Many things propel the pro-life movement forward, even in what must often seem the most inauspicious of circumstances. Certainly, no factor is more importunate than conscience—what St. John Henry Newman called in one passage “The guide of life, implanted in our nature, discriminating right from wrong, and investing right with authority and sway . . .” and in another “the rule of ethical truth, the standard of right and wrong, a sovereign, irreversible, absolute authority in the presence of men and Angels.”

Then, too, the sense of justice always wins new converts to the cause of life because it is that moral virtue that focuses on the well-being of others, not on one’s own wishes or convenience. For Servais Pinckaers, OP, the brilliant expositor of Thomistic moral theology, the sense of justice “is a quality that perfects man in his most personal aspect” because it arises so directly from “his free will and his relationship with others.” As St. Thomas says simply and eloquently in his commentary on St. Matthew: “He who acts because obliged by justice does not act simply from himself but because he is bound by something other than himself.”

Combined with this sense of justice, we should add the recognition of what St. John Paul II referred to as “the value of human life and its inviolability,” which lay at the heart of his “pressing appeal addressed to each and every person: respect, protect, love and serve life, every human life!” Why? For the author of Evangelium vitae, “Only in this direction will you find . . . true freedom, peace and happiness!”

Yet, taking into account all these factors—conscience, the sense of justice, recognition of the value and inviolability of life—we can readily see that nowhere do they work together more effectively than in our pregnancy care centers, where what the pope memorably extolled as the “civilization of love and life” finds its most practical, imperative expression.

In this essay, I will share with my readers the charism and efficacy of a truly extraordinary pregnancy care center in Vero Beach, Florida, called A Caring Center for Women, founded and operated by an extraordinary married couple, Gerri and John Rorick. As we all know, pregnancy care centers are often beleaguered in a culture in which disrespect for life is all too rampant, but for that very reason it is always encouraging, indeed, fortifying to hear of any pregnancy care center, like A Caring Center for Women, that has found genuinely replicable ways to thrive for the benefit of mothers and babies and our culture as a whole.

II

The first thing I notice about Gerri Rorick is that she is an elegant, shrewd, deeply faithful lady. A wisdom of experience tempers and enriches all she does. Yet if she has not been spared the world’s slings and arrows, they have not ruffled her native gentleness. She exudes gentleness, though there is also a fair toughmindedness about her. Being around her is being around some-one constantly speaking good sense. Consequently, I quote her lavishly. As my readers will see, she merits quoting.

Here, I should also say that my first impressions of Gerri’s faithfulness are borne out by her giving me a copy of Leisa Marie Carzon’s Sister, Social, Surgeon: The Life and Courage of Sister Deidre Byrne, M.D., the splendid pro-life convictions of which nicely dovetail with her own. Yes, Gerri is adamant that she does not engage in any uncharitable judging of the women she serves. Charity and love, not any pharisaical censoriousness, govern her pro-life work. But this does not mean that she does not make altogether warrantable judgments of the pro-abortion culture that so tragically misleads so many women faced with unplanned pregnancies. In reading Dr. Carzon’s response to this reprehensible culture, I could readily see Gerri warmly concurring with it. First, Carzon quotes The Code of Canon Law, which reminds readers that “Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains un-changeable.” Secondly, she quotes The Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Ignorance of Christ and his Gospel, bad example given by others, enslavement to one’s passions, assertion of a mistaken notion of autonomy of conscience, rejection of the Church’s authority and her teaching, lack of conversion and of charity: these can be the sources of errors of judgment in moral conduct (1792).

To this withering dossier, Carzon only adds: These and other factors “have resulted in dull consciences that lead people to believe that they may behave as they choose rather than as they ought. This is evidenced by the many patients Sister Dede sees who are unaware that the behaviors in which they engage undermine the happiness they so desperately seek.” Of course, this has been Gerri’s experience as well, though she would doubtless include more than “patients” in such an analysis. After all, Planned Parenthood, the largest U.S. abortion provider, most recently reported over $2 billion in total annual revenue, with 2023-24 data showing over 402,000 abortions commit-ted. It cannot only be the “dull consciences” of “patients” that sustain this diabolical trade.

