{"id":2012862,"date":"2023-08-26T09:12:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T13:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-trafficking-survivor-says-she-owes-her-life-to-a-pro-life-pregnancy-center-sues-to-keep-them-open\/"},"modified":"2023-08-26T09:15:39","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T13:15:39","slug":"in-depth-trafficking-survivor-says-she-owes-her-life-to-a-pro-life-pregnancy-center-sues-to-keep-them-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-trafficking-survivor-says-she-owes-her-life-to-a-pro-life-pregnancy-center-sues-to-keep-them-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Trafficking survivor credits pro-life center, sues to protect it."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-depth-trafficking-survivor-says-she-owes-her-life-to-a-pro-life-pregnancy-center-sues-to-keep-them-open%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2012862&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>When\u200b Jean Marie Davis, a victim of sex trafficking, \u200dmade her harrowing escape, she was \u2063turned away by dozens of\u200c shelters that found her\u2064 situation too severe to\u2064 offer her refuge.<\/p>\n<p>Pregnant, with barely a dollar to her name, she eventually found \u200csafety \u200cat a shelter in New Hampshire. But it\u2064 is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/were-willing-to-lay-our-lives-down-inside-the-effort-to-save-babies-at-planned-parenthoods-front-doors\/\" title=\"\u2018We\u2019re Willing To Lay Our Lives Down\u2019: Inside The Effort To Save Babies At Planned Parenthood\u2019s Front Doors\">nearby pregnancy center<\/a> that she\u200d credits \u2063with saving her life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I came to New\u200b Hampshire, \u200b [the shelter] looked at \u2063me, and they told me about the pregnancy center in the \u200carea,\u2062 and that \u2063they were Christians, and that they were pro-life,&#8221; Ms. Davis told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n              <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/in-depth-pregnancy-resource-centers-under-attack-for-deceptive-practices-5454556\">IN-DEPTH: Pregnancy Resource Centers Under Attack for &#8216;Deceptive&#8217; Practices<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/10\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n              <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/pregnancy-centers-ask-california-lawmaker-to-apologize-for-calling-them-fake-5290263\">Pregnancy \u200cCenters Ask \u2062California\u200c Lawmaker to Apologize for Calling Them \u2018Fake\u2019<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">5\/24\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;I said I didn\u2019t care, \u200dI just needed \u200dhelp. And \u2064that\u2019s kind of how my life started on this new journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That decision \u200dput her on a course, eight years later, to become the executive director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vermont\u2014another <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abortion-supporters-leaked-supreme-court-draft-to-intimidate-the-court-pro-life-advocates-say\/\" title=\"Abortion Supporters Leaked Supreme Court Draft To Intimidate The Court, Pro-Life Advocates Say\">pro-life pregnancy center<\/a> \u2063that provides \u2062free resources and support \u2063for pregnant women and parents in need.<\/p>\n<p>But that \u200bmission has become more challenging in recent months because of a new state law she says unfairly restricts the ways in which centers like hers can advertise and operate.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Now, to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-trafficking-survivor-says-she-owes-her-life-to-a-pro-life-pregnancy-center-sues-to-keep-them-open\/\" title=\"Trafficking survivor credits pro-life center, sues to protect it.\">continue helping women facing unplanned pregnancies<\/a>, she is challenging that law.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A New Life<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Ms. Davis knows firsthand what it feels like to \u2064be a woman in crisis.<\/p>\n<p>Trafficked across 33 states, from \u200cage 2\u2064 to 29, she suffered \u2064unspeakable abuse\u2014including rape and even murder attempts. She fell deep \u200dinto drug addiction and severe depression, which led her to attempt to\u2062 take her own life \u2063via overdose.<\/p>\n<p>For many women in that situation, an unplanned pregnancy can\u2063 be\u200c devastating and even\u200c perilous. But, Ms. Davis says, it was her baby boy who ultimately saved her.<\/p>\n<p>When she told her\u200d pimp that she was pregnant \u200band she wanted out, he threatened to shoot her, forcing her\u2063 to \u2063flee for her life.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:263px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Jean Marie Davis, a sex trafficking survivor, is the executive \u2062director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in \u2063Brattleboro, Vt. (Courtesy of Branches Pregnancy Resource\u2064 Center)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cAt that time, I was abortion-minded,\u201d \u200bshe noted. \u201cWhen I came in [to the pregnancy center], I just knew that I didn\u2019t want my child to go through the same \u2064things that I went through\u2014being trafficked\u200c for so many\u2063 years and the horrific things that \u2063I had to experience in my life and deal\u2063 with.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut when I heard the heartbeat of my son, I knew that there was a\u200b time that I \u200cneeded to change, and I needed to live a better life\u2062 than what I\u2064 was \u200dliving. So, at \u200cthe \u200dend of the day, like I tell \u200dmy son all the time, he saved me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was at \u2062the same New Hampshire pregnancy center that \u2062Ms. Davis met Phyllis, a Christian woman who\u200c inspired her to also make a spiritual change.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t really know what \u200cChristianity was,\u201d she recalled. \u201cBut when I looked at the woman, and when she asked me, \u2018How can\u2062 I \u2062help you,\u2019\u2063 I\u2019ll never forget. I just looked at her and\u200b said, \u2018I want what you\u2064 have, whatever that may be.