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In the name of female empowerment, feminism, independence, individuality, and equality women are being convinced that being a mother is a sign of weakness. Pro-abortion feminists, along with pro-abortion men, have changed the narrative to convince women that giving birth to an unplanned child is a sign of weakness, of giving up, or even worse: not fair to the baby. 

On the other hand, pro-life feminists understand that giving birth is the ultimate proof that women can do anything on their own. Sure, a man is required for the conception of a child, but beyond that, women are able to manage their lives, make decisions, have careers, and build multi-million dollar businesses - even with a baby on their hip. 

Abby Johnson, Alveda King, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Michelle Malkin, Celine Dion, Patricia Heaton, Sarah Palin, and Candace Cameron Bure are all very successful pro-life advocates who have enjoyed success while also standing firm in their values. Even if you look at celebrities and female leaders who are pro-abortion, consider the number of these women who didn’t put off motherhood for their careers. Ever heard of Beyonce? How about Kim Kardashian or Angelina Jolie? All women who had babies right in the middle of their success and it didn’t change a thing for them. Tell us again how babies prevent women from achieving their goals.

The women who stand confidently as pro-life feminists share the same, truthful message. A woman doesn’t have to give up one thing in order to be successful. Even if, at her very core, a woman knows she is not capable of parenting a child or providing a safe and nurturing environment, adoption is an option for every woman. 

Adoption is the ultimate feminist choice. It shows that a woman can honor her body’s ability to develop another human life, have the strength and bravery to give birth to that life, and make the difficult decision and action of offering her child over to someone who is not able to do what she did. Sacrifice? No. Celebration. Celebration of a woman’s strength and wisdom. 

In a world where women like to know that they can do anything a man can do, let us remind them that not only can they do anything a man can do, but they can also do one thing a man cannot do: give life to a human being. Now that deserves celebration.

"She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong." - Proverbs 31:16-17

Help us preserve the sanctity of life by becoming a Loving Life Partner. 

Jazmiere said yes to life. But she first struggled. Her self-talk held messages like, “What am I going to do with a baby? I really shouldn’t keep my baby. I didn’t want to bring another life into the world to struggle with me. I didn’t want to be that person.” 

Her friend also told her she needed to have an abortion. The baby’s father didn’t want anything to do with the baby or the pregnancy. Jazmiere was nervous and uncertain. Emotionally, she was all over the place. It was a lot to handle for such a young woman. Her friend kept prompting her to get an abortion. 

When she came onto the mobile unit, the team talked with Jazmiere. They showed Jazmiere her baby with the incredible gift of ultrasound and helped her to see how she could choose life. This was a transformation point for Jazmiere. She recognized that she could pull her life together, raise this little baby and move forward or potentially continue to spiral out of control. 

She left that day with more hope, but still uncertain. The discussions she had with the women on the mobile unit made her hopeful that she could do this and that she would never be alone. She returned for her follow-up ultrasound a week later, the baby had grown and nearly doubled in size since she last saw her baby, and she heard the heartbeat again. She chose life for her baby! 

She received vital classes and coaching on how to be a successful parent in a judgement-free zone full of love and guidance, leaving weekly with supplies for the baby on the way. A local church mothers’ group adopted Jazmiere, and threw a baby shower for her and when she heard they were doing this it brought her to tears. The mobile unit family even came to the labor and delivery to support Jazmiere so that she would feel a support network where people are faithful in keeping their word that she had never known. 

Her walk with God has continued to grow as her child has become the best little gift she could have ever received. Her daughter, Cameron, is so indescribable and Jazmiere says, “My daughter saves me every day, she’s so happy, it’s so rewarding knowing that another life is good in your hands. She is the best thing that ever happened to me, she really is.”

In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. - John 1:4

Help us preserve the sanctity of life by becoming a Loving Life Partner. 

We’ve heard the saying time and again, “hate the sin, not the sinner.” As we encounter women who have been in the unimaginable position of terminating an unwanted pregnancy, we must keep in mind her eternal soul instead of leaving her as a loss, just like the life that was already taken. The baby being in Heaven means that our efforts should be directed to the mom who, too, is in need of eternal salvation. 

Falling short of being a perfect person is something we’re all prone to, no matter the type of sin. As Christians, we know that in spite of our bad choices and behaviors, we have a place in Heaven because our Savior has taken the place of death for us. But what about the woman who, out of desperation and fear, was driven to a decision that can’t be erased. A decision that took a life. A choice that she was convinced was all hers. 

What a burden! The pro-choice movement has fought for, and won, the ability for a woman to be empowered to choose whether or not to terminate a pregnancy, to terminate a life. What they don’t tell her is that with such great power and independence comes a great burden to bear for the rest of her life. 

