T.E.A.M. is a popular sports team motivational acronym that stands for Together Everyone Achieves More. Whether with a sports team or a pro-life team, this is true, though individuals on the team can often go unnoticed.
Hundreds of thousands of connections are made each year through Option Line, the 24/7 bilingual pro-life contact center managed by Heartbeat International. Option Line consultants are often the frontline workers for pregnancy resource centers across the U.S.
The Option Line team of professional consultants provides round-the-clock assistance via calls, texts, and chats, providing information and compassion for individuals seeking answers in an unexpected pregnancy, often the front-line for pregnancy centers across the world.
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Option Line connects people to more than 3,000 pregnancy help organizations worldwide, resulting in Option Line connecting someone to pregnancy help every 84 seconds. More than 7 million have contacted Option Line since opening in 2003.
Woodbury Options for Women Executive Director Almeda Smith expressed gratitude for the vital role of Option Line in the saving of a specific life, a Woodbury Options for Women client.
Jill (a pseudonym) called Option Line one day this past April at 1 a.m. and was able to schedule an appointment at Woodbury Options for Women in Woodbury, Minn. in later that day.
“She was very abortion minded,” Smith said. “Had just a lot of obstacles in her life and just thought that abortion was really her only choice.”
Jill was anxious, focused on how she would pay for things the baby would need. Currently Jill is working on her bachelor’s degree. Finishing school according to her planned timeline was just another of a list of compiling obstacles that led her to consider abortion.
Smith was grateful for the clarity the Option Line consultant had given Jill so she would understand the reason she needed an ultrasound. Not being certain of the date of her last period, Jill would not be able to determine gestational age without one.
Jill came into Woodbury Options for Women three weeks in a row for appointments. One for a pregnancy test, a second for an ultrasound - each included discussions about options - and then a third appointment simply to discuss options further.
The ultrasound was the moment that sealed Jill’s decision to parent.
“During that third appointment was when she was committed to parenting,” Smith said.
Smith clarified that Jill’s call to Option Line came when she was most stressed and vulnerable. It was the difference between making an appointment rather than buying the abortion pill online.
“I credit it to there being someone who answered the phone at 1 a.m..” said Smith.
Jill did not consider her relationship with the baby’s father serious, and she could not imagine them ever being married. His input on her pregnancy was simply a nonchalant, “Whatever your decision is, I’ll support it.”
Jill was due to have her baby in late October. Woodbury Options for Women was seeing Jill every two weeks for parenting classes where she earned points toward a car seat for the baby. She already received a crib and was able to move into a two-bedroom apartment in preparation for baby’s arrival.
“Once she delivers then we’ll see her either every two weeks continuing or once a month for the next two to five years depending on her needs,” Smith said.
Jill has often brought friends with her to appointments and classes, introducing staff at the pregnancy help center with, “These are my friends who helped me see that I could do this.”
With only two semesters of school remaining, Jill hopes to finish her degree by the end of summer in 2026. Jill’s parents have been supportive and helped with some of her expenses.
Woodbury Options for Women has connected Jill with a childcare provider who provides childcare at reduced rates to their clients.
Jill plans to continue working as a waitress as she completes her studies once she delivers her child. The baby’s father is involved and hopefully will be participating in the center’s fatherhood program.
Smith is very thankful for the dedication, professionalism, and hard work of the Option Line team.
“I know what it’s like to be up in the middle of the night stressing about something that wakes me up and I can’t go back to sleep, and I start to try and figure it out and I just put myself in that client’s shoes,” Smith reflected.
“I really believe she would have just ordered the abortion pills had someone not scheduled that appointment and had that conversation with her,” she said.
Tweet This: A Minn. pregnancy center director expressed how thankful she is for the dedication, professionalism, and hard work of the Option Line team.
Smith noted the value of having Option Line as the frontline for pregnancy help in off-hours.
“That’s not something I can provide,” she said. ‘I can’t provide round-the-clock staffing. It is massively helpful to our clients and our clinic for her to be there in the middle of the night to answer that phone.”
Woodbury Options for Women receives about two referrals a month from Option Line which result in appointments where clients have shown up. Smith is so grateful for the life-giving services of Option Line.
As of January 2026 Woodbury Options will become part of New Life Family Services as First Care Woodbury.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Option Line and Pregnancy Help News.
