1st Way Needs Volunteers- Join us!

When I volunteered for 1st Way of Eugene, I found it to be a mind-expanding and heart-expanding experience.

I didn't know that much about pregnancy or pro-life issues. I remember the day Terry hired me, she stacked my arms up with brochures and articles and said, "Take this home and read this!" Of course, she didn't mean to read it all at once. She only wanted me to have the resources I needed to counsel women who had questions, and that learning still continues to this day.

Part of my training was simply to answer questions- never to give unsolicited education or information. Working there, I was happy to see that fellow counselors were warm and positive and just trying to find ways to be helpful. No family support? Financial struggles? Healthcare concerns? How can we connect women to the resources they need? How can we be there for her when she is scared and upset and just wants someone to talk to? How can we help make her life a little better?

Being a crisis pregnancy counselor at 1st Way is about being an educator when women have questions. Working for 1st Way was also heart-expanding for me.  I saw some happy women who realized it was possible to find resources they needed to carry their babies to term. I loved putting together layettes for new mothers and getting to know people.

Being a volunteer at 1st Way is only a three hour commitment per week and all training is provided. I knew nothing when I started and now I can't seem to learn enough information. It's really satisfying to know that you are serving the needs of pregnant women and their unborn babies. Ultimately, you don't know the decision she will make when she walks out the door. But, you will know that you told her the truth and showed her it is possible to find life-affirming ways to cope with unplanned pregnancy.

CALL 541.687.8651 to find out more about how you can help.

Why does 1st Way need a mobile clinic?

-Low income women often have transportation problems and we can bring ultrasound right to their door.

-We can go to places where women are shopping for pregnancy tests and offer them a free test on the spot. For example, we can park the mobile unit at or near Walmart.

-We can park across the street from abortion clinics like Planned Parenthood, where women are not offered ultrasound. Some women would like this option and can't find it available at Planned Parenthood, since it is only available there in very limited areas at this time.

-We never have to worry whether our location is convenient to women, because we can vary it and get ourselves out there in all sorts of Eugene communities and business locations.

PLEDGES

Would you like to make a monthly pledge to help 1st Way? We can automatically deduct any amount, even as low as $5 a month (which comes to $60 a year).  We appreciate your support, since we need around $100,000 to make this dream come true and we only raised part of the funds at our recent fundraiser dinner. Contact me and I'll help you set it up.




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Social Media Power and Eugene 1st Way

Can you imagine the impact if each of you shared or re-tweeted 1st Way blogs and messages?  

Believe it or not, a few clicks every day can sometimes even do more to serve mothers and save babies than donating money or diapers.

Social media is a way we can reach many more women in our community and send them through our doors where we can help them.

Recently, I visited college pro-life clubs and also church youth groups and I asked them what they or their friends would do first if they thought they might be pregnant. 

#1 Answer: They would google "pregnancy symptoms" on their cell phone. 

The better our social media presence, them more likely they are to find us and that can be worth more than money. Please share your time to forward, share and re-tweet our announcements.

I did some research recently and examined close to fifty  online crisis pregnancy center websites and I'd say only about 10% are social media "linked and  literate." Google "pregnancy symptoms" and you will see Planned Parenthood high on the first page of results.  

We have to stay competitive in this age. Lives are on the line. 

I need your help. I cannot do it alone.

Your clicks, shares, re-tweets and likes can help more than you  know.

Facebook- 
For Donors- https://www.facebook.com/1stwayeugene
For Women- https://www.facebook.com/Talktoafriend

Twitter-
 https://twitter.com/1stWayPreggers

Join a Facebook community that is learning how to tweet together-
 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Twitter-Made-Easy-For-Prolife-Christians/1402268173322683?ref=hl

1st Way Blog for Women-
http://talktoanewfriend.blogspot.com


Other Announcements

First Way continues to need volunteers for our office and training is provided. Commitment can be as small as a three hour a week shift. Call our center at 541.687.8651 and ask to speak with our director, Terry Ianora. 

