The overturning of Roe has ushered in a new era of the pro-life movement
By Tom Campisi
Roland Warren is the president and CEO of Care Net, a network that serves pregnancy centers across North America. The Princeton University and Wharton Business School alumnus recently celebrated the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, but also emphasized that the need for a holistic approach to unplanned pregnancies remains the same.
“For all who value the sanctity of human life, today marks a monumental day in our efforts to protect the unborn. In upholding Mississippi’s pro-life law and overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has paved the way for states to make laws regulating abortion based on the values of their own citizens,” Warren said in a statement of Care Net’s website.
Warren’s comments, however, were tempered with the realization that “changed laws don’t equal changed hearts, and the Supreme Court can’t outlaw unplanned, unexpected, and unexpectedly complicated pregnancies.”
“Regardless of how the laws of our land play out over the next several years, women and men will continue to face tough pregnancy decisions. In an environment in which abortion is more difficult to access, Care Net’s work has become more critical than ever.”
Care Net gives support to more than 1,200 centers, a national hotline, and a growing network of churches in its efforts to come alongside women and men at risk for abortion. For the organization’s CEO, it’s a matter that is close to his heart and his testimony.
When Warren was a student at Princeton University, he and his girlfriend, Yvette Lopez, faced an unplanned pregnancy. When Lopez visited the university’s student health services office, a counselor there encouraged her to get an abortion, saying, “How will you graduate from Princeton and become a doctor (her dream at the time) with a baby?” However, the couple, both 20 years old, was not swayed and decided to have the baby.
“Our student health coverage would not cover having a baby, but would pay for an abortion,” recalled Warren, who played football at Princeton.
For Warren and Lopez, the decision was based on the “certainty” that the image in the ultrasound was indeed a baby – not the uncertainty of their future. They also decided to be married.
Today, the couple has two grown sons and a grandchild. Yvette Lopez-Warren earned a psychology degree from Princeton in 1985 and practices family medicine in Maryland.
“We faced an unplanned pregnancy, not a crisis pregnancy,” said Warren.
Today, as CEO of Care Net, Warren, a former Christian Union board member, encourages Christians to adopt a more expansive “pro-abundant life” vision. He argues that a biblical framework that aligns the movement with God’s design for families is a holistic approach that has the power to transform lives, instead of solely focusing on “a woman and a baby.”
“Being pro-abundant life requires embracing and promoting marriage, encouraging responsible fatherhood, and consistently sharing the transformative message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Warren wrote in a booklet entitled Why We Must Be Pro-Abundant Life. “It means providing compassion, hope, and help to those facing pregnancy decisions.”
“We must see abortion as wrong because it is an attack on the sanctity of marriage and family, not just the sanctity of life.”
As the incendiary nationwide dialogue over Roe v. Wade continues to rage on and escalate in the coming years, Warren and Care Net will continue to fulfill the organization’s sacred mission of empowering women and men considering abortion to choose life for their unborn children and find abundant life in Christ.
