Important Takeaways from Sanctity of Life Sunday
This past Sunday we were grateful to have Barbara Burgess join us before worship to share about what God is doing through Blue Ridge Women’s Center.
Barbara was kind to share her notes with us so that those who weren’t able to attend her presentation could learn more about BRWC and the important work that they are doing in the Roanoke Valley.
What is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday?
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a presidential proclamation designating the third Sunday of January as National Sanctity of Human Life Day.
Pastors, churches, and pro-life organizations across the United States use this day to bring awareness to the attacks that are daily waged against human life through the abortion industry.
One of the best ways we can protect unborn lives is by supporting local Pregnancy Help Organizations who daily reach women and families with messages of hope and life.
About Blue Ridge Women’s Center
Blue Ridge Women’s Center is Roanoke’s only life-affirming pregnancy clinic.
In the early 80s, a group of women (in our denomination, the PCA) were burdened by the rising rate of abortions in Roanoke. They met together on their knees to plead with God about this atrocity. In 1984 the doors opened to the CPC, now called the Blue Ridge Women’s Center.
Why? Because the Scriptures testify to all life being a gift from God and precious in His sight.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb… Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:13, 16
Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Isaiah 44:24 talks about God as “your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb.”
“Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born he Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.” Isaiah 49:1
Paul says in Galatians 1:15 that God “had set [him] apart from his mother’s womb.”
Luke 1:39-45 is perhaps the clearest instance in the Bible of activity within the womb. Elizabeth’s son, who would be known as John the Baptist, responds in the womb physically to the presence of the One for whom he would act as a forerunner in the days to come.
What is the motivation behind Blue Ridge Women’s Center?
Blue Ridge Women’s Center believes in the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death. Because women, their partners, and their unborn babies are valuable human beings, made in God’s image, we deeply care for all of them.
We recognize that women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy are facing perhaps the greatest personal crisis of their lives, and we do not wish them to have to face this crisis alone.
We are committed to serving all women and their partners in the Roanoke Valley area who are experiencing a crisis pregnancy by providing them with a loving, caring, and non-judgmental friend to support and assist them in their time of need.
We feel very strongly that no woman considering abortion should be required to make her decision without having available to her all the information necessary to enable her to understand the physical, emotional, spiritual, and social factors involved in her decision, and we are committed to providing such information to all women who are interested.
Every woman should have a safe place to learn all her options – from someone who does not have a financial stake in her decision.
What about tough cases such as incest or rape?
Not only do we believe that every life is precious in the sight of God, created by Him for a purpose, we believe that abortion is a second act of violence that just compounds the first act of violence.
We have seen scores of women over the years which testify to this truth – while they may have been told that abortion is the answer and will just “make the problem go away,” abortion often ushers in a whole new set of problems. Abortion significantly increases a woman’s risk for depression and anxiety, relationship difficulties, and drug and alcohol abuse.
What about children who will be handicapped?
Again, we believe the Bible speaks to the value of every human life. Several years ago we received a letter with a check for the Center which said:
“Our first grandchild passed away this week at the age of 33. He was a special needs child/adult who was loved by all. His parents and we believe that every life is worth saving. Although handicapped in many respects, he contributed to the happiness of his family and everyone loved him. We will miss him terribly. As you save so many innocent lives, we want to make this contribution to his memory.”
What about abortion?
Roughly 121 million unintended pregnancies occurred each year between 2015 and 2019.
Of these unintended pregnancies, 61% ended in abortion. This translates to 73 million abortions per year worldwide.
In the U.S. in 2021, 625,978 legal induced abortions were reported to the CDC from 48 reporting areas. There is no national requirement for data reporting, so these numbers are likely lower than the reality.
There are two types of abortion: surgical and chemical.
Surgical abortion is a procedure that – in the first or second trimester – involves a healthcare provider using instruments such as clamps or suction catheters to extract an unborn child from the womb. For a very late-term abortion, a lethal injection kills the child in utero, and the child is delivered stillborn.
Chemical abortions
Chemical abortions constitute over 50% of all abortions.
In the chemical abortion process, a woman typically takes two pills. The first, mifepristone, blocks the uterus from receiving a critical hormone, progesterone, which is required to sustain a pregnancy. As a result, the lining of the uterus deteriorates and cannot transfer adequate nutrients to the developing unborn child, causing its death. Twenty-four to 48 hours after taking the first pill, a woman takes the second part of the abortion pill regimen, which causes uterine contractions to empty the uterus.
Common side effects of the first pill include fever, nausea, vomiting, chills, and dizziness, along with cramping and heavy bleeding. The second pill is associated with other, more serious, adverse effects, including hemorrhaging, immune system inhibition, and septic shock.
Despite Planned Parenthood’s insistence that chemical abortion is a “natural, safe process,” as of 2018, the FDA is aware of 24 deaths associated with these drugs and more than 4,000 adverse events.
In conclusion, the abortion pill has been a relative panacea for the abortion industry. Chemical abortion has provided the industry with the ability to expand abortion by going beyond the limitations of a brick-and-mortar clinic like Planned Parenthood through telemedicine services and the option for women to take the abortion pills in a home setting, which means, of course, that there is absolutely no medical supervision.
Add to this that because an ultrasound is no longer required before getting an abortion and some women are not really sure how far along they are, and you can see the risks increase radically for the woman.
[Above data taken from article by Melanie Israel, Research Associate in the Richard and Helen DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, of the Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity, at The Heritage Foundation.]
Abortion Pill Reversal
However, there has been an interesting development in the past few years.
There is an effective process called abortion pill reversal that can reverse the effects of the abortion pill and allow a woman to continue her pregnancy, but time is of the essence.
