The Knights of Columbus have announced a new goal to donate at least $5 million to pro-life maternity homes and pregnancy centers across the United States and Canada within one year.
“As Knights, we are called to courage and self-sacrifice,” Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly said in a press release. “Standing for life means making personal sacrifices for women and children in need — being willing to give of our time, skills and financial resources, and accepting the fact that the fruits of our labors are often hidden.”
With more than two million members spread throughout 16,000 councils worldwide, the Knights of Columbus (KofC) is the largest Catholic fraternal organization in the world.
At a time when many facilities around the nation are paying out of pocket for extra security measures and renovations, a new request for funding pro-life pregnancy clinics and maternity homes has been made.
The numerous vandalism incidents that have taken place at pro-life pregnancy centers across the country have directly led to the construction of new infrastructure at the facilities.
Early in May, when Politico published a draft decision from the Supreme Court that suggested the justices might be ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, vandalism started to occur.
The new initiative is called Aid and Support After Pregnancy or “ASAP” for short. ASAP aims to raise the money by calling on all U.S. and Canadian councils to increase donations to pro-life pregnancy centers, maternity homes, and “other organizations which give direct assistance to new mothers and/or babies.”
“Mothers and children need our help now more than ever,” Kelly said.
The KofC has a long history of aiding pro-life pregnancy centers all around the country. The organization’s Ultrasound Initiative, one of its initiatives, has given more than 1,500 ultrasound equipment to pro-life pregnancy centers throughout all 50 states since 2009.
According to the KofC, from 2018 to 2021, its members gave more than 1.7 million hours of their combined time as volunteers in pro-life pregnancy centers. According to a press release, the KofC gave pro-life maternity homes and pregnancy centers more than $18 million in cash and materials during that time.