Nevertheless, heartbreaking numbers of this magnitude summon Gerri to works of mercy, not anger or despair—and certainly not to any defeatism. “It was on June 17, 2013,” Gerri tells me with understandable pride, “that our Caring Center for Women began a journey of faith to create a mission where every woman would find the love and compassion she so desperately needs when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. And with God’s grace we continue on that journey—only now it is with many more mothers, babies and whole families.”

Within its first six months, the Center had served 303 women from Indian River Country with 973 visits and 300 ultrasounds. The need for their ser-vices proved considerably greater than Gerri and John anticipated, and the demand has never abated since. By their fifth year of operation, the Center had seen over 2,000 women and 41% of the babies born in Indian River Country were beneficiaries of the Center’s “soup to nuts” services. By their 10th year, the Center had served, on average, 773 unique individuals each year with a total of 5,600 babies born as a result of the Center’s ministrations. By any chalk, these are impressive numbers.

Yet, 13 years after the Center was founded, the number of unique women seen each month continues to grow—at last count, the Center is administering services to 484 women a month—and Gerri and John are moving into a new, purpose-built, expanded facility expressly to serve this burgeoning demand, about which more anon.

The services A Caring Center offers are as innovative as they are beneficial. Their main programs are two-fold: Free Pregnancy Confirmations and the Earn While You Learn Educational Program. The first offers clients free medical grade pregnancy testing, free ultrasounds to determine the age of the baby-to-be, and free assistance with initializing the application process to obtain Medicaid for Pregnancy, WIC, and mental health counseling, as well as parenting and adoption planning.

The Center’s Earn While You Learn Program gives women the resources they need to become the most loving, responsible parents they can be. Clients “earn” essential items for their babies from the Center’s prodigiously well-stocked Baby Boutique, which offers everything from cribs and car seats to strollers and clothes. Free Education Programs are taught in both Spanish and English to over 2,700 women a year, including instruction in safe sleep practices, car seat safety, SIDS prevention, healthy nutrition, and more. The Center’s educational partners include Indian River County Healthy Start, Treasure Coast, Community Health, Learning Alliance, Indian River State College, and other local agencies. In all of their classes, the Center’s staff stress how vital the lessons of education are to encouraging and strengthening the family, which St. John Paul II nicely called the “sanctuary of life.”

The correlation between the efficacy of the Center’s educational program and its highly impressive numbers is compelling. “We teach that education is power and provides the ability to create lasting effects on the trajectory of the entire family,” Gerri tells me. “Our impact on the women and babies in our community over the last 13 years is astounding, even to us! Since 2013, we have provided over 11,000 pregnancy tests, 14,500 ultrasounds, 77,000 services, and almost 500,000 diapers to the underprivileged women and children of Indian River County.”

III

A deeply innovative aspect of the Center’s educational program is its Dad-Up Program, which encourages husbands and partners to take a more conscionable part in the care of their spouses or partners. Of course, in Evangelium vitae, St. John Paul II recognized the indispensability of males stepping up to the plate. He certainly recognized the calamity that follows when males eschew or reject the responsible part that God means fathers to play in the care of their wives and children in the womb.

As well as the mother, there are often other people too who decide upon the death of the child in the womb. In the first place, the father of the child may be to blame, not only when he directly pressures the woman to have an abortion, but also when he indirectly encourages such a decision on her part by leaving her alone to face the problems of pregnancy: in this way the family is thus mortally wounded and profaned in its nature as a community of love.

The success of the DadUp Program is one of the most heartening aspects of John’s and Gerri’s innovative approach to the conduct of A Caring Center for Women. The urgent necessity of ensuring that men play a more supportive role in the pro-life education of any pregnancy care center is borne out by a recent article that appeared on mifepristone, the abortion pill, in The Wall Street Journal (“The Abortion Movement Is Turning on Trump” by Philip Wegmann, 5/4/2016).

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) . . . said a review [of the medical safety of the pill] is necessary because he worries easy-to-access abortion pills have led to women taking them at later stages of pregnancy, resulting in more dangerous complications such as hemorrhage. He is also worried about women being coerced into taking the pills by boyfriends or others.

When I ask Gerri to elaborate on her highly differentiated DadUp Pro-gram, she becomes impassioned.

