Contact: Jay Hobbs, Heartbeat International, 614-885-7577

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- In what it hails as the most powerful pro-life event on Capitol Hill, Heartbeat International is bringing seven mothers--and their children--to Washington, D.C. this January to tell elected officials how they chose life with the help of a community-funded pregnancy center.

 

The event, "Babies Go to Congress," takes place Jan. 26, the morning prior to the annual March for Life, and is Heartbeat International's 15th such visit to the nation's capital since 2009. In the previous trips, 113 mothers and their children have visited a total of 265 offices--including those of both Democrats and Republicans.

 

In each visit, a mother who has rejected abortion with the help of a pregnancy help organization has the opportunity to tell her story, alongside both her child and the staff from the center that helped her choose life.

 

"This is one event Planned Parenthood could never dream of pulling off," Heartbeat International president Jor-El Godsey said. "Pregnancy help centers empower women to make the healthiest choice for everyone involved in an unexpected pregnancy. This is a powerful platform for us to both show and tell the truth that pregnancy help centers are good for America."

 

The group this year is made up of two mothers from Ohio, as well as one each from North Carolina, Missouri, Arizona, Texas and Wyoming. Though six of the mothers are bringing with them children 4 years old and younger, one mother--Nikki Pinkley from Branson, Mo.--is bringing her 14-year-old daughter to the event.

 

Together, Nikki and her daughter, Alexis, illustrate the positive life-long impact of that nation's 2,600 pregnancy help centers.

 

Nikki was raised in the church and had recently graduated high school when she found out she was pregnant. Finding help at Options Pregnancy Clinic in Branson, she not only chose life for Alexis, but the staff at Options encouraged her to keep pursuing her education and career goals.

 

Today, Nikki is a closing in on a decade as a licensed professional counselor and is working on her doctoral degree in psychology.

 

"My hope is that every young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy will find the help she needs to face the challenges of being a single mom," Nikki, who later married, said. "It's not easy, but I am living proof that the future is what you make of it. Sometimes you just need someone to believe in you. I found the help I needed, plus a lot of inspiration at Options Pregnancy Clinic."

 

 

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