Hand ‘N Hand Pregnancy Center Giving Strength to Women
“Sheila” was pretty far along before she broke down and told her mother she was pregnant. Deep down, she knew her mother wouldn’t be happy. She never dreamed she’d hear these words, “You can kill yourself or kill your baby!”
When Sheila reached out for help, she found Hand ‘N Hand Pregnancy Center. There she was given the strength to continue with her pregnancy and participate in their “Caring Hands Program.”
“The girls love the program,” Director of Operations Ginger Smith stated. “We make sure they have a healthy pregnancy and teach them about caring for a baby.” In Sheila’s case, she stuck with the program and her relationship with her mother was eventually mended. In fact, the grandmother now babysits the grandchild she couldn’t accept initially.
“A whole family can turn around. We’re there to help everyone—even those that are heading to an abortion facility,” Smith noted.
These critical connections that are made between pregnant woman and pregnancy centers are crucial to saving women from the heartache of abortion. What they gain are relationships that not only save lives but transform families.
Another example is “Carly,” who first came to Hand ‘n Hand in 2010 when she was 14 years old. She came for a pregnancy test which turned out negative. She shared with her advocate about the dysfunctional home life she had. Her father was abusive, and mother was a drug addict. She was bounced from foster home to foster home.
“The next time we saw Carly was in 2017 when she came in for a pregnancy test. She planned to parent this baby, but sadly she miscarried the next month. Carly was blessed with a baby boy in June 2018. When he was just 5 months old, she suspected that she was again pregnant. The relationship she was in was not good, like what she grew up with. Her boyfriend was both verbally and physically abusive,” Smith explained.
Once again, Carly came to Hand ‘n Hand to confirm her home test result. She came in with the mindset that if she was pregnant, she would indeed have an abortion. The relationship with the baby’s dad was not good and she could never be a single parent to two babies.
The nurse at Hand ‘n Hand sat with Carly and educated her about abortion and its lasting effects. She viewed a DVD presentation with a doctor explaining abortion procedures. After the end of the counseling session, she changed her mind and decided to parent her baby.
“She saw her 14-week-old child on the ultrasound monitor and cried in awe. The follow-up from our nurse with Carly finds that she is doing well, and her new baby is due this summer,” Smith stated. “It’s so fortunate she didn’t go to Planned Parenthood! We continue to give all Glory to God that we are able to help our vulnerable clients see the precious gift of life that has been given to them.”
Smith noted that the number of abortion-determined women has gone up over the last few years. The Adwords campaign which Vitae runs is working well for them. “When women Google when they are looking for an abortion, anywhere around us, we just pop right up,” Smith stated.
The relationships that are made at Pregnancy Help Centers are far different from those at abortion facilities. If Carly hadn’t formed a relationship with Hand ‘N Hand, she would have gone to Planned Parenthood where her 14-week-old preborn baby would have been aborted.
Sheila recently brought her two-year-old to Hand ‘N Hand for a visit. That doesn’t happen at Planned Parenthood, because there wouldn’t be a child to walk in with its mother. Those mothers only know the pain of regret.