Two Years After Roe v. Wade Fell, How Well Are Churches Ministering to Women in Crisis?

Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court dismantled Roe v. Wade and sent the abortion issue back to the states, a new survey explores how many churches are coming alongside crisis pregnancy centers.

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According to Lifeway Research, just 31% of Protestant churchgoers in America have seen their churches connect with pro-life centers since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that was dismantled in 2022 with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

Meanwhile, 44% said they haven’t heard about their church’s involvement in efforts to support local centers. Interestingly, just 8% report that there are no such centers near their houses of worship.

When it comes to churchgoers who do report involvement, 16% said their churches have financially supported pro-life pregnancy centers, 14% reported their churches encouraged them to offer monetary support — and 14% said they were encouraged to refer women with unplanned pregnancies to such centers.

Meanwhile, 11% said their church encouraged them to volunteer at a local pregnancy center.

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Churchgoers under the age of 50 are more likely (21%) than those filled with people aged 65 and older (11%) to say their church has financially supported crisis pregnancy centers. And those who attend church four times a month or more (20%) are more likely than those who attend less often (11%) to have heard about their houses of worship supporting these centers.

These statistics are notable. After all, Christians tend to be overwhelmingly pro-life. Plus, the majority of Americans believe churches and Christians have a responsibility to offer increased support to women.

With the dismantling of Roe v. Wade and reports of increases in abortion, the need to address unwanted pregnancies is paramount. However, the numbers show that the majority of churchgoers report that their houses of worship haven’t fully met these needs.

“In a survey of Americans conducted days before the Dobbs decision was leaked, almost two-thirds of Americans agreed churches and religious organizations have a responsibility to increase support for women who have unwanted pregnancies if their state restricts access to abortion,” Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research, said in a statement.

He continued, “According to those who attend, the majority of Protestant churches in the U.S. are not supporting a pregnancy resource center that exists either separately or as part of their church.”

Read all of the results here.

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