Had she known the truth that abortion ends the life of a baby, and that loss, was at her own choosing, and that choice would leave an unfillable emptiness inside her, would she see it differently? 

In the name of female empowerment, feminism, independence, individuality, and equality women are being convinced that abortion is the right thing to do. They’re not ready to be a mom, they have a career, they have too many kids already, they can’t do it. Interesting the discouragement behind the encouragement, isn’t it? If they were offering true empowerment, independence and equality, wouldn’t the message instead be that 9 months of pregnancy doesn’t stop a woman from having it all. Giving birth is the ultimate proof that women can do anything on their own. Having yet one more child than planned expands their leadership position. 

Yet, these positive outcomes aren’t the outcomes that are desired by the pro-choice side. They thrive on fear, falsehoods, and dependence leading women to believe that they must listen to them and therefore, they gain control. Control over someone else’s body. My body, my choice is a lie. It’s their choice. A wolf dressed in the clothing of empowerment. 

Let us speak words of life instead of words of condemnation to the woman who has already made a desperate choice. She has a long road ahead of her and she should know that she can do it through the power of Jesus Christ.

But I will not say anything about my needs, for I am able, wherever I am, to be dependent on myself. It is the same to me if I am looked down on or honoured; everywhere and in all things I have the secret of how to be full and how to go without food; how to have wealth and how to be in need. I am able to do all things through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:11-13

Help us preserve the sanctity of life by becoming a Loving Life Partner. 

A few weeks ago, a beautiful yet burdened woman came onto the mobile unit. She wept from the beginning to the end of the short meeting. Through the course of the appointment she told of a secret abortion she had in the past and of her 7-year-old child who was born out of wedlock. She shared about her parents being ministers and the weight of expectation and disappointment she felt from them as well as her greater community. 

She felt judgment wherever she was. Her sorrow was deep, and she continued to cry. She told us she didn’t want to have another secret abortion but she was terrified to tell her family that she was expecting once again. The conversation turned to Jesus as we spoke of His great love for her. We talked about how His love for her was greater than she could ever imagine and that He would never forsake her. 

The appointment was heavy, but we sensed something changing in her. We scheduled an ultrasound for the following week. When she arrived for the ultrasound it was the same flow of constant tears. Her voice was fragile. She told us she still had not decided what to do. As the ultrasound started she got very quiet. When asked if she wanted pictures she responded very confidently, “Yes.” At the end of the ultrasound, we asked her how she was feeling. “Better,” she said strongly. 

We sat down with her after the ultrasound to go over the report and it was as if we were talking to a different person. The tears had stopped and her voice was strong and clear. We spoke to her about churches and her affirmation was positive when we mentioned a church of her culture. She smiled as if that connection alone gave her such peace. She said she had planned to attend church there that previous weekend but had struggled with her morning sickness. We were so encouraged at the end of the appointment. 

What a transformation during that ultrasound, a testimony to how beautiful that room can be. There is power in seeing God’s creation and gaining confidence in His purpose for all of His children. As she left, now smiling, she said this, “I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted, but this gave me a sense of purpose.” Praise the Lord, for she has great purpose indeed! 

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

Help us preserve the sanctity of life by becoming a Loving Life Partner. 

To be honest, we never know how things will turn out with any of the women who board the mobile units. We have no way to anticipate her current state of mind and we have no way to know if we will impact her decision. Recently, we met a young woman who was abortion determined and yet we prayed trusting that God would somehow intervene. 

DJ, just 18 years old, was determined to have an abortion. In fact, her stop at the ICU Mobile unit outside of the abortion facility was merely to get the qualifying ultrasound that would make her abortion checklist complete. She told the team that she was set on having an abortion. The mobile team overheard her as she angrily spoke on her phone to her unborn baby’s father who was in jail. The team was not sure if she was listening to what they were saying to her or if she was responding in angst to the difficult reality on the other end of the phone. 

The mobile team was not optimistic about DJ choosing life as they witnessed her dismissive attitude and full-blown intention to terminate this pregnancy. They inquired why she was feeling this way. She spoke of the father being in jail, about a previous miscarriage and about how the abortion was absolutely what she wanted. 

As the team performed the ultrasound, they prayed, as they knew she would see the reality and beauty of her little one in the womb. The ultrasound was vivid and the baby was merely nine weeks old.  However, the mom remained unmoved. She was determined to abort that baby until she saw a tiny hand popping up on the screen, practically giving mom a little loving wave saying, “Mommy, hi! I’m right here!” Her calloused intentions instantly melted away and she said she did not know her baby was so big and she had no idea that her baby was so real. Because of the gift of ICU Mobile’s presence in Detroit, the gift of ultrasound and a glimpse of her baby saying hello, this mom changed her heart forever and went from planning to abort this sweet child to knowing her and wanting to protect her little life.