We made a decision to include the men/fathers in our outreach with daily staffing two years ago, and secured a grant for the program. Our society has told men they have no voice in pregnancy—by women, who tell them, “my body, my choice.” Our goal is to erase that lie and empower the men to use their voice and become the strong father their partner and baby need. It will change the world if we can get the men involved in the future of the family unit! Men who accompany their partner/spouse for a pregnancy test are immediately invited into a counseling room designed for men by one of our “Dadvocates” where he starts the relationship with no judgment and the same compassion we show every client who enters our Center. After trust is built, he is then asked what his plan is for this possible pregnancy and whatever obstacles are there, they begin work on each one using all our vast resources to accompany them on this journey into family life and fatherhood. Weekend group workshops are also held on Saturday morning and Sunday evenings for men only, who often bring their babies. Since our beginning this men’s outreach, we have had over 600 encounters with fathers, proving the need of empowering our fathers to take an active role in decision making and taking responsibility for their child. Building the family unit is the core of many problems and the goal of our DadUp Program.

To give my readers a sense of the persuasiveness of the Center’s education-al program I should share with them that 94% of its clients choose life. At A Caring Center for Women, the proof of the pudding is always in the babies whose birth they make possible. Since their founding, the Center has saved more than 8,000 at-risk babies from the abattoirs of abortion.

IV

Another investment-worthy aspect about the Center’s educational work is that its efficacy flows naturally from its being trained not simply on present but future families as well. “Our hearts are full,” Gerri tells me, “knowing we have not only cared for and educated the mothers of Indian River County to-day, but ensured a brighter future for generations to come.” Taking this long-term perspective into account, we can enter into the true replicable force of the Center’s approach to pro-life healthcare. We can also see that there is a great affinity between Gerri and Sister Deirdre Byrne, MD, the heroic disciple of Christ, who told the Republican National Convention in 2022: “I’m not just pro-life: I’m pro-eternal life.” The same could be said of Gerri.

One of her signal accomplishments is that her Center has won the respect of the major medical facility in Indian River County, the Cleveland Clinic, which collaborates with the Center on several medical fronts for the benefit of both their clients. Identifying areas of missing healthcare, they “stand in the gap” for underserved women, who often go without medical care—with the result that serious illness can go undiagnosed. Their goal is to provide free, true women’s healthcare so no woman is forgotten. Indeed, the wide range of medical services offered by the Center is one of its most highly differentiated hallmarks. The pro-abortion lobby might claim that they respect the medical well-being of pregnant women but, as the Co-Editor of The Human Life Review, Mary Rose Somarriba, shows so irrefutably, their claim is hollow. Apropos the current debate over the abortion pill, for example, Somarriba writes:

The battle over the abortion pill is ultimately a battle over truth—about medical data, regulatory responsibility, and the real costs borne by women when abortion is re-framed not as a serious medical event but as a consumer product to be self-administered. In a strange full-circle moment, the abortion lobby that once invoked the horrors of self-managed abortion and demanded doctor-directed procedures now promotes at-home abortion as a comparable solution. It’s as if the hanger has simply been rebrand-ed and distributed, leaving women to bear the burden on their own bodies, manage the aftermath in isolation, and seek medical intervention only when things go wrong. Abortion advocates today often claim we are going backward in women’s health. On that point, they are right—though the regression is of their own making . . .

In contrast, the comprehensive medical expertise that A Caring Center for Women brings to the women and families they serve is nothing short of in-spiring. “Each day we hear stories from our pregnant clients of how they are unable to obtain early prenatal care and we receive calls from women searching for a provider who can perform their annual exams,” Gerri tells me, “but the supply of providers is declining as the population is growing. In August 2024, we decided we could no longer sit on the sideline ignoring the desperate pleas for medical care that eludes our clients, and we formed a Medical Advisory Board to create a plan of action and this project came to life. Our Medical Advisory Board makes these crucial services available every day at our expanded facilities.”

Accordingly, the Center’s nurse practitioner has developed policy manuals and overseen the purchase of necessary medical supplies. Well-Woman exams are also conducted by qualified staff, which comprises well-respected APRNs, RNs, Medical Assistants, Phlebotomists, and RDMS certified ultra-sound technicians.

Moreover, head doctors of Cleveland Clinic’s OBGYN department work together with their Medical Advisory Board to create a smooth “hand off” plan for clients ready to continue their pregnancy through labor and delivery. For example, the Center offers first trimester prenatal visits, which are so crucial to the well-being of our ladies. “Such early prenatal care,” Gerri tells me, “is vital for our pregnant women.” Long experience has schooled the Center in this crucial priority.