Currently, I'm working on redesigning the First Way website.  It's going to look a bit like our parent organization, The National Life Center. I patterned our new layout and colors after theirs, for a sense of continuity, only ours reflects our local presence, personality and message. The new site should be complete by the end of the month.

 

SB 490 Could Shut A Lot of Crisis Pregnancy Centers Down- Help stop it!!

If SB 490 passes,

many Crisis Pregnancy Centers in Oregon

WILL SHUT DOWN.

The bill requires Crisis Pregnancy Centers

* to pay medical personnel who are now pro-bono.

Effect- Most centers cannot afford the cost. 1^st Way in Eugene has several nurses, ultrasound techs and an M.D. Medical director we would have to pay.

* to post in a prominent location and in all advertising that they do not provide abortion or referrals to abortion.

Effect: Abortion-minded women will go immediately to Planned Parenthood instead of coming to us first to hear about other options. We will lose significant clientele and more abortions will occur as a result.

*to be under the supervision of a government regulatory agency.

Effect: We will face greater and greater restrictions on providing care.

Oregon already has the most liberal laws of any state regarding abortion and this bill

IS NOT MEETING MUCH OPPOSITION AT ALL.

We cannot afford to be complacent.

Lives are at stake.

Call your senator:

Sen. Chris Edwards (D) District: 007 900 Court Street NE S-405 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: (503) 986-1707 Fax: (503) 986-1080 WebSite: http://www.leg.state.or.us/edwardsc/ E-Mail: Sen.ChrisEdwards@state.or.us	(Portions of Lane and Lynn)  Lee Beyer (D) PO Box 131 Springfield 97477 541-726-2533
	(Portions of Lane and  Douglas)  Floyd Prozanski (D) 541-342-2447 PO Box 11511 Eugene 97440

10 minutes to PROTECT WOMEN AND CHILDREN AT RISK

10 minutes to PROTECT WOMEN AND CHILDREN AT RISK

This week, women and babies in Oregon need your help. Can you take ten minutes this week to send an email, and/or make a phone call to your Oregon Senator?

SB 490 threatens to reduce and possibly eliminate the freedom of Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRC) throughout Oregon from offering life-giving options and resources to women and babies at risk.

Please join thousands of PRC’s supporters in appealing to our state Senators to stop this intrusive, discriminatory, unconstitutional bill, currently in the Senate Rules Committee.

PRCs speak caring, life-giving direction into the lives of women and girls facing unplanned pregnancies. SB 490 seeks to muzzle that voice with unreasonable regulations and restrictions from the Oregon Health Authority. This discriminatory legislation potentially burdens PRCs with regulations and penalties that would reduce and in some cases close Oregon PRCs. (Find out more about Oregon PRCs and SB 490 at www.oregonpregnancycenters.org).

Here’s what we can do:

This week, please contact the Senator from your district by email, phone, or appt. and respectfully state your opposition to SB 490, and your support of your PRC. To find yours, go to:

http://www.leg.state.or.us/senate/ .

We need you to do this, this week (April 15-20). Other pro-life agencies (ORTL and OFC) will “carry the ball” over the next two weeks. Then, if the bill is still alive, we will send another email to ask you to once again contact your senator in a couple weeks to urge them to oppose the bill’s movement and passage. (The Rules Committee can present the bill to the Senate for a vote anytime between now and the end of the session in late June).

This bill is the latest attempt in Planned Parenthood’s long-standing national campaign against PRCs. If it passes in Oregon, it will be the first time a state has legislated against PRCs. This will set precedence for other states. We need to stop it here – for the women and babies in our community, and for those in the rest of the nation.

