The 35th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion on demand in America is January 22nd, the celebration will not be celebrated by Southern Baptists.

The celebration instead will celebrate the fact that due to hundreds of crisis pregnancy centers across the U.S., which are supported by SBC churches approximately 3500 babies were spared from abortion during 2007.  Plus around 5,000 women accepted Christ as their savior because pregnancy staff members shared the Gospel with them.

From October 2007, the period which statistics became available almost 94,000 clients had received counseling and some free services from the centers.  The Gospel, shared by the centers staff with 28,000 girls and women and around 2700 Southern Baptist volunteers who were trained to present the Gospel to clients.  

Due to the work in 2007 at the First Life Center for Pregnancy, which is an outreach of FBC in Orlando, Florida, more than 700 infants are alive today.     
During the twenty years of First Life Center’s operations around 8,000 children have been born to the center’s clients according to the centers director for 17 of those years, Sandy Epperson. 

According to Epperson, “We had a record breaking year in 2007,” which through the latter part of the year had handled more than 6,200 clients, presented the Gospel to almost 1,000 clients, and more than 100 made decisions for Christ. 

First Life Center is located on the FBC campus an area of 3,000 square foot.   This coming April the pregnancy center along with the counseling center will be moving to a brand new 14,000 square foot facility.  There are five full time employees at First Life plus an ultrasound technician available as needed.   
 
According to the national consultant for pregnancy care ministries for the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in Alpharetta, GA “One of the most effective tools for combating the abortion clinics is the local crisis pregnancy center”.   Ham was the former pregnancy center director for S. C. for eight years before coming to NAMB. 
 
"Since 1973, over 3,000 crisis pregnancy centers [SBC and non-SBC] have opened to provide alternatives to abortion and to meet the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of women and men whose lives have been touched by abortion."

SBC churches support hundreds of these centers according to Ham, for example the FBC in Orlando and some 222 are affiliated with NAMB’s pregnancy care ministries. 
 
"While crisis pregnancy centers have certainly made a difference in the number of abortions performed annually, the numbers [of abortions] are still alarmingly high," Ham said. "Few people realize that in the United States, one out of three pregnancies ends in abortion. Most people also don't realize that abortion is legal for the entire nine months of the pregnancy."

The age range of the pregnancy center clients is from age 12 to age 50 according to Ham.  Women who had abortions when a teenager and are suffering still with emotional scars and post abortion syndrome.  

“Some come to the centers simply to get diapers for their newborns while others mistakenly think they are at the abortion clinic,” Ham said.  “Whatever the reason for the visit, they all share a common need, the loving touch of Jesus Christ.  Above all else, that’s what our crisis pregnancy centers provide.” 
 
"Every staff person and every volunteer are trained to listen as a pregnant woman shares her story, and then to respond in a way that will meet her practical needs and, at the same time, discern her relationship with God. To the extent the client permits, a staff member shares the Gospel and gives her the opportunity to receive Jesus Christ."

Many reasons are given why girls and women abort their babies according to Ham.   The fear over what a parent would say; or a spouse or the baby’s father would say or do; or concern a friend or family would find out; fear that a baby would interfere with school work or a career; some believe they already have too many children in their family; another is financially not capable of raising a child. 
 
"Regardless of the reasons, more than 95 percent of abortions are performed as a matter of convenience –- not because of rape, incest or to protect the life of the mother," Ham said. 

“Sanctity of Human Life Sunday” is January 20th for the Southern Baptist Convention churches.  This is observed annually on the Sunday closest to the January 22nd anniversary of Roe vs. Wade and as a day for pro-life sermons and Bible study and promotion of adoption.  

Nearly 50 million babies have been aborted in the U.S. since the, Roe vs. Wade decision handed down by the Supreme Court in 1973.   This year alone more than a million American women and girls will have an abortion. 