Truly, this was a God-ordained moment. DJ came to our mobile unit simply to check “ultrasound” off her list. During her time with us, her baby’s hand appeared and DJ was able to see her child’s life was worth protecting. The ultrasound gave DJ the gift of her baby’s life and a life of her own without regret. Praise God for His mighty miracles! 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Psalm 127:3

Help us preserve the sanctity of life by becoming a Loving Life Partner. 

When God breathed life into the idea of ICU Mobile into Sylvia Slifko’s heart, He made it clear that this ministry would accomplish two things: allowing women to see their baby and blessing women with the Gospel. 

While the Slifko’s knew that lives would be saved and changed through this calling God placed in their lives, only God knew the real details about what was to come. From mobile units being deployed into more communities every year to thousands of babies given the chance at life and women dedicating their lives to Christ, but they couldn’t have anticipated the “extra mile” mobile unit teams would go for these women and their babies.

Our teams go beyond providing a service and a prayer. They develop trust, creating relationships that have become commonplace in ICU Mobile communities. Women return to the mobile units with their babies to share the joy of having a child instead of regret. In the true spirit of women helping women, individuals from our teams have taken their support from the mobile unit to the delivery room, coaching and holding the hands of women as they give life to the unborn. 

Just as the King of the World was born to the fanfare of only those who understood the significance of His birth, ICU Mobile babies have the support and love of our teams who rally around each woman because they understand the significance of the birth of every baby. 

Jesus was the most unexpected pregnancy. In spite of every factor against her, Mary chose life. She was an unmarried virgin, pregnant, scared, and undoubtedly confused. But the word of God delivered through angels gave her the strength and hope she needed to do what she was called to do. Praise God for her faith because her son changed every one of our lives.

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” - Luke 11:27

Help us preserve the sanctity of life by becoming a Loving Life Partner. 

Our experience of 2020 has left many of us shaken, experiencing a turbulence we haven't quite seen before. As Christians, we may be better equipped to handle times of instability, stress, and uncertainty. Jesus promised He will always be with us, He walks alongside us in our daily lives, and the Holy Spirit guides us through a deep understanding that no matter our circumstances God is in control.

Consider the woman who receives news of an unexpected pregnancy. She is shocked, fearful, uncertain and lacking confidence that she'll be able to handle the situation she's been given. What a woman experiences in an unplanned pregnancy is a microcosm of what we have experienced in 2020. Imagine being a young single woman, without a support system, perhaps having lost her job because of the pandemic, and now she's pregnant and she feels she has nowhere to turn and feels completely hopeless.

Our commitment to sharing the gospel with these very women comes from a deep understanding that without God and without the Saving Grace of Jesus, and the guiding wisdom of the Holy Spirit, it is unfathomable how we can handle any crisis without anxiety of the unknown.

Without Jesus, there is no hope. Only when given the opportunity to meet Jesus and understand that true life change comes from a relationship with him, can we endure the turbulence that is certain to come at the most unexpected times. When we minister to the women we meet, it's just as important that we lead her to Christ as it is that we help her make a choice for life for her baby. Only when she understands how important her life is can she truly understand how vital the life is within her. 

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 

- 1 Peter 5:10

Help us preserve the sanctity of life by becoming a Loving Life Partner. 

As followers of Christ, we are consistently called to endure trials that we ultimately raise up in praise and worship to the Lord. There is no shortage of scripture about the hardships we will undoubtedly encounter in this life. At the same time, there is an abundance of promises of joy and expectation of giving thanks and praise to God for these tests.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:6-7

This verse seems to be a perfect summary of this year for most of us. The portion that is so important is the reminder that “your faith [is] more precious than gold.” In this time of year when we reflect on the blessings that we are so thankful to experience, what a beautiful reminder that our faith in itself is a gift. A gift more precious than gold!

If there ever was a time that our faith would be tested, it is now. More importantly than whether we pass the test is whether we are seeking Jesus through it all. Are we praising Him? Are we lifting our hands in surrender as a sign of trust? Are we telling Him in our daily prayers that we are thankful for the ways He has grown our faith and our resilience through our trials?

When we choose a heart filled with thanksgiving and praise regardless of our circumstances, that’s when we realize just how valuable our faith is. Our faith that is more precious than gold.

