For me it still seems like yesterday—August 19, 1999. While on assignment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center the  click of my camera’s shutter changed my life forever.

Dr. Joseph Bruner was performing fetal surgery for spina bifida on Samuel Armus—at just 21 weeks gestation—as I was shooting photos for USA Today. Suddenly I saw the uterus shake and little Samuel’s fist force its way out. His tiny arm flailed about and when the doctor squeezed his hand Samuel responded, squeezing back.

Our patient, like many, was a previous patient, but unlike some, it had been nearly a decade since she first sought our services.  She carried that baby to term, and now had an elementary-aged child whom she is caring for alone.

Incredible Strength written by Gayle Irwin, Patient Resources Director

She was only18 years old, recently graduated from high school in another state.  She already knew she was pregnant when she walked through our doors because she had been to another Care-Net and her pregnancy had been confirmed; the staff at that Center referred her to us as she planned to relocate to Casper.

This month, HBO is airing a documentary called :12^th and Delaware” that
portrays the work of a pregnancy center and an abortion clinic that are across the street from one another in Ft. Pierce, Florida.  We have not seen the film but thought you might be interested in reading Care Net’s press release on it.  Care Net is the national organization we are affiliated with.

Bradley Mattes of Life Issues Institute reports that Russia's population is growing again after many years of decline.  Read on to discover why!

For years, Russia faced an under-population crisis. One conspicuous explanation stood out: an abortion rate near 70 percent. In just over a decade, the country shrunk by 12 million, prompting the United Nations to predict that by 2050, Russia’s population would further dwindle to one-fifth of what it is now. Only recently did this trend change.

At a special convention in New York this week, the Russian Federation announced the good news. Finally, more babies are being born than aborted. In fact, last year, Russia experienced its first annual population increase since 1995. Yet the UN experts were not pleased.

Instead of encouraging motherhood and healthy families — just as Russian leaders have done, most recently with a national “Week Against Abortions” — the UN had preferred Russia work on racism issues and boost immigration. That would solve the problem, they insisted.

Here is a patient's story written by Kathy Clore, Patient Advocate: (the patient's name has been changed to protect her identity.)

           Toni came into Care-Net scared and alone. She needed help, and so she had called us for an appointment.  I was the advocate for the day and had no idea just how much help she really needed.

            I quickly learned her situation. She had been to a party with her girlfriend and had a couple drinks. Several weeks later, her friend informed her that she had gotten pregnant at the party.  Neither of them remembered anything except that they had a terrible hangover. Toni could not figure it out because she only had two drinks. With her friend turning up pregnant, she wondered in fear if that could be her situation, too. If she was pregnant, she had no idea who the father was and it would have been a rape situation. Toni was just 20 years old, and she was not even thinking about getting pregnant or having the responsibility of a baby.  She took a urine test and we waited for the results together.  Both of our hearts were hoping for a negative test.   If the test was positive, she said she was determined to abort.

            As the nurse came through the door to give us the results, fear registered on Toni’s face. Her test came back positive, and our young patient broke into tears. She took my hand for support, and I could hardly let go as she held my hand so tightly. She went with the nurse to see if an ultrasound could be done. She was only about 4 weeks along, so her nurse scheduled her for another appointment. Toni came back two weeks later.

The information below is from John Ensor of Heartbeat International.  This may be something you would like to stay up to date on!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Babies Go to Congress Begins! Danica is excited...

Danica is a grateful mom on a serious mission. She arrives in Washington, DC today, with her daughter as part of Heartbeat’s summer Babies Go to Congress. She is excited to meet with several congressmen later today and tomorrow. She will also meet with her Representative tomorrow. Danica is using her true story of the life-saving love she experienced in her local pregnancy help center to counteract the slander of NARAL against our work and to head off their demand for crippling regulations. Please pray for her and the others making the trip. Pray for open hearts.  Pray also for our expenses to be met.  They go to represent and defend your Great Work!

Here is an email I received today from Bradley Mattes of Life Issues Institute that describes what is happening regarding funding for abortion through healthcare "reform."

July 16, 2010

Dear Terry Winship,

“There are some folks out there who are, frankly, bearing false witness, but I want everyone to know what health insurance reform is all about... you’ve heard that this is all going to mean government-funding of abortion. Not true.” — President Obama, August 2009

Despite presidential assurances this would never happen, the federal government is giving Pennsylvania $160 million to provide healthcare — including abortions — for residents in a high-risk insurance pool. This comes just months after President Obama signed an executive order “promising” not to spend your money on elective abortions. So much for that.

Tomorrow, July 10^{th, you are invited to join 30+ pro-life leaders, in a virtual webcast conference to help you save lives where you live!　 These pro-life experts will be grouped into 10 "power panels" to address the biggest challenges in the pro-life movement today- and the solutions to these problems.　 The sessions begin at 10am EDT, and you can sign up to attend a few, or attend them all- they’re all free!}