LifeCare Center For Women - Medical Update

LifeCare Center for Women

LifeNotes

Medical Update
by Leah Wray
Associate Director

The staff and Board at LifeCare continue to be very interested in "going medical." Exactly what does that mean? For LifeCare that means having an ultrasound machine on site. When we visit with clients that have positive pregnancy tests and are at risk for having an abortion, our trained staff would do an ultrasound. This would give us an opportunity to show them the baby beginning to grown inside and see the little heart already beating.

There are five basic reasons to convert to a medical clinic:

1. To increase the overall number of clients. Many Centers that have already converted to a medical clinic report a substantial increase in the number of clients they see.

2. To attract more abortion-vulnerable and abortion-minded clients. The Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic manual printed by the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) asks: "Are your statistics revealing an increase in clients who want to be pregnancy and a decrease in clients who are considering abortion as a solution to their unplanned pregnancy?" We would give a definite yes. Yet the Kansas Bureau of Vital Statistics reported 39 abortions in Franklin County in 1999.

3. To empower women to choose life. According to the New England Journal of Medicine (February 1983): "Viewing the fetal form in the late first or early mid-trimester of pregnancy, before movement is felt by the mother, may also influence the resolution of any ambivalence toward the pregnancy itself in favor of the fetus. Ultrasound may thus result in fewer abortions and more desired pregnancies."

4. To increase donor support. Many clinics report increasing donations perhaps due to a more professional status.

5. To gain credibility in the community. Many other agencies are more willing to refer clients to a medical clinic.

I hope this will help you understand why we want to make these changes at LifeCare. We know that there are still a lot of abortions happening here in Franklin County and in the surrounding areas. While we see some women that say, "if I am pregnant I will have an abortion," the results of their tests are often negative. We want to be reaching the women that know they are pregnant an on the way to the abortion clinic.

To accomplish these changes we need to have a Medical Advisory Council. It it recommended that some in this group of people have a medical background such as doctors, nurses, technicians or others. It would really be helpful if some understand the regulations from OSHA regarding medical clinics. Also needed are those with knowledge of ultrasound equipment could make recommendations for the purchase of this machine. Anyone interested in seeing this dream become a reality for LifeCare would be welcome. The Medical Advisory Council would meet periodically to work at getting this process completed. If God is calling you to help reach more women and girls in our community, please call or come by our office.

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225 S. Walnut • Ottawa, Kansas 66067
(785) 242-4500
hope@lifecarecenter.org