All of us at the ICU Mobile ministry place our faith and praise in God as we continue to move into more communities across the country. We give thanks and praise for the ways Jesus has moved in the hearts of women who made decisions to follow Him after hearing the Gospel. We glorify the one true God who has blessed us with donors, affiliates, volunteers, and an operational team He has provided for the benefit of His unborn sons and daughters.

Through the trials, we are thankful for the calling God placed on us and we are incredibly grateful for the ways you help us fulfill our calling through your prayers and donations.

May you all be blessed during this time of thanksgiving and praise.   

What an incredible year 2020 has been. From Covid-19 and lockdowns, to a volatile political landscape and abortion options expanding to day-of-birth options, we’ve all persevered through the most unexpected times.

No matter what happened on the political or social scene, ICU Mobile continued to launch new mobile units with affiliates across the country, we continued our Loving Life Initiative, and we kept our hearts focused on sharing the Gospel with those we serve.

Our daily prayer meetings continue to be filled with desperate pleas for healing in our country, while we consistently petition the Lord for our ability to continue providing care for women facing unexpected pregnancy. Our donors have been heroes for us, our affiliates, and the babies that have been saved throughout this year.

Even with many of the mobiles operating at reduced hours due to the pandemic, your support continued to make an impact on our ability to help women. To be specific, we launched 5 new mobile units to affiliates in Kansas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina and Michigan during 2020. After sharing the Gospel with women who thought there was no hope left, 49 of them made a decision for Christ and 947 chose life for their baby.

The enormous blessing behind these numbers is that, in fact, they’re not just numbers. There are people behind every single thing we do. The people never failed to show up, do the work, and be the voice for the unborn.

The numbers we need help with lie in the expenses to make it all happen. Your donation is needed in order for us to continue to bless women and protect the unborn from harm. We need you to partner with us in the way the best fits your ability and in the way God calls you.

You have options for giving:

1. Become a Friend of the Fleet by setting up an automatic monthly donation which will be used for training and ministry.
2. Support our Loving Life Initiative and help us increase the number of mobile units across the country.
3. Make a one-time donation to be used as the ministry needs.

As you prayerfully enter a time of giving, we are praying for you, we appreciate your steadfast prayers for ICU Mobile, and we are committed to the continued service to women in need.

Have you ever felt your prayer life is a little underwhelming? In the busyness of life, we can find ourselves praying those rote prayers, typically on behalf of others, with generalizations and obscure requests. While our God wants to be in the mix of the mundane and He wants to hear those requests that are part of everyday life, He also wants us to honor His power and might through the things we pray for.

We all have the big, specific requests that sometimes we don't recognize as a prayer request because it seems like something that we have to execute on, or we see it as out of our reach. When we let our minds go there, we don't make any attempt on our own behalf to ask God to make it happen for us. We have the big prayers of an end to abortion, that we would be able to pursue our religious liberties without resistance at every turn, and that we would find success and prosperity in a world where it seems like it's harder and harder to achieve our dreams.

God is there waiting for us to ask very specific, very big things of Him. He's told us through scripture that whatever we ask it will be ours. Obviously, that doesn't mean that everything we ask for is right for us and it doesn't mean that anything and everything is at our disposal. It means that when we take our requests and our desires to God in faith, we will receive answers to those prayers in line with God's plan for us. Yes, sometimes unanswered prayers are, in reality, answered prayers. But there isn't a prayer that God doesn't answer. He answers all of them it may just be with silence, it may be with withholding, it may be a delayed answer, and it may be an immediate answer.

When we commit to being faithful followers of Christ and understanding that God has our best interests at heart, it's in those moments we can trust that we can share our deepest and biggest dreams, goals, and plans with the God of the universe. When we take every desire to God in prayer, we can take comfort in knowing that if it is truly meant to be, He will make it happen. At ICU Mobile, a prayer request from a woman who wanted to reach out and help pregnant women has turned into a national alliance of mobile units in communities across the country. Pray big and big answers will follow.

In our quest to control our lives and the outcomes of our desires we can forget to take these to God. When we don't take these things to God, we leave Him out of our plans in our life. And we all know how that turns out. The plans for our life are not actually based on what we want, they’re based on what God has already laid out before us.

Even when we aren’t sure what to pray for, we can petition the Holy Spirit to lead us in prayer. We can remain silent and allow the leading of the Spirit to petition on our behalf. Our prayer life should be robust and intimate, as God designed it to be. If you have a mountain that needs to be moved, tell God.

Never underestimate God’s ability to work miracles and His presence in everything you do. He’s already there, He’s already laid the groundwork. He’s simply waiting for you to approach His throne and ask for His provision.

"And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:22-24