For nearly four decades, a Minnesota-based pro-life organization has sought to change minds about abortion not through politics but through public education.
Mary Ann Kuharski, founder of Pro-Life Across America, said the organization began out of frustration with the growing politicization of the abortion debate and a conviction that lasting change comes from changing hearts rather than winning elections.
"I started out of frustration," Kuharski told EWTN News. "The more I looked into it, the more I realized if we don't do something to change hearts, we're never going to save babies and moms from the devastation of abortion."
Kuharski said she had spent years involved in political organizing before stepping away to focus on what would become a nonpartisan educational ministry. With encouragement from her husband and local pastors, she launched what she expected would be a small Minnesota organization dedicated to sharing pro-life messages through advertising.
"We said we were going to do one thing, and that is to get the truth out before the public," she said. "What we didn't realize is that God would use that truth to touch hearts."
'There's no such thing as an unwanted baby'
Kuharski's commitment to the pro-life movement is deeply personal.
She was adopted from one of Minnesota's last orphanages and later became the mother of 13 children, including six mixed-race children with special needs whom she adopted.
"I came from one of the last orphanages out of Minnesota, so I have a special reason why I feel like there should never be a slogan that says there's such a thing as an unwanted baby," she said.
"There's always someone who will welcome that baby if they give them a chance for life."
From a kitchen table to a nationwide outreach
Kuharski said the organization began in 1989 from her kitchen table with the help of her husband and another couple. With no office and no paid staff, the group purchased 42 simple black-and-white billboards across Minnesota carrying a message encouraging people to "listen to the heartbeat" of an unborn child.
Within two weeks, Kuharski said, the organization received a call that convinced her the campaign was making a difference.
"A clinic director in St. Paul called me and said, 'I know that's you behind these billboards,'" Kuharski recalled. "She told me a woman had come in scheduled for an abortion and said, 'I can't stand to drive by that billboard on my way to work every day. Will you help me?'"
"That's when we realized that the Holy Spirit was behind these billboards, not us," she said.
As requests for the campaign spread beyond Minnesota, the organization expanded nationally and eventually changed its name to Pro-Life Across America.
Now in its 37th year, the nonprofit operates in all 50 states through a nationwide educational outreach that includes more than 11,000 billboards annually, as well as thousands of radio spots, internet advertisements, and streaming television and radio ads when funding allows.
A ministry serving women — and men
While many assume pregnancy resource ministries primarily serve women, Kuharski said a significant number of calls come from men.
"Forty percent or more of the calls to our hotline are men," she said. "They're the fathers of the baby. They're the brothers. They're the fathers of the pregnant girl."
Some callers seek pregnancy resources, including medical care, confidential counseling, housing, and adoption information, while others are looking for healing years after abortion.
Kuharski recalled one man who contacted the organization around Christmas after years of staying away from church.
"He said, 'I paid for two abortions years ago, and I've never felt good about going back into a church,'" she said. "'I pushed and pushed her until she got those abortions, and I haven't been able to have peace since.'"
The organization connected him with a pastor and a men's support group.
"It's amazing what the truth will do to help us really relieve our consciences if we follow our conscience," Kuharski said.
Kuharski said stories like his are common, as are calls from women who credit the organization's outreach with changing the course of their lives.
One recent caller shared her gratitude three years after seeing one of the organization's billboards.
"I had to call to say, 'Thank you!' Three years ago today, because of many circumstances, I was scheduled for an abortion. I drove by one of your billboards and read the message. Today, I'm on my way to church with my 3-and-a-half-year-old little girl, and I have you to thank for her!"
Kuharski said moments like these reinforce the organization's belief that a simple billboard or advertisement can be the only sign of hope someone encounters during an unexpected pregnancy.
"So often a simple billboard, radio message, or ad on the internet may be the only sign of help and hope to someone experiencing an untimely pregnancy," she said.
Continuing the mission
Today, Kuharski's daughter oversees much of the organization's daily operations. The ministry's hotline receives more than 700 calls each month from people seeking pregnancy assistance, adoption information, medical care, confidential counseling, housing, or post-abortion support.
The hotline operates around the clock and connects callers with a network of more than 3,000 pro-life agencies across the country, including Spanish-language resources.
Although the organization now has 11 employees, Kuharski said that only one works full time. She said approximately 92 cents of every donated dollar goes directly toward the ministry's outreach rather than administrative costs, with less than 8 cents going toward administrative expenses. The organization remains entirely donor-funded.
Despite decades of growth, Kuharski said the organization's mission has remained unchanged.
"We're nonpolitical and totally educational and service-oriented," she said. "Not that I wouldn't want to change the laws, but I think it's important for us to change hearts in this country."
She said the ministry continues to operate "like a mission," relying entirely on public support to sustain its nationwide outreach and to ensure that those facing unexpected pregnancies can find help when they need it most.
