From: Carolyn Gillihan
North Vernon
Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, several conservative state legislatures, including Indiana, have stepped up to protect the lives of the preborn and to encourage healthy families where moms and dads are committed to one another and to the protection, provision and loving care of all their children.
I’ll be honest with you, my worldview is biblically-based. I believe a good God created all that exists. The Genesis account is that God created male and female in His own image, and He gave them (and us) a mandate: A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. God commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” God obviously created man and woman to enjoy intimacy, which is more than just sexual intercourse, but certainly includes it in a committed, loving relationship known as marriage. Marriage is the “safety net” which protects women as they give birth and raise children together with the father.
Babies need both a mother and a father, not just to conceive them, but to welcome, love and raise them. Tragically, we have fallen away from this original plan, and the results are devastating. About 90% of abortions occur with women who aren’t in a committed relationship. Over 62 million babies have been aborted since the 1973 Roe v Wade decision. Not only are lives lost, there are hearts that carry the guilt and the wound.
My purpose for writing this is to tell the truth about pregnancy care centers in Indiana and the US. As a volunteer at one of our local centers, I speak from personal experience that volunteers and staff are well trained to compassionately provide care for the women and their partners who accompany them. We provide free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds for the pregnant women so they can see the new life they carry. We offer sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, education for students in public/private schools and churches teaching healthy decision making, and a restoration outreach focused on helping women to heal from sexually related traumas, such as abortion, reproductive loss, sexual abuse and codependency.
The centers supply clients with material resources such as car seats, pack ‘n’ plays, clothing (newborn to 5 years), diapers, formula, and much more. Beautiful hand-made blankets are stitched by volunteers for each new baby. Mamas may choose free maternity clothes from the onsite closet. Supplies are donated by pro-life individuals and businesses.
The centers exist to offer help, hope and healing and to serve the people of our communities with truth and love, no matter what decisions they have made or will make.
Why are we so driven in this endeavor? As the Apostle Paul wrote, “We are compelled by the love of Christ,” the one who sacrificed His life, and by His sacrifice we all receive forgiveness of all our sins, and new life, which is eternal.
