes that had to happen with fire mitigation before construction could begin, but praise be to God, we are close to finish line!” said Kathy Roberts, executive director of Life Choices.
In a video message to financial supporters, Roberts shared an amazing testimony. In the midst of fire and smoke-damaged debris, a volunteer came upon a covered Bible opened to Psalm 68, which includes these verses (1-3):
Let God arise,
Let His enemies be scattered;
Let those also who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
So drive them away;
As wax melts before the fire,
So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.
But let the righteous be glad;
Let them rejoice before God”¦
“This scripture assures us that God refreshes the weary and that he is a father to the fatherless and provides for the widows and orphans,” Roberts said. “The overwhelming goodness of God surrounded us that day. God stirred hearts and many responded from local churches from other states, businesses, ministries of all kinds”¦The prayers of the saints strengthened me. We are in troubled times where persecution for standing up for life is costly; even so, we serve a mighty God, not only in the good times, but also in difficult times.”
Roberts thanked financial supporters who responded after the fire.
“We will not grow weary in this work because we have the best support system there is. And that is you. It is because of you that we can continue to fight this good fight, standing in the gap for those who cannot speak for themselves,” she said.
One of the financial supporters was Care Net, which sent assistance to Life Choices and 16 other pregnancy centers from its Center Relief Fund in the wake of the attacks.
Roland Warren, CEO and President of Care Net, addressed the issue last summer when he spoke about the strategy network pregnancy centers could implement in response to attacks and threats of attack.
“As an organization that supports a network of 1,200 life-affirming pregnancies centers, we are deeply saddened by these attempts to intimidate organizations that do so much amazing God-honoring work to support women and men in their communities,” he said.
Care Net’s five-point strategy, featured in an article at MinistryWatch.com, includes a “Watch and Pray” initiative (based on Luke 21:36, Ezekiel 33:2, and Matthew 10:16), a plan for partnering with law enforcement to ask for increased patrols near the center, and community involvement and awareness meetings to ask for assistance from churches and local organizations.
In November, testimony by FBI Director Christopher Wray brought the issue front and center in the national media. Wray testified before the House Homeland Security Committee, saying that a majority of abortion-related violence since Dobbs decision has been directed at pregnancy centers.
In the case of Life Choices, the FBI has offered a $17,500 reward for information leading to an arrest in the arson and vandalism attack. In a blog post, Roberts wrote that, while Life Choices is seeking justice, she is praying that “the Lord’s goodness and mercy will visit those who did this and they will be overcome with his love and be saved. I pray that the Lord would turn these Sauls into Pauls (a reference to Saul’s conversion in Acts 9).”
Care Net salutes the resiliency of Roberts and Life Choices. It is the faith, courage, and determination of pro-life advocates like her that enable pregnancy centers across the nation to continue their vital work in the midst of the great persecution and danger in post-Roe America.
“Our mission has not changed,” Roberts said. “We will continue to serve the communities by sharing the love of Christ, bringing truth, hope, help, and healing.”