Any pregnancy is a life-changing event. An unwanted one is enough to destroy many young women. Considering the sacrifice that is required of mothers, especially those who end up raising children on their own, there is little wonder in the fact that many women facing unplanned pregnancies see abortion as the solution to their problems.

Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion throughout the nation, women have taken advantage of that “solution” more than 46 million times, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a self-described “nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education,” founded by a former president of Planned Parenthood, one of the nation’s leading proponents of abortion-on-demand.

It’s a staggering figure and one that the pro-abortion lobby is careful not to publicize. Indeed, in the political arena, even the most liberal candidates — while still maintaining that they will protect a woman’s “right to choose” — regularly call for action to reduce the number of abortions in America. “Safe, legal and rare” has been the catchphrase of Democrats regarding abortion for years.

One area group is working hard to make the “rare” part of that catchphrase a reality. The Crisis Pregnancy Center, which operates the Keim Centers in Suffolk, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Virginia Beach, defends life by supporting women who face unplanned pregnancies, by educating the community on healthy relationships and by promoting healing for women who have had abortions.

With services ranging from ultrasound to medical consultations and parenting classes, the organization seeks to show women that their choice isn’t between destroying the life of a baby and having that baby destroy their own lives. The choice is more simply between supporting human life or not.

And the approach works, based on information gathered in surveys by similar groups. Focus on the Family estimates that its Option Ultrasound program — through which abortion-minded women are shown ultrasound images of their babies as part of a counseling program — results in twice as many babies saved as counseling alone.

Whatever one’s opinion about “the right to choose,” groups like the Keim Centers are important resources for women facing some of the darkest times of their lives. The free support, nurturing and encouragement they provide — in an environment free of condemnation or judgment — is just the right approach to the problem.