November 2011 Newsletter
A note from Mark...
Woman's Right to Know Act: What will it mean for LifeCare?
An Overwhelming Decision: One Client's Story
A Must See Video That's Changing Minds
We're on Facebook!
A note from Mark...
I hope this letter finds each of you in a “good place!” Often we struggle with the unique daily challenges we face, including being placed in positions where we have to make very difficult decisions. Each of us deals differently with those difficult decisions. The decisions we make today often impact us the rest of our lives. I hope that your “good place” includes a trusted group of godly friends and family who you can rely on for solid advice in making your life decisions.
Unfortunately, most of the clients we see are not in a “good place.” They are in the process of making one of the most difficult decisions that they will ever make, often feeling as though they are “very alone” in their decision. Yes, they may have friends or family that can have a positive or negative impact on their decision, but the majority lack a significant relationship with God and are not relying on Him to help them through their situation. Besides our mission to save the unborn child, we take every opportunity that presents itself to share Christ with our clients. I would ask you today to take a minute and pray for our clients and their individual relationships with God.
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Woman's Right to Know Act: What will it mean for LifeCare?
In July 2011, the Woman’s Right to Know Act was passed by the North Carolina Legislature. This law focuses on informed consent provisions and a 24 hour waiting period which could have a positive, significant impact on our ministry. The act can be viewed online at www.wrtk.ncdhhs.gov. Here is a short synopsis of the new act:
Currently, abortion clinics are not required to have meaningful patient consultations with doctors prior to the procedure. Many women meet their abortionist for the first time while they are on the abortion table.
The new law requires specific educational information be shared 24 hours prior to an abortion. The law also requires abortionists to offer the ultrasound image of the child to the mother, but does not require her to look. The abortionist must provide a scientifically accurate and consistent description of what the image shows, and the abortionist must offer the mother the opportunity to hear the heart tone of her unborn child.
During the legislative hearing process, prominent doctors at UNC Chapel Hill practicing and teaching in the fields of maternal and prenatal health, neonatology, and obstetrics and gynecology testified in support of this legislation. The law is also supported by a majority of North Carolinians. An April 2011 poll by the Civitas Institute found that the group most affected by the legislation, women aged 18 –44, support the law by 63% - 31%.
North Carolina modeled its law after twenty-five (25) states which have already enacted Woman’s Right to Know legislation. Informed consent provisions and the 24 hour waiting period have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Currently, there is an injunction in place for the ultrasound imaging requirements; however, the rest of the law became effective on October 26, 2011.
Estimates range from 3,000 to 7,000 saved lives each year. This reduction is also projected to reduce the consequences and medical expenses incurred by the premature deliveries in subsequent pregnancies that induced abortion in many cases cause.
LifeCare plans to provide the educational information needed to fulfill the requirements for the law at our
Gateway center. We are in need of registered nurse volunteers to meet with young women and walk them through the educational handbook. Women of North Carolina have a right to be fully informed before deciding whether to
continue or terminate their pregnancy. Please contact us if you or someone you know can help us make a difference in the lives of women facing unplanned pregnancies.
Training is provided for all volunteers. Click here for more information on volunteering or contact Wendy. wendy@gatewaycampus.org | 919.833.0096
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An Overwhelming Decision: One Client's Story
Christy’s tears flowed as she sat across the room and her story unfolded. She told of her mother suddenly passing away from lung cancer the previous month and how immediately after returning from her home town she found out that she was pregnant. Her boyfriend wanted her to have an abortion and Christy faced an overwhelming decision. The information she heard at Gateway on the abortion risks and procedures brought forth more anguished tears as Christy agonized over her difficult choice. The thought of having a baby without her mother there to guide her and without the support of the baby’s father weighed heavily on Christy as she left Gateway that day, undecided.
Fast forward nearly three years and once again Christy walked through Gateway’s front door. With a huge smile on her face she told us that she had the baby, a little boy, who was now two years old and the joy of her life. Christy went on to tell us that she was pregnant again and under the same pressure from her boyfriend to have an abortion. He loved his son but because of finances and other life circumstances he definitely did not want more children. Christy felt like she had pushed him to go through with the first pregnancy and was uncertain about doing that again. Christy asked her client advocate to go over the abortion risks and procedures with her once more, saying that she just needed to be reminded of why she chose life the first time.
A few days later Christy returned with her boyfriend for an ultrasound so that he could see the reality of what he was asking her to do and the life he wanted her to end. The couple watched closely as their 12 week old baby kicked, waved and posed for great ultrasound pictures. The boyfriend’s demeanor changed and he sighed heavily as he realized that there was no way they could abort this precious little life.
What helped Christy and her boyfriend choose life both times was the wonderful combination of being treated with non-judgmental, compassionate care, receiving the factual truth about abortion and then seeing the reality of their child on the ultrasound screen. At Gateway an unborn life was saved, a little boy gained a new sibling, a mother’s anguish was removed and a man stepped up and made his first decision as the father of this new child…one that saved his child’s life!
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A Must See Video That's Changing Minds
Ray Comfort, of Living Waters Ministry, produced this 33 minute pro-life video that documents young adults changing their mind on abortion in a matter of seconds. Making the parallel between the holocaust in Europe to abortion in America, Comfort argues in the film, "We've got a holocaust in America [where] real babies are being murdered because of women's choice and it's legal. It's like Nazi Germany. He did it legally." The video has the endorsement of several well-known pro-life evangelicals such as John Piper, Randy Alcorn, Kay Arthur, Kirk Cameron, and Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. Watch it now and share it with others!
To view the video go to www.180movie.com.
For more information or to help promote go to www.heartchanger.com.
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We're on Facebook!
We have a new Facebook page for clients. With fresh new graphics, info about our services and hours, and weekly posts about sexual health and pregnancy issues, our new page and Facebook advertising are building awareness about Gateway. Click here to view our Facebook page. top |
