A Church-run home in Hue, central Vietnam, is helping to stop women aborting their babies by providing a safe haven for them to have their children.

Six months ago, Tran Thi Thu Hien (not her real name) decided to terminate her three-month-old pregnancy after her boyfriend abandoned her. She was also too scared to return to her family.

Hien, who worked in a restaurant in Hue, was brought by a friend to Hoan Luong home, run by four Daughters of Our Lady of the Visitation nuns.

There she has been given free food, clothing, health care and accommodation.

Hien, 20, who is due to give birth soon, said, “I found peace of mind here.”

The woman from Da Nang city said she spends her days at the home watering the vegetable garden, raising chickens and helping to prepare meals.

She is among 10 pregnant women living at the home.

Hien said that after giving birth, she will leave her baby to the nuns to look after, and return home.

Sister Anna Ho Thi Tuyen told UCA News that the home, established in 1995, aims to show the women that there are people who care about them and their unborn children. Most of the women have no money and were planning to abort their babies after they were abandoned by their boyfriends, she added.

Sister Tuyen said the nuns have saved over 300 pregnancies over the past 15 years.

Sister Tuyen, 60, said the women are provided with a safe and understanding environment, and spend their time doing exercises, gardening or making clothes. They also listen to music, watch television or read.

Sister Tuyen said many of the women are students or low-paid workers from neighboring provinces. They are afraid of their families’ disapproval of them being pregnant out of wedlock, she added.

“We try to maintain their dignity by keeping their pregnancies secret.”

The nun said that after giving birth, the women give their babies to the nuns so that they can go back to school, work or get married in the future.

According to Sister Tuyen, the babies are looked after at a local Church-run center or adopted by Catholic couples.

Ho Thi Van (not her real name), 17, from Dac Lac province, said she has been living at the home for five months.

“I am deeply grateful to the nuns. Without their help, I would have died,” Van said. She had planned to commit suicide after she was abandoned by her boyfriend and failed her college entrance exams.

There are two such Church-run homes in Hue, Thua Thien-Hue province, serving unwed mothers. The other is Nguyen Bieu Home where over 200 women have been given free food and accommodation over the past 12 years.

Abortion is legal in Vietnam to control population growth, according to Sister Tuyen.

Hue archdiocese’s pro-life group says that 2,000-4,000 abortions are performed each year in the province.