Minnesota pregnancy center marks 20 years of helping families choose life

A pregnancy center in Apple Valley, Minnesota, is celebrating 20 years of helping women who are facing unexpected pregnancies, with expanded resources to help parents choose life and build stronger families.

Pregnancy Choices Lifecare Center has grown from a largely volunteer-led effort into a fully staffed medical center over the past two decades, Pregnancy Help News reported Oct. 6. 

Serving women throughout the surrounding Twin Cities area, it offers pregnancy testing, limited ultrasounds, and life coaching at no cost. Its work also includes support for fathers and education on healthy relationships, according to its website.The outlet noted that half of the center’s coaches are bilingual as it serves a growing number of Hispanic and Latino clients.

Executive Director Lynesha Caron told Pregnancy Help News that the growing demand for abortion pills, and pregnancy decisions increasingly taking place online, are prompting the center to explore ways to reach women and men earlier in an unexpected pregnancy.

“Throughout our history, Pregnancy Choices has responded when the needs of our clients or changes in our culture have called us to something more,” she said. “We believe this moment requires us to continue finding thoughtful, compassionate ways to meet women and men earlier in the pregnancy decision.”

The center’s growth has also come with challenges, Caron said.

“One of our greatest and most persistent hurdles has been the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of what pregnancy resource centers actually do,” she told Pregnancy Help News. “Over the past 20 years, we've seen that take different forms — from smear campaigns, consumer alerts, and vandalism targeting pregnancy centers to the loss of Minnesota's Positive Alternatives Grant funding.”

Nearly half of the clients who come to Pregnancy Choices are considering or committed to having an abortion, the outlet reported. Caron described the center’s services as a way to help them see a path forward with their babies.

“What has carried us through is remaining grounded in the truth of our work,” she said. “We provide defined medical services, certified coaching, education, practical resources, and long-term support that give people the opportunity to see life as a viable option.”

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The center has expanded the availability of that care. Ultrasounds are now available five days a week rather than two, the outlet reported, and clients receive coaching and educational resources tailored to their circumstances and goals.

As more clients come to the center in relationships, Caron said support for fathers has become a greater part of its work. The Good Father Program, launched in 2016, now offers male coaching five days a week, up from two in 2019.

The center has taught students about healthy relationships in local schools since 2018. Based on confirmed school commitments, it projects a 32% increase in students served during the 2026–2027 school year, Caron told Pregnancy Help News.

Schools are requesting more sustained instruction, too, with some scheduling as many as 32 sessions throughout the year instead of a single presentation.

Pregnancy Help News reported that the center marked its 20th anniversary with a sold-out gala bringing together supporters to celebrate its work.