A Chicago-based pregnancy help medical clinic is grounded in belief in the power of prayer as babies are being saved in otherwise unlikely scenarios.
Aid For Women has several locations in the Chicago region. The center’s Michigan Avenue office gave testimony to Pregnancy Help News about a client who came to the door seeking an abortion. The story had been shared via its newsletter with donors just after the July 4 weekend.
The baby’s father was in full support of terminating the pregnancy. After meeting with Client Advocates and discussing solutions to their fears for the pregnancy, the couple made an ultrasound appointment.
The client later texted the center and said her boyfriend’s “heart was softening.” The couple was ecstatic to see their child in the ultrasound and “completely changed their minds,” the center said.
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Along for the visit at the second appointment was the client’s mother. She shared with Advocates that she had been praying with her prayer group that her grandchild’s life would be spared.
She told center Advocates that she felt Aid for Women was an answer to that prayer.
Aid for Women’s Katie Bredemann, Communications and Marketing consultant, said the client and her boyfriend have been given a number of resources to help them through the pregnancy. Some of the materials offered during the initial visit and at follow-up visits included:
- An Aid for Women You Have Options brochure
- Bright Course - An Aid for Women program in which expectant mothers gain valuable knowledge and tips about pregnancy, newborn care, and parenting, while accumulating points that can be redeemed for new baby items in the Baby Boutiques in each of our eight pregnancy care centers.
- Lifeline Adoption Page, containing referral information to local adoption agencies
- A video about how Aid for Women has helped other expectant mothers
- A video describing what happens in an abortion
The client also received a personal care gift at her first appointment, and a baby gift at her second appointment, Bredemann said, and she and her boyfriend have decided to parent their baby.
“Aid for Women looks forward to offering assistance and providing community referrals as (the client)’s pregnancy continues,” she told Pregnancy Help News.
At the heart of these resources is the intention to bathe every effort in prayer, said Executive Director Susan Barrett.
“At Aid for Women, we believe in, and rely on the power of prayer,” Barrett said. “Though we welcome women of all faith traditions, we were founded on the teachings of the Catholic Church, and prayer is vital in the life of every practicing Catholic. It is the primary way for people of faith to grow in their relationship with God.”
“At Aid for Women, prayer is woven into the work we do each day,” said Barrett. “And it is built into the design of each of our eight pregnancy care centers and two maternity homes.”
She offered some examples.
All 10 of the Aid for Women locations have a chapel. The staff attends Mass regularly and other liturgical services throughout the year. There is also a “Prayer Call” every Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. Central Time.
“This is an invitation for all staff members, volunteers, and friends of Aid for Women to gather via Zoom and offer prayer intentions on behalf of our clients, our organization, and each other,” Barrett said. “A faith-filled, longtime benefactor leads the prayer call and, after the intentions are mentioned, and prayed for, this benefactor offers a reflection on the scripture reading for the day, and she offers the opportunity for additional discussion on the topic among all those who have joined the call.”
Should a client leave the center either abortion minded or abortion determined, messages are sent out to staffers and supporters requesting prayer. Regular prayer alerts are also sent out to request prayer for clients’ needs, such as homelessness, loss of insurance, pressures to abort and domestic violence.
Prayer requests also take the form of praise as the center rejoices over a baby born or news regarding Aid for Women events.
“In June 2025, a new Prayer Partner Initiative was started among Aid for Women staff to offer additional opportunities for team members to meet in pairs of two and pray together, learn more about each other, share intentions and challenges they are encountering on a weekly basis, and grow in their spiritual relationships with God and one another,” Barrett said.
“This initiative has been very well received,” she said, “and team members are grateful for the chance to grow closer with colleagues who work in their same location or another one of the 10 Aid for Women locations across the state of Illinois.”
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The staff at Aid for Women shared other recent testimonies in their center that were answers to prayer.
A client came to the center in April of this year four months after having a baby. She was upset to learn she was pregnant again with the same man. The couple had just ended their relationship. While spending time with the center’s Client Advocate, the client was encouraged to take time to pray about her situation. She had told the Advocate she was attending church and that her parents and sister were very supportive. The client returned to the center and shared that she was going to continue her pregnancy, telling Aid for Women staff that her prayers were answered.
Another client had planned to abort her baby after ending a demanding relationship with the baby’s drug-addicted father. The Advocate shared the option of adoption with this client and prayed with her that day. The client returned and said she “never felt as close to God” as she had after that experience. She was going to choose adoption.
Months passed, and the client reached out to say she delivered her baby and was in love with her child. She chose to parent him and was intending to, “give him the best life I can.”
Prayer at Aid for Women has additional history of producing results.
Staff Nurse Marie Trudgen was recently waiting on a client to take a pregnancy test in the new Oak Park Center. She was standing in the hallway when a woman approached her and asked her if this center was the same pregnancy center that existed in another location. Trudgen confirmed that it was.
The woman shared she had been a client more than 20 years ago. She was very young and uncertain about the future. Aid for Women showed her some videos on abortion. The woman chose to keep her baby, who is now a University of Illinois student. The woman shared with Trudgen how the center had been such a blessing to her and gave her son life.
“I was in a bad space, nervous and sad, and confused,” The woman told Trudgen. “But everyone was very helpful and reassuring. They kept telling me that it was going to be ok…that they were there to help…and they were right.”
These testimonies, past and present, give evidence of the power of the Lord answering His servants’ prayers and transforming lives through pregnancy help.
