First launched online beginning in October of 2002, Benotafraid.net is a network of concerned parents, professionals, and laypersons who have experienced and/or worked closely with issues surrounding poor prenatal diagnoses. In presenting our stories and information relevant to various diagnoses, we intend to offer hope to parents who are asked to make life and death decisions about their unborn baby. This outreach is guided by the directives of the Catholic Church as they concern issues surrounding beginning and end of life. We prefer to offer resources and referrals to organizations that adhere to the healthcare directives of the Catholic Church when they are available. When these are not available, we strive for resources that provide medically accurate information with an overall life-affirming approach. Additionally, while many of our stories and essays reflect a Catholic Christian perspective, other essays and stories we feature are of interest to any parent grappling with a difficult prenatal diagnosis. Therefore, Catholic families and non-Catholic families alike can benefit from this outreach.

Often, parents are given a poor prenatal diagnosis and are then left with making the decision to either terminate or proceed with the pregnancy. In some cases, parents are not given adequate information to make truly informed choices. When the diagnosis involves fatal defects, parents can be made to feel that continuing with the pregnancy is not a legitimate option open to them. Occasionally, parents have reported feeling that they were expected to terminate, or felt pressured toward making a decision to terminate.

We hope that in offering our stories and outcomes, we can show that continuing a pregnancy, regardless of the baby's diagnosis, whether fatal or disabling, remains both the morally and medically legitimate option. Many of us have already lived through (and live with) the variety of experiences that some expectant parents fear most. While our stories represent a variety of outcomes, we believe that choosing not to prematurely end the lives of our babies through termination of pregnancy was the best possible response to our poor prenatal diagnoses. If there is one thing we want to express to parents who are facing difficult decisions, it is simply this . . . be not afraid.

Benotafraid.net is an outreach resource specifically meant for those who are facing a decision regarding a poor prenatal diagnosis. Our outreach is not directed toward women who have already terminated a pregnancy because of a prenatal diagnosis. The content in articles and stories featured on the site may not be appropriate for post-abortive women. However, if you have already terminated a pregnancy because of a prenatal diagnosis, but have come to believe you may have made the wrong choice, there are several resources available to you. Benotafraid.net may be able to direct you toward a post-abortion counseling program that is a good match for your own personal circumstances.

Benotafraid.net adheres to the moral guidelines and ethical directives of the Catholic Church with regard to sanctity of life issues without compromise. Yet, we believe that parents of all faith backgrounds will find in our stories, articles, and carefully selected resources, hope and encouragement amidst one of life's very unexpected and heartwrenching circumstances, a poor or difficult prenatal diagnosis. So, who is Benotafraid.net for? Benotafraid.net is for anyone who is open to the witness of those who have chosen to walk the path set before them.

In 2007, Benotafraid.net affiliated with Elizabeth Ministry International, a movement of Catholic faithful primarily serving women and their families through the joys, trials and sorrows of their child-bearing years. As a special affiliate of Elizabeth Ministry, we continue our mission of offering encouragement, information, and life-affirming support to parents who receive difficult news from prenatal screening, testing, and diagnosis.