These Senators especially need to hear from their Eugene constituents:

                                    Sen. Chris Edwards (D)
District: 007
900 Court Street NE
S-405
Salem, OR 97301
Phone: (503) 986-1707
Fax: (503) 986-1080
WebSite: http://www.leg.state.or.us/edwardsc/
E-Mail: Sen.ChrisEdwards@state.or.us

 (Portions of Lane and Lynn)
 Lee Beyer (D)
PO Box 131
Springfield 97477
541-726-2533

(Portions of Lane and  Douglas)
 Floyd Prozanski (D)
PO Box 11511
Eugene 97440
541-342-2447

If you are not sure which of these to contact, go to this website, put in your address and it will tell you.
 http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/

Thank you for caring. Thank you for saving our Voice for Life.

Larry Gadbaugh, CEO, Pregnancy Resource Centers of Portland

The Abortion Industry- Bury Them

I write to you this morning with a fire in my heart. The abortion industry is in some pretty deep trouble right now and we need to make it deeper. Grab your shovels!

Who will deny that what Gosnell has done is pure evil? Planned Parenthood won't deny it. President Obama won't deny it. So, what ARE they denying? They are denying that they are doing evil as well. Oh, the reasons why they are not doing evil are numerous- They say things about Gosnell being "a criminal enterprise, not a health facility."

Who thinks it is okay to kill babies born alive? Here's a short list- 
(1) Gosnell,
(2) Our President Obama,
(3) Planned Parenthood and
(4) Every person who does not do anything about it.

Who is especially culpable? Those who say they are against abortion but can't make that choice for anyone else. To be passive on this issue is to be complicit. If every person who was on the fence spoke up for what is right, we would easily overturn Roe v Wade. Already, by a slim majority, Americans are pro-life. All it would take to overturn Roe v Wade is for people who don't want to make waves to start making them.

If it is not the truth that organizations such as Planned Parenthood aren't guilty of the same thing Gosnell is, then why has it taken so long for this trial to be covered? Why is it still not receiving the coverage it deserves?

I can hardly fathom it all. Babies absolutely brutally murdered. No coverage.

The only reason for the media NOT to cover it is that the truth is a threat. Yes, most abortion facilities are clean and hygenic in comparison to Gosnell's. But, see my last post to see the truth that babies being alive ARE being killed at abortion clinics everywhere and that this is okay with our president. That's why we keep trying to defend, "Born Alive Protection Acts" that are continually militantly opposed.

I shouldn't even have to say that- born alive- as if it makes a difference. The only difference about it is that it is "shocking," and the reason it is shocking is that our eyes can see it.

A woman's body is a cover that prevents us from seeing what is going on inside. When what the doctor does is out in the open, on the table, it is not okay- it is horrible and brutal. But, when his hands are in her body and we cannot see what they are doing, it is perfectly okay. Same baby, same point in time in pregnancy, one baby is in and one baby is out.

The abortion industry is burying baby after baby. The abortion industry is burying anyone who would speak out for these babies. They are burying the news and they are burying us.

Fight back.

The Abortion Industry- Bury Them. Bury them with FB posts, with tweets. Today is the second round of the #Gosnell tweetfest, so if you tweet, tweet your heart out. Post any article you can find on the case on Facebook or anywhere else you go.

Should Infants Born Alive Be Protected?

Should Infants Born Alive Be Protected?

"What kind of question is that," most people would think, if they are not familiar with what is going on.

 (The baby on the left is alive, 21 weeks old.)


The Pro-Life World has become rather intense lately.

The media is beginning to show us some extreme positions being taken.

After-Birth Abortion: What is that? Does this make sense to anyone?

What is a "Born Alive Infants Protection Act?"

When babies are born alive after botched abortions, what should happen to them? Often these babies are missing limbs, or are paralyzed. They are breathing, crying and their heart are racing. Sometimes, as in the case below, the doctor is sued either for the damage done or the fact that the abortion job wasn't completed, usually depending on whether the parent sues or the child grows up and sues.

 http://www.lifenews.com/2011/08/16/judge-abortionist-must-pay-36m-to-botched-abortion-survivor/

 http://www.lifenews.com/2005/04/29/state-1014/

Should infants born alive be saved? 