According to the pro-choice Alan Guttmacher Institute about 46 million worldwide abortions occur each year and about 126,000 abortions a day.    
 

Story shows that sonograms stop abortions  

A big boost toward its efforts to save human lives ……… a new sonogram machine according to a Colorado ministry to women in crisis pregnancies. 

The SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is promoting the SBC’s Psalm 139 Project which is an effort  to educate Southern Baptists on the value of ultrasound technology in crisis pregnancy situations selected Riverside Pregnancy Center to receive the equipment.  Individuals will be provided a way to contribute to a fund that places the machines in qualified centers.  

The inspiration for the project was Psalm 139.  The fact that we are uniquely created by God Himself, in fact, “knit” together in our mother’s womb, we see this as an affirmation in the Old Testament.  

A ministry of the city’s Riverside Baptist Church – the Denver- based pregnancy care center has been advocating for life since 2000.   The center received the machine last November.    
 
"It has been a long journey to receive an ultrasound," center director Terri Baxter said. "We have been trying for years, and as a small center we ran into all kinds of obstacles from finances, to insurance, to training for the ultrasound, to adequate space to place it and again finance.”

Baxter said during the training period a young lady came into their offices with her mother and her boyfriend and it wasn’t long before the value of the ultrasound technology was personally demonstrated to the clinic’s staff and volunteers.   
 
"Abortion was definitely an option for her and her boyfriend," Baxter said. "Yet they had the ultrasound and took home pictures of the baby in her womb."

A critical part of the process that the Psalm 139 Project provides – the crisis pregnancy center’s staff was trained for four days to use the new piece of equipment.

It was noted the young lady’s boyfriend was very quiet when he came out of the examining room.   He would not look at any of the workers in their eyes.  The young lady’s mother was encouraging her to keep the baby but the young lady only said she had some decisions to make.    Baxter and the staff have no idea what the couple decided but the nurses at the center said their faces changed dramatically when they saw the images of the active unborn child.  
"We are so excited about the difference an ultrasound is going to make in our center," Baxter said. "When women come into the center abortion-minded, if they are able to have an ultrasound, 90 percent will change their mind to parent or to place for adoption instead of taking that child's life." 
Baxter said another lady came in during the training and she was reportedly 8 to 10 weeks pregnant.  The ultrasound did not reveal any evidence of a pregnancy so the client was referred to a local physician. 

Baxter said while the clinic staff thought they had done the sonogram improperly, a few days following they would learn that the doctor had advised the client that there was a problem with her pregnancy.   
 
"Thanks to having an ultrasound we were able to help a woman address complications early instead of too late," Baxter said.

Baxter shares the center has been intentional about sharing the Gospel with those who come through the front door.   
 
"We know if women are saved spiritually; we will save more babies physically," she stated.  
 
Most of the volunteers are members of Riverside Baptist, and because of the gifts of the Southern Baptists to the Psalm 139 Project sonogram equipment has been placed in pregnancy care centers in San Marcos, Texas; New Albany, Indiana; San Bernardino, CA., Corinth, Miss.. The Riverside Pregnancy center is affiliated with the SBC’s North American Mission Board.    This affiliation affords local centers a “great source of volunteers, financial income and prayer support,” according to Elaine Ham, the national consultant for pregnancy care ministries with NAMB.

Ham says NAMB works with local churches and Baptist Associations “to start new centers, offering board, evangelism and volunteer training, as well as Bibles and other resources to the new center, and all at no cost to the center.”   Ham notes the importance of the convention’s Cooperative Program funding mechanism to launch new centers.

No fees to be paid to affiliate with NAMB and the staff of these care centers are then eligible for insurance and retirement benefits through Southern Baptist channels.   Ham shares it has been her experience that when Southern Baptist churches discover that a center is partnering with the North American Mission Board, “they are much more open to providing financial resources and volunteers to the centers.”   Currently there are 225 pregnancy care centers affiliated with NAMB, Ham said.

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