Too many of the pregnant women we serve have been constrained to wait until their second trimester for care, which is simply not acceptable. We have heard over and over the difficulties in obtaining early prenatal appointments and growing babies can-not be put on a “cancelation” list waiting to be seen. First trimester care is vital in ad-dressing health concerns early, ensuring positive outcomes for both mother and child.

Fortunately, the new expanded facility into which the Center has recently moved came kitted out with 10 medical exam rooms equipped with state-of-the-art equipment enabling timely access to women’s healthcare. As Gerri tells me: “Many more services will now be offered by our credentialed med-ical staff as we continue to identify areas of need in our community. Medical services offered will include: medical grade pregnancy testing, STI testing and onsite STI treatment for men and women, OB ultrasounds, education-al classes, early prenatal exams, woman-wellness exams and follow-ups, screening services, onsite bloodwork draws, mammogram vouchers, hCG services, UTI treatment onsite, referrals for abnormal GYN findings—all with life-affirming counseling.” What pleases Gerri most about this expansion of services is that it enables her to serve her clientele more lovingly than ever before. “Our women are seen, heard, and cared for now more than ever,” she tells me. “By giving them such well-coordinated support, guidance and, above all, hope, we are giving them the confidence and the strength they need to see their families flourish. Our new facility transforms lives with dignity, compassion, and access to healthcare, which, for many of the women we serve, is truly unprecedented. The full impact of our mission is yet to be seen, as the need continues to increase and we are poised to fill those needs! Each expansion we have taken has increased the clientele, and we are ready to advocate for the families who so desperately need us.”

When I ask Gerri why she has devoted so much care and attention to her medical services, she is emphatic:

I believe offering medical services is the future of successful pregnancy resource cen-ters and gives us all credence with the medical field. It truly is a natural progression for any PRC, as the pregnant women come here first for initial proof of pregnancy. Since in many areas of the US, finding prenatal care is a growing issue for women faced with unplanned pregnancies, offering early prenatal care before they can be seen by an OBGYN is crucial. We developed a “blueprint” of steps to set up licensing, insurance, grants, credentialed staff, protocols, and lab necessities, which, at first, seemed unsur-mountable, but like anything, one step at a time, it happens. We first hired a respected APRN with years of experience in labor and delivery with Cleveland Clinic and she set up one exam room to begin with. Honestly, things just fell into place after taking this first step and making the commitment to offer true and compassionate medical care to our established prenatal clients. Momentum just keeps us growing our services!

Scaling hurdles only reconfirms Gerri’s sense of the providential character of her pro-life work. “Again, this Center belongs to God,” she insists with a kind of saintly succinctness, “and He takes care of the obstacles. Roadblocks will always be there, but there are always ways to go around or through them if one cooperates with God’s good providential grace. We at the Center co-operate with His grace, and there is no obstacle we have not scaled.” Fortunately, for the ladies of Indian River County facing unplanned pregnancies, the facts bear out this boast. For example, the Center became a respected medical partner in the community in just two years of its medical operation, collaborating with Cleveland Clinic and area hospitals. As Gerri confirms, “I received an email of congratulations as our Center was reported as leading the way with 440 monthly Medical Visits in the Florida Pregnancy Center Network of 104 Centers in Florida. Only 14 other PRCs in the state offer true medical services to the extent that we do. Our experienced staff—all of whom have excellent reputations in their respective fields—have naturally been key to this welcome distinction.”

V

When I first met and visited Gerri, I asked her what had put her on the road to helping pregnant mothers in need. Obviously, she and John have a vocation for their pro-life work. Where did that come from? Her answer is eloquent of Aquinas’ understanding of the selfless sense of justice that impels so many prolifers. “From our beginning, we have always believed that our Center belongs to God, not us, and He has blessed it from day one.” Indeed, what became her vocation in life was not one she sought.

John and I were both at very difficult times in our lives: we both lost spouses of 40-year marriages very unexpectantly and suddenly. At the time, I felt totally lost and prayed desperately that God would give me something to occupy my time and mind. And I have to say, I am the epitome of God preparing the called! My background was in ministry and pastoral administration, and I was blessed to be an adoptive mom, but had never actually given birth, so a pregnancy center was never on my radar and I told God, “Can you give me something else?” His answer was to give me a strength I never knew I had and a desire to take a strong stand against abortion! Still unsure of my ability, I encouraged the Board to begin a search for a Director, but one day a box of business cards arrived in the mail with my name on them as Director! When I questioned them, they said, “we found our director: she just doesn’t know it!”