Planned Parenthood says that decision is between a woman and her doctor.
 http://www.priestsforlife.org/alert/alert.aspx?id=36

Obama voted twice (as a senator) that if the mother wanted the infant killed, she should be able to choose that. It's even here on video:
 http://www.lifenews.com/2012/08/22/unearthed-video-shows-obama-supporting-late-term-abortions/

Obama, as a member of the Illinois Senate, opposed a state version of the federal Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, a measure that would make sure babies who survive abortions are given proper medical care. This is the same bill being considered right now in Florida.


I'm not just talking about late-term, third trimester pregnancies. Sometimes, an infant can be viable (able to live outside the womb) in the 5th month, by around week 20.
This is what a 21 week old baby, born alive, looks like. Notice how alert he is.
 http://www.endtimeprophecy.net/Articles-Non-EPN/5-21week.html

Look at what's happening in Canada- Hundreds of babies a year are just being left to die, because the law offers them no protection-
 http://www.lifenews.com/2012/11/23/canada-491-babies-born-alive-after-failed-abortions-left-to-die/

In the UK, if a baby weighs under a pound, the baby HAS to be left to die, even if that is not what the parents want. In the government run healthcare system, the cost of trying to save babies that small makes it cost-prohibitive.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/12/18/miracle-accident-saves-preemie-baby-doctors-would-have-let-die/

In this situation, a baby was born although his mother's water never broke. So, you can see him still peacefully curled up, in his ambiotic sac, as if he was in the womb. In a late term abortion, a doctor often punctures this sac so that the water comes out and the baby is drowned.
http://www.lifenews.com/2013/04/03/doc-delivers-baby-still-in-amniotic-sac-would-abortion-be-ok/

Can you believe that this baby, as large as he is, could legally be killed or left to die without the protection of a "Born Alive Protection Act?" He could. He isn't breathing yet. The baby is also technically not considered, "born."

Could anyone read these facts and not be stunned by pro-choice "logic?" I can't imagine how much denial a person would have to be in, or how many lies they would have to tell themselves to justify killing an infant born alive. 

Of course, it all started with people getting comfortable with the idea that it is okay to kill a baby as long as it isn't born alive.

Be on the lookout for this movie, "22 weeks," which will be playing at Cannes, about a botched abortion survivor:
http://www.lifenews.com/2010/04/19/int-1514/

Click "like" and share their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/22weeks

Until we really honor women, there will be no Happy Women's Day.

On this day, we celebrate women and all they give to our families, communities and the wider society. It is time to end violence against pregnant women. 

We live in a culture that tells women

• Be liberated! No double standard! Sex is for fun, just wait two weeks into a dating relationship.
• Use birth control. Eat organic food to keep your body pure and natural, but then  fill your body with potentially harmful chemicals and hormones.
• If you make a mistake and forget the pill or condom, it's okay. There's no baby inside your womb yet. It's just tissue or a cluster of cells at this point. Just get it taken out.
• If you don't abort, your future will be ruined. No more opportunity. You will sit at home eating greasy chips and watching soap operas, bemoaning the failure of your life as you live on welfare.
• There goes your career! There goes your chance of a higher education! No man will want to marry you now. You're just done.

 So, into the Planed Parenthood clinic you walk.

 "Wow, we understand," they say. "You're a liberated woman. We will help you."

"I don't feel so liberated right now. I just feel miserable," you answer, and isn't there a baby in there, somehow? What happens in an abortion?"

"Don't worry. The doctor will just 'gently remove the contents of your uterus.' " (from actual Planned Parenthood literature and their website)

"But, it's still human, right? That's kind of like a sacred thing, right?"

"Oh, don't listen to that stuff from people out to take away your right to do what you want with your body," they say.

Most common line heard on the way to the abortion room-

"Will my baby feel pain?"

To which is answered, "There is no baby, just cells."

Still, you wonder, trying to comfort yourself with the thought of cells being removed. Surely, that's all it is. And then, it is over. Time to get out there and be that strong woman, let them hear you roar. You are liberated!

