Jean Marie Davis, a pro-life activist and director of a Vermont pregnancy center, has an unexpected background for someone like her.
Her pro-life journey began 10 years ago, when she was 29 years old. At the time, she was pregnant, using drugs, and running away from her pimp.
Davis told Fox News Digital in Washington, D.C., on Friday that she had been trafficked in 33 states since she was 2 years old and that by the time she was 29, she was “considering abortion.”
She had already undergone an abortion once at the request of a prostitute.
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But when she ran away and contacted a pregnancy center in New Hampshire, that encounter would change her life.
“They allowed me to listen to my son's heartbeat, and when I did that, I looked at them and said, 'Now what? How can you help me? 'And they shared Jesus with me,'' she told Fox News Digital on January 19, 2024, at the 51st annual March for Life event in the nation's capital.
Jean Marie Davis (right) shared her story at the national March for Life in Washington, DC, on Friday, January 19th. She said the pregnancy center saved her life when Davis was homeless and pregnant with her son at age 29. (Courtesy of Jean-Marie Davis)
Davis credits Phyllis Phelps, the woman at the New Hampshire Center, for saving her life and the life of her son, who was 29 years old and pregnant.
Ultimately, Phelps encouraged Davis to apply for a position as executive director of Branch's Pregnancy Resource Center near Brattleboro, Vermont. She took on the position two years ago.
At Branch's, “We have so many programs,” Davis said.
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“We just implemented two new programs to help women who are currently being trafficked. [as well as one for] Domestic violence,” she told FOX News Digital.
“I actually teach that support class,” Davis said.
Davis told Fox News Digital that her job means she is “constantly helping” women in need. That included a call he received at 5 a.m. that morning from a woman requesting counseling.
Davis stands in front of the sign for Branches Pregnancy Resource Center in Brattleboro, Vermont. She is the center's executive director. “We help women who just need a place to breastfeed their children,” she said. (Courtesy of Jean Marie Davis)
“We also provide diapers and milk,” she said. “We support women who need a place to raise their children. Many of these women are homeless, live in low-income housing, or don’t feel safe where they are. This is because you will
Branch's Pregnancy Resource Center is “a safe place for them,” Davis said.
She said her organization is “just there to help” women in need.
Operating a pregnancy resource center in Vermont, where the right to abortion is enshrined in the state constitution, comes with additional challenges. (In November 2022, voters approved a proposal to enshrine reproductive freedom in the Vermont Constitution, the Center for Reproductive Rights says on its website.)
SB37, a state law signed into law in May 2023, prohibits the Davis Center and other pro-life pregnancy resource centers from advertising their services, among other things.
“We are constantly being labeled and seen as: [if] “We're pushing a policy of forcing people to do something, and that's not true,” Davis told FOX News Digital. [are] They're doing things we don't do. ”
Davis is pictured with his son Jonah. She told FOX News Digital that while she was pregnant with Jonah, she was homeless, using drugs and on the run from human traffickers. (Jean Marie Davis)
Instead, she said, her organization is “simply there to support” women in need, both during pregnancy and postpartum. “Our motto is, 'We're in each other's lives,'” she said.
Last July, Davis joined a federal lawsuit against SB37, which she said is “a personal matter.”
“I was a client,” David said, meaning the pregnancy center.
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“If it wasn't for the pregnancy center, I would have died. And now the Vermont government is trying to shut us down because they say we're misleading and putting out misleading information.” Because you’re telling a false story. It’s just not true.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is representing the National Institute for Family Life Advocates and two pregnancy care centers in the lawsuit, according to its website.
“Women with unplanned pregnancies deserve life-affirming options, emotional support and practical resources,” Julia Payne, general counsel for ADF, said in a statement on the organization's website. mentioned in.
When she was homeless, pregnant and using drugs, Davis said, “I wanted to die, I wanted my son to die.” After contacting her pregnancy resource center, she said those feelings of hers disappeared. (St. Petersburg)
“But Vermont's law does the opposite, hindering women's ability to receive critical services during a difficult time in their lives and suppressing the free speech rights of faith-based pregnancy centers. Pregnancy centers are free “We should provide women with the services they need and get them the support they need without fear of unfair government punishment.” ”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Vermont governor's office and attorney general's office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Davis invited anyone in Vermont government to “come and visit one of our centers and see what we're doing.” She is providing much-needed support to women just like herself, she said.
“Pregnancy centers should be free to serve women and provide them with the support they need without fear of unjust government penalties.”
Davis shared her personal life story at a rally before the March for Our Lives in D.C.
Davis told the audience that when she was homeless, pregnant and using drugs, “I wanted to die, I wanted my son to die.” After contacting her pregnancy resource center, she said those feelings of hers disappeared.
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The crowd roared as she shared her testimony of choosing life for her baby and accepting Jesus.
“We're here to help no matter what,” Davis said. “We are here for babies. We are here to save souls and save lives. God bless you!”
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