When I ask Gerri what has enabled her to achieve self-sustainability for the Center, what has enabled the Center to attain what often proves so elusive for others, she again gives credit to others, not herself.

We have had many obstacles, more than I could ever tally. We could have given up, but fortitude, tenacity and leadership saw us through. John’s background was in finance with IBM, possessing all the skills necessary to run a nonprofit. Together, we make one terrific director, and it does take the both of us. We say this vocation is also a love story, as we met here building this Mission together, every day, and were married two years after we met, sharing this Mission in life. We laugh, saying we never worked this hard in our lives, as even our weekends are spent donating our time to this Mission! It is an honor to donate our lives to this Mission.

Since I know John’s financial savvy has played an enormous role in the Center’s success, I ask her to elaborate on that. Pregnancy care centers may be nonprofits, but that never means that they can succeed without good vigilant financial management, not to mention good development and marketing. Gerri’s response will hearten all those in the pro-life vineyard:

John has all the skills to set up a nonprofit and be fiscally responsible. When we first leased a space for this Mission, we had no money at all. The Board members pooled their money every month to pay the rent and obtain office supplies, so our beginning was meager. We trained our staff to be fiscally responsible to the point of asking if they could order toilet paper, even! John keeps his eye on expenses every single day and is aware of all expenditures! Our initial development fell to Board members to begin, as they are all pillars of our Catholic community and well-respected businessmen & women. These Board members not only donated their time, but their treasure. I work on grants and outreach to our four Catholic churches, which I continue today. In addition, we now have a strong, full time media marketing professional who concentrates on website, emails, Instagram videos, Facebook, and Google postings. His contribution has sharpened and improved our footprint in the community immeasurably!

When Gerri confirms how consistent she and the Center are in making the well-being of their clients their top priority, I ask if word of mouth does not redound to her success, and her response could not be more joyful. “We pride ourselves on our best advertising has always been word of mouth! Our dedicated, compassionate, loving staff are our mission’s best ambassadors. In hiring, we only take on board carefully chosen advocates who have a heart for ministry and understand what I would call the “Mother Teresa Approach” to community outreach: ‘Do small things with great love.’ Why? Because the depth of the love behind our acts matters deeply. We also draw continual strength from that magnificent quote from St. Joan of Arc: ‘I am not afraid: I was born to do this!’ Every time we enter a counseling room, every time we enter an educational class or lab or exam room, there are lives at stake, mothers as well as the babies they are carrying, and my staff and I have sworn not only to love but to serve and protect those precious mothers and babies!”

Readers who are themselves dedicated to advancing the cause of life will not be surprised to hear from Gerri that it is her Center’s staunch pro-life dedication that makes for its continuing success. “Marketing-wise, we have amazing Google reviews that keep our phones ringing!” she attests. “Women read our reviews and call saying, ‘we will only come to your Center because of over 500 5-star amazing reviews on Google.’ A recent Heartbeat International ranking of pregnancy care centers in the United States rank us number 1 in centers for our geographical community size and number 19 of ALL population-sized cities. The other 18 higher-ranked centers are all located in cities with larger populations than Vero Beach, Florida, making us the highest-reviewed pregnancy care center relative to our population size. This only happens with sincere and loving care of each woman who walks in our door.” Hear, hear!

When I introduced Father Gerald Murray, a stalwart friend of The Hu-man Life Review, to Gerri and John recently, and they gave him a tour of their gleaming new facility—equipped not only with educational, counseling, exam, and lab rooms galore but the vital space necessary to accommodate the growing demand for their vital ministrations—he was deeply impressed. “What Gerri and John have done with their Caring Center for Women is wonderfully replicable. Here is the pregnancy care center of the future, thanks be to God!” Since we all know we have prolifers throughout the country invested in that pro-life future, we can all be grateful indeed to the truly transformative work of Gerri and John Rorick and A Caring Center for Women.

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original Bio:

Edward Short is the author of several acclaimed books on St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, as well as Culture and Abortion, all published by Gracewing. He divides his time between Florida, New York, and Maine with his wife and two young children.