Pro-life pregnancy center to move across street from proposed abortion clinic

SOUTH BEND, Ind. ---  A pro-life pregnancy center may be moving close to a proposed abortion clinic after all.

After months of back and forth, and a veto from Mayor Pete, the Women's Care Center is planning to move in close to where the Whole Women's Health is set to open.

It won't be next door, like the original plan, but instead, just across a busy stretch of Lincolnway West.

Jenny Hunsberger, the Vice President of the Women's Care Center says, it's happening because of the tremendous support from the community. 

"Just days after the common council meeting, we were approached by the owner of the property right across the street, who had been a big supporter of us being there in his neighborhood," she explains. "He said, if you need a property, I'd like you to look at mine."

The Center is now in contract with the owner of Catnap Inn, to take it over. 

They hope to have the facility up and running by the end of the year.

Whole Women's Health Alliance is not thrilled with the move. 

"We want to be able to offer those services in the South Bend community without having these women targeted or shamed for carrying out what they need to do for themselves or for their lives," says the President and CEO of Whole Women's Health Alliance, Amy Hagstrom Miller.  

But in the pockets of houses and neighborhoods, tucked away near the sites of both centers, neighbors are also worried what kind of discourse the move will bring.

"I don't necessarily think they should be across the street from each other. There are places for everything, I don't know why it has to be right across the street from each other," says Vicki Brown, who lives around the corner from the facilities.

She's worried about what will happen when both centers open.

"It could cause problems and protests and it's close to my home," adds Brown.

She says, she likes the Women's Care Center.  Her family has personally benefited from their care.

But she is still concerned.

So is Jim Keeley, who lives down the block.  He believes protests are imminent. 

"This country was founded on protest. That was the whole point," he explains. "I mean, there are going to be protests. But as long as people are respectful, it'll work out."

But Hunsberger says, protests will not happen. 

"We made commitments to the city, that we do protest. We do not conflict or violence. That doesn't happen at our centers. It's not up," she says.

Keeley says, the site of both of the clinics on the way into South Bend, is not ideal. 

But he believes there's just good place to put either of them.

"Obviously no one wants to see that, but again, people don't want to go into town and see strip clubs either," he says. "They could move it into another part of town, somewhere else, but then it would be someone else's problem."