Nothing is more important in the pro-life movement than saving lives, and this is what Emily Berning does every day at Let them Live.
Let them Live is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping women in crisis pregnancies, specifically financial crises.
“Circumstances are temporary. Abortion is permanent,” Berning explains, and this is why Let them Live is so important. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 76% of abortions are due to financial crises. If this is the case then, according to Emily, 76% of abortions are entirely preventable!
“Money can so easily corrupt people. But, if we can actually use our money to help women and help them choose life, what a beautiful thing,” she considers.
The goal of Let them Live is to encourage women that there are people who care about them. There are people who will do whatever it takes to give them the resources they need to have their baby.
Emily and her husband, Nathan, started Let Them Live with only their personal resources and passion to guide them. In this episode of Life Chat, Emily goes into the challenges and roadblocks they faced in starting the organization: from the exhaustion at dedicating their lives to this, to the emotionally draining scenarios they are dealing with. However, they also encountered amazing encouragement along the way, and enough volunteer help to create the flourishing organization they have today.
They even made a documentary about the first woman they helped through a pregnancy. This incredibly touching story shares how she was led out of the pit of despair and couldn’t believe how Emily and Nathan literally dropped everything in their life to save her and her baby.
In a quote from Schindler’s List, Emily sums up her worldview: “Whoever saves one life saves the world entire.”
“Nathan and I have held babies who have been saved from abortion,” she explains, “And it would be so selfish to keep that to ourselves.” Emily must be on to something because, as an organization that is run mainly on volunteers, Let them Live has grown astronomically in the short time it has been around.
Listen to our podcast to hear more about how one couple has made such a difference in the lives of so many women and their children. If you appreciate the work we are doing here at Illinois Right to Life, please consider making a donation here.