Wouldn't you REALLY rather hear this?

Woman, you are precious to society. You are worth being cherished, nurtured and loved by one man who is committed to you for life. You will have great sex when you want to and when you don't want to have children, you are strong enough to abstain from sex. You're not powerless.  You're worth deep, enduring love. Children will enrich your life, not take from it. You're smart and skilled and able to provide for your family. You can work if you want and receive an education and still be a great mom. I love you and I want this for you. You are amazing. You give life.

Why does no one hear this anymore? We are a jaded, sad society, lying to ourselves about our freedoms. 

Until we really honor women, there will be no Happy Women's Day.

Planned Parenthood Does Nothing to Prevent Abortions- Get the Facts!

UPDATE: The Register-Guard has updated their article to include a more balanced point of view. The perspective of Linda Teutsch of 40 Days for Life was included. I'm happy to see this, as I (and probably many others) had written to the RG about the problem.

Earlier this week, Dr. Alveda King was in Eugene, Oregon, and I am very sorry to say I missed her. Dr. King held a vigil outside of Planned Parenthood on Monday, and I was surprised to see that our local paper, The Register-Guard, even covered it, since they did not cover any of our many previous rallies, vigils and marches over the past year.

http://www.registerguard.com/web/updates/29399891-55/abortion-king-parenthood-planned-prayer.html.csp

To the article's credit, the author wrote, "Much like her famous uncle before her, Alveda King is on a crusade for civil rights. For her, those rights apply to unborn children as well." 

However, almost half of the article is spent trying to defend Planned Parenthood. How does that have anything whatsoever to do with providing news coverage of the event? She writes, "(Cynthia) Pappas (Planned Parenthood local agency CEO and president) said it’s important to remind people that Planned Parenthood does more than offer abortion services, including providing various contraceptives.

  

 “We do more than any other organization to prevent the need for abortion,” Pappas said.

Let's examine that assertion. 

(1) Birth control has not and does not reduce or prevent the need for abortion. A higher incidence of abortion  accompanies increase in providing birth control. Although this may appear counter-intuitive, it is true. Birth control emboldens more people to have sex in situations that could create unwanted children, and birth control has a fail rate.

Guttmacher Institute- 54% used contraception before unintended pregnancy that resulted in abortion.

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/10/25/planned-parenthood-wants-to-elinminate-prenatal-care/

AND

http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/birth_control_and_abortion/

(2) Planned Parenthood does NOT do more than any other organization to prevent the need for abortion. Planned Parenthood is in the abortion business. Only a small percent of money is made from non-abortion services, and many of them are being phased out. 

Planned Parenthood wants to eliminate prenatal care:

http://www.lifenews.com/2012/10/25/planned-parenthood-wants-to-elinminate-prenatal-care/

More to the point, of the pregnant women who come to Planned Parenthood for counseling, almost 98% have abortions. Two percent receive prenatal care.

Source: Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. “Fact Sheet,” October 2011, 2.

(3) Every year Planned Parenthood has been in existence, there is a drop in the number of abortions BUT an increase in the number of abortions done by them.

In the USA, during 2000–2009, the abortion rate decreased by 7%.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6108a1.htm?s_cid=ss6108a1_w

However, take a look at Planned Parenthood's own Annual Report for any given year and you can see their rate of abortions consistently goes UP.

For example,  Planned Parenthood performed 333,964 abortion procedures during 2010-11, up from 332,278 abortions in 2009.

http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/item/14156-annual-report-shows-planned-parenthood-tallied-record-abortion-count-in-2010 

So, are ANY efforts, whether they be through Planned Parenthood, First Way or any other pro-life group paying off? 

Um, yes. They may well be the reason for the drop in abortion. Who else is doing it?  

Obviously not Planned Parenthood.

(3) An organization that really does the most to prevent the need for abortion focuses on economic help and supports for the woman with unplanned pregnancy, since 75% of abortion is driven by the sense of economic necessity. 