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Davis became a Christian that day, and with Phyllis\u2019s help, she began to build\u2064 a new \u200clife.<\/p>\n<p>She went on to complete a two-year program for women and children suffering \u200dfrom drug addiction \u200dand earn an associate degree from Northpoint Bible College. Then, after\u2063 spending some \u200dtime working in local \u200dhospitals, she was offered the executive director position at Branches.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Senate Bill 37<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In just eight\u2064 years, Ms. Davis had gone from being a\u2062 client in a pro-life pregnancy center to \u2063directing one.\u200d Now, she aims to \u200boffer \u2064other women in\u200c need the \u2063same level of\u2063 support she received\u2063 when she \u2062was in\u200c their shoes.<\/p>\n<p>One of the services Ms. \u200cDavis\u2019s center\u2063 offers is a human trafficking program to \u200dsupport victims looking for a way out. As part of those efforts, the center is currently\u200c working\u200b with the local school district to \u200deducate students about sex trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>Other services provided by Branches include pregnancy tests,\u2063 medical referrals, maternity and infant supplies, parenting classes and programs, adoption agency referrals, a post-abortion support group, \u200cand other related information.<\/p>\n<p>But the absence of abortion or abortion referrals on that list is what has made the center\u2019s work more difficult in recent months.<\/p>\n<p>Since the enactment of Vermont\u2019s Senate\u200c Bill 37 in May, Branches and other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/post-roe-pro-life-activists-vow-to-protect-mothers-and-babies-while-planned-parenthood-touts-more-at-home-abortions\/\" title=\"Post-Roe: Pro-Life Activists Vow to Protect Mothers and Babies While Planned Parenthood Touts More At-Home Abortions\">pro-life pregnancy centers<\/a> \u2064have been \u2064restricted in how they promote their services to potential clients.<\/p>\n<p>Under the new law\u2019s provisions, pregnancy centers that do not perform or refer \u2063clients for abortions are prohibited from \u2062advertising their services in a way that is\u2062 \u201cclearly designed to mislead\u2063 the public\u201d about the\u200b services they provide. The law also requires that licensed health care providers be\u2063 responsible for \u2062providing all health\u200c care services, \u2062information, and \u200bcounseling at such facilities.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Maternity and infant supplies are provided free of \u2062charge \u200bto families in\u200c need at Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vt. (Courtesy of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Proponents of the \u200bnew law\u2063 claimed that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arrest-warrant-issued-for-abortion-doctor-accused-of-running-over-pro-life-protester-with-his-car\/\" title=\"Abortion doctor wanted for running over pro-life protester. Arrest warrant issued.\">pro-life pregnancy \u200dcenters<\/a> use deceptive advertising to lure women seeking abortions to their facilities so that they can dissuade them \u200dfrom choosing that path.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey disguise their religious and \u2063political motivations, including through giving \u2063themselves neutral-sounding names, such as The Women\u2019s Center,\u201d \u200cargued Carly\u200b Thomsen, an assistant professor of gender, sexuality, and\u2064 feminist studies at Middlebury College during a Vermont Senate hearing on the bill in February.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. Thomsen also\u2064 accused pro-life pregnancy centers of\u200c performing \u201cinsidious work to spread \u200banti-abortion ideology,\u201d including sharing false medical information about abortion and \u2063choosing locations near abortion clinics \u201cwith the intention of confusing and thus hijacking those \u2064en \u200broute to clinics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Ms. Davis says she is not engaging in any underhanded scheme.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve \u2063just been \u2062a director for almost a year now, and what I\u2019ve heard over there is that we\u2019re pushing some agenda or pushing who we are on people,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd, as\u2062 I\u2019ve told everybody, our motto here is, \u2018We do life\u2064 with each other.\u2019 So, we\u2019re here to\u200d help you.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes, we believe in Jesus. Yes, we\u2019re pro-life.\u200c But we\u2019re here to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On its website, Branches includes a Disclaimer stating that the center does\u200c not offer or refer\u200b for pregnancy terminations \u2063or birth control and \u2064that the information provided \u201cshould not be relied on as a substitute for professional\u2063 and\/or medical advice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While required under the new\u200b law, that Disclaimer is only one\u200c of \u2062the boxes pro-life pregnancy centers must check to remain in compliance with the law\u2019s advertisement provisions.<\/p>\n<p>But \u200cthe law does not explicitly state what information would be considered\u2064 misleading\u2014a fact\u200c that\u2064 could\u2062 easily\u200c be exploited by a politically-motivated attorney general, according to\u200d attorney Julia Payne of Al<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>that has truly transformed her life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1226,"featured_media":2012863,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2012862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2012862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2012862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2012862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2012863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2012862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2012862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2012862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}