Expectant women and couples who have been told that their unborn babies may have a severe or life-threatening birth defect will soon have a place to turn to for help.

The Archdiocesan Pro-Life Commission is building a network of health care providers, social workers, parents, chaplains and psychologists who can offer guidance, support and medical care to parents who have received such a diagnosis, according to an announcement by the archdiocese Jan. 23. Referrals will be made through the Gianna Catholic Healthcare Center for Women in Manhattan.

Dr. Anne Nolte of the Gianna Center is the chair of the Pro-Life Commission’s Medical Committee. She spoke with CNY about the urgent need for the network, and the lack of services for parents struggling with a devastating report.

“Ninety percent of babies diagnosed with a birth defect will be aborted,” she said. “With the loss of St. Vincent’s Hospital, the City of New York no longer has a place that women and families can turn to for support and care when they’re given an adverse prenatal diagnosis.”

She added, “There is often intense pressure placed on women by their doctors to abort these babies…In some cases, obstetrician-gynecologists have even refused to provide prenatal care to women given these diagnoses if they are unwilling to abort.”

An unborn baby with a birth defect also is at risk of not receiving care.

“Parents are not being informed about treatment options for their babies,” said Dr. Nolte, who is a family physician with an area of concentration in women’s health and infertility.

“Instead, the focus has really become eugenic: to end a pregnancy where the child is not 100 percent normal,” she said.

The Medical Committee that Dr. Nolte chairs is seeking the following professionals: obstetricians and perinatologists to provide supportive prenatal care; neonatologists to offer guidance on caring for critically ill newborns; family physicians and pediatricians to support families of children born with disabilities; social workers, chaplains and psychologists to give support and coordinate resources; and parents who have experienced an adverse diagnosis or who care for a child with a disability, to share their experiences.

Names and contact information will be kept strictly confidential. Referrals will be coordinated by the archdiocesan Family Life/Respect Life Office and the Gianna Center. For more information, or to serve with the network, contact Dr. Nolte at the Gianna Center, (212) 481-1219 or giannanyc@saintpetersuh.com.

Women and families will receive referrals at no charge, and will be connected with doctors and others within their health insurance plans, Dr. Nolte said.

The Pro-Life Commission was established a year ago by Cardinal-designate Dolan as an advisory board that will assist him in promoting respect for the sanctity of all human life.