Planned Parenthood does nothing to address economic needs, while organizations such as First Way do. 

http://www.abort73.com/abortion/common_objections/ 

(4) Most importantly, if nothing is wrong with abortion and abortion is not morally wrong, why does it matter if any organization prevents the need for abortion? Why does Pappas even need to make the statement she makes? 

I ask, "What is abortion, Pappas, morally defendable or morally reprehensible, so that you might feel the need to prevent the services you offer?" What could be more transparently political than that statement?

Our mayor, Kitty Piercy, was at the ribbon-cutting to "celebrate" the new Planned Parenthood in Springfield. The majority of people in Eugene are pro-choice. Yet, in this town of "tolerance" and "open-mindedness," why does a business need to be defended instead of simply providing news coverage of a prayer vigil?

Just Say NO to Political Deception. Stay Up to Date on Pro-Life News!

Hi Everyone! I'll be gone for about a week and unable to post, but I want to be sure to leave you with some great things to read. Here are some pretty good recent news articles:

Even after the election, most Americans are still pro-life:
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/11/27/poll-abortion-didnt-cost-gop-election-more-americans-still-pro-life/

One of the most controversial subjects in the pro-life world ever- Abortion and Breast Cancer. Anti CPC web-sites (and even Wikipedia) slam crisis pregnancy centers for giving out false information about the link between abortion and breast cancer. They have a lot of support behind that claim, since many major medical associations agree that there is no link. I recently debated the Wikipedia editors of the CPC article and it was like being thrown in a shark tank. Each study I cited, they disregarded as biased.. However, more solid research keeps coming out that does show a link.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/11/26/study-shows-abortion-linked-to-high-breast-cancer-risk/

Wow. This is what some people think the human species is worth- Make our children's DNA marketable, like that of a farm animal.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/11/22/ivf-doctor-commodifies-children-selling-discount-human-beings/

You may have read about this already, but Planned Parenthood really wants to eliminate what little "prenatal care" they offer. It's pretty obvious those services are only on the menu so that they can say they serve all women's health needs and issues, but prenatal vitamins are not nearly as revenue generating as abortions, are they? It seems they're not worried about letting the facade go, now that they are confident of continued government funding and support.
http://www.lifenews.com/2012/10/25/planned-parenthood-wants-to-elinminate-prenatal-care/

Hope I haven't gotten anyone overly riled or upset. Remember, despair is a sin. We have to keep fighting back against the outrageous assault on the dignity of human life. I'll leave you with a GOOD news story. Abby Johnson's organization has helped 38 former Planned Parenthood workers get other jobs, 8 recently and 5 from the same clinic. Go Abby!
http://www.lifenews.com/author/abby-johnson/

New Video- Crisis Pregnancy: Your Choice

Good morning, all! This has been a busy week and this is my first chance to post. This week, I've made a video, however, about crisis pregnancy and the choice women face. Hoping to reach girls by relating to how they feel and then introducing simple facts to spark ethical thinking. It's about two and a half minutes. I hope you have a chance to take a look. Comments are welcomed, whether here or at YouTube. It's bound to start controversy now that's out there, so it's good to have defenders. I'll be gone all weekend to a silent retreat for secular carmelites, in Beaverton. Looking forward to blogging again upon my return!

Tip #3: Reach the Truth Deep Down

Deep down, every woman knows she is terminating a human life and that it is her child. Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director, says the most common statement she heard when a woman, groggy on medications, was on her way to have an abortion was, “Will my baby feel pain?” We have answers to that, real ones, and not the lies Planned Parenthood will tell. Although by the twentieth week, medical consensus is that pain can be felt, information about when the unborn baby feels pain earlier is speculative, but logical. Pain receptors are present in the fifth week of gestation. At six weeks, the cerebral cortex (recognized as the center of pain consciousness) is developed. Most compellingly, even babies in the first trimester try to escape the D&C blade by moving away from it as much as they can.


Fetal Pain Brochure: Suitable for Printing