WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – A sex-trafficking survivor who now operates a pregnancy resource center told attendees of the 51st annual March for Life that her story proves the life-saving power of abortion alternative providers, contrary to pervasive attacks from the media.

Pro-lifers from across and beyond America are currently marching from the National Mall to a concluding spot between the U.S. Capitol and U.S. Supreme Court, to celebrate the 2022 overturn of Roe v. Wade and build on that victory by urging Congress to take further action. 

Among Friday’s speakers was Jean Marie Davis, executive director of Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. Davis became a victim of human trafficking at just two years old, setting her on a life path of horrific abuse that eventually left her pregnant and homeless. She got the support she needed to turn her life around when she met someone from a pregnancy resource center.

“At the age of 29 I was looking at death. I was trafficked in 33 different states. I was hooked onto crystal meth. I wanted to die. I wanted my son dead. I had no life. I had no hope. But then I went to a pregnancy center in New Hampshire, and a woman named Phyllis Phelps, yes, saved my life. She gave me the Word: I know a man named Jesus,” Davis told the crowd. “And she said, ‘for God so loved the world He gave his only begotten son’” and those “‘believing in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.’”

Phelps got Davis into a pregnancy resource program, and then opened House of Hope New Hampshire, where she and Davis worked together. Today, at Branches, they “do life with women out there, who are struggling and need help,” Davis said. “There was a woman that called me at five o’clock this morning and said, ‘I need help because my life, my baby is going through a distressed pregnancy. Can you help me?’ And I said yes, even though I’m in DC, I’ve got people that will help you at home. We are here to help. No matter what, we’re here to help! We’re here for the babies! We’re here to save souls and save lives! God bless you!”

RELATED: Rep. Chris Smith praises pro-life pregnancy centers as ‘oasis of compassion’ at 2024 March for Life

Pro-life pregnancy centers have long provided women on low incomes with a wide variety of services, including ultrasounds, basic medical care, adoption referrals, parenting classes, and children’s supplies. These help mitigate the fears and burdens that lead some to choose abortion. For that reason, the centers have long been a target of left-wing rage, with attacks often taking the form of claims that they deceive women, both about abortion and about their own services. But the pro-life contentions most often derided as “misinformation” are in fact true, and accusations of self-misrepresentation typically refer to little more than the fact that ads for the centers appear in online searches for the term “abortion.”

Left-wing political and activist hostility to pregnancy centers drastically intensified when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, which triggered the activation of numerous state laws that forced scores of Planned Parenthood facilities across the country to shut down.

LifeSiteNews is in Washington, D.C., led by our Editor in Chief John-Henry Westen. We will be bringing you updates from the ground throughout the day. Live updates can be found here, and a complete schedule of the weekend’s events can be found here.

RELATED: House Speaker Mike Johnson tells March for Life: ‘I am the product of an unplanned pregnancy’