Complimentary Story
We hear so much about pregnancy help centers, or CPCs — Crisis Pregnancy Centers as they were called. Why? What’s so special about these centers? Are they really necessary? Do they really make a difference? YES!Pregnancy help centers (PHCs as they are now called) did not emerge until the late ‘80s into the early 1990s. They emerged because Wisconsin abortion statistics were on the rise. No record of abortion numbers were kept in Wisconsin until the Wisconsin abortion reporting law went into effect January 1, 1987. Wisconsin had a high number of abortions in 1987 — 16,090 abortions. There was no alternative for women, facing a pregnancy for help. Abortion centers were the only places dealing with these unexpected pregnancies, and women were presented no alternative to abortion. Or, women were left to deal with a pregnancy on their own.
These PHCs were often started by volunteers. These volunteers were not paid and frequently started their centers in their own homes. They asked their friends and church members to help them out. There were no professionals to advise them. These volunteers were just caring women who wanted to save unborn children and help women have a choice for something other than abortion.
Surprisingly, these centers spread quickly and became so popular and effective that they began to put a dent in the abortion industry’s corner of the abortion market. In the mid- to late ‘90s, professional organizations began to crop up to help these centers become accredited and follow Wisconsin reporting procedures for rape, incest, and other personal violations. Women who became pregnant as a result of these violations had an alternative besides an abortion clinic. These center volunteers began to let women know what would happen during abortion procedures and during the pregnancy itself. Until the passage of the Women’s Right to Know Law by Wisconsin’s legislature in 1996, women were not given a choice about whether to have an abortion or not. Requirements of this law are: A). Required 24-hour waiting period. B). Required women to receive state-printed fetal development information and a list of services including pro-life pregnancy help centers. C). Voluntary informed consent to an abortion i9s required except in the case of a medical emergency.
Bella Medical Clinic is one of these PHCs. Prior to becoming a medical clinic, Bella was doing business as a home for unwed mothers. It changed to a medical clinic due to the fact that a licensed medical clinic could legally compete with other licensed medical clinics which supported abortion. In addition, a medical clinic could also do additional testing if needed other than pregnancy testing. Bella will begin medical assessments and testing for STDs later this year.
Lastly, Bella — being located in a college town — is able to offer UW Oshkosh students a life-affirming choice. Women ages 20-24 are the age group mostly likely to have an abortion (30% of all reported abortions in Wisconsin in 2016). Bella offers ultrasound. 93% of Bella’s clients choose life after an ultrasound.
It is Pregnancy Help Centers which are the first line of defense for women seeking an abortion. Bella is able to provide life-affirming choices to the woman, not life-ending. Should a woman choose to have an abortion, Bella will be there to help console and support the woman, in spite of her choice to abort.
If the above reasons are not enough to encourage you to support Bella, then there is one more reason to support our efforts: our nationally-recognized keynote speaker, Fr. Frank Pavone, will address our June 7th banquet in Oshkosh. By being a sponsor for Bella’s banquet, you help to ensure that Bella’s services will continue to be available to clients. If you can’t help sponsor the banquet, then be a table host and invite some of your friends and relatives to come and learn about Bella, and why the work Fr. Frank talks about on behalf of Bella is so important.
Lastly, even if you only want to become more educated about life, join us! We always welcome new people to our banquet and our center. We never stop learning, and you can make a difference in someone’s life!
For more information, to become a sponsor, table host or be a guest for the banquet, contact Director Beth Nemecek at: 920-231-6006 or
bethn@bellamedclinic.org
We need your support. Lives depend upon it! Be an advocate for LIFE!
BellaMedClinic.org