Blue Ridge Women’s Center believes no woman should feel forced to finish a chemical abortion she regrets starting. An unplanned pregnancy can be scary and many women make decisions to abort when they are terrified and stressed.
However, we know that many women, after taking the first pill, regret their choice and want to reverse it. That’s where abortion pill reversal comes in. Using progesterone, medical professionals have been able to save 64-68% of pregnancies through abortion pill reversal.
We have clients that have come to us in a panic after taking the first abortion pill, regretting their decision. We are able to refer them to the national hotline for APR, an 800 number where trained counselors will give someone interested in a reversal a referral to a doctor who will help her with APR.
Statistics show that to date, more than 4,500 lives and counting have been saved via Abortion Pill Reversal.
Locally, how great is the need?
The tightening of abortion laws since the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 has resulted in West Virginia and Tennessee having a near total ban on abortions, with very limited medical emergency exceptions.
Virginia has the least restrictive abortion laws in the South. State law in Virginia allows abortions up through 26 weeks, 6 days which results in the increasing numbers of women traveling to Virginia from out of state to get an abortion.
Pro-choice advocates are now referring to Roanoke as an “abortion destination,” and sidewalk advocates confirm that there are increasing numbers of out-of-state license plates at the abortion clinics here in town.
How have the abortion clinics responded to this need? Starting July 1, 2023, Planned Parenthood on Peters Creek Road expanded their abortion access into the second trimester, from 14 weeks to 20 weeks.
Through better advertising that targets a woman where she’s searching for abortion information – her phone – we receive calls every day from women who have found Blue Ridge Women’s Center ads on Google. This has increased the number of abortion-minded women we serve.
From 2022 to 2023, we have seen a 36% increase in clients and a 41% increase in ultrasounds.
In 2023 we saw 854 clients and did 593 ultrasounds. Could we do more? Yes, but we need more space. In June, after months of prayer and fasting, the Lord led us to purchase the Beltone building at the intersection of Elm Avenue and I-581.
Once we raise the funds to remodel the building to meet our needs, we will have twice our current space – which means we will have TWO ultrasound rooms, many more client consultation rooms, as well as more space for Men’s Services, a training room to offer on-site classes, increased and badly needed additional parking, and an expanded baby store.
The Developing Fetus
At 1 week, the embryo begins to implant the lining of the uterus. At this point, the baby is about the size of a typewritten period at the end of a sentence.
At 3 weeks, the heart is the first organ to function although the foundation for every organ system is already beginning to develop.
At 4 weeks, the beating heart can be seen on an ultrasound scan and the basic structure for the entire central nervous system has formed.
At 6 weeks, the baby is about a half-inch long. Elbows and fingers can be seen and lungs begin to develop.
At 8 weeks, the baby’s brain is growing rapidly – each minute it produces almost 250,000 new neurons! Every organ is present. The stomach produces digestive juices and the liver makes blood cells.
At 9 weeks, nerves begin to function and the baby’s bones begin to harden. Male or female organs appear.
At 10 weeks, the child is sensitive to touch, squints, swallows, and frowns.
At 12 weeks, the baby can find his or her thumb and suck it. Fingernails and toenails are beginning to grow.
At 16 weeks, the baby has its own unique fingerprints and toeprints. Fun fact: Gender differences in behavior have been observed, showing that females move their jaws more often than males.
At 18 weeks, the fetus is about 10 inches long and weighs 11 ounces. The baby has unique waking and sleeping patterns and even has a favorite position to sleep in.
At 22 weeks, the ear has developed to the point where the baby recognizes his or her mother’s voice, breathing, and heartbeat.
At 26 weeks, with the support of intensive care, a baby born at this stage is capable of breathing outside the womb.
Full term pregnancy is between 39-40 weeks.
I love a story that I read in a pro-life newsletter years ago. A professional musician, a violinist, was talking on the phone with his mother. Their conversations often centered around music, as she was also a violinist. His mother asked what piece of music he was currently working on with the symphony for which he played. He told her that he was experiencing something he’d never experienced before – that he was working on a complicated piece of music that he had never played before but that he instinctively seemed to know the music. She asked him what piece he was practicing and he told her. She laughed and said, “That was the piece I was working on day after day while I was pregnant with you.”
How does Blue Ridge Women’s Center address the need?
All of our services are free to our clients, thanks to our donors.
Medical
Blue Ridge Women’s Center provides medical care through pregnancy testing, limited STD testing, and ultrasounds.
Statistics show that 80% of women who see an ultrasound of their developing baby opt against abortion. After an ultrasound, we allow the client to pick out a maternity outfit from our maternity closet and a baby blanket or afghan (many of our supporters crochet or knit afghans for this purpose for us). We also give them a package of diaper and wipes and a copy of the gospel of John.
Information and Support
Trained advocates meet with clients to explain all their options – abortion, parenting, and making an adoption plan. For clients who are willing, one of our nurses explains to her the abortion process. We feel that everyone deserves the opportunity to hear about abortion from someone who has no financial stake in their decision.
For clients that have a negative pregnancy test, we meet with them to discuss healthy relationships and sexually transmitted diseases and offer STD testing.
We also have a Parenting Program where clients can earn points and take online classes on pregnancy and childbirth, parenting, what to expect in the first year or in the toddler years, life skills, healthy relationships, and fatherhood.
Our store has new and gently-used baby and maternity items, clothing, equipment, diapers and wipes, car seats, formula. These items are largely donated, again through the generosity of our donors – churches, individuals, and other groups.
We make referrals for other needs that we cannot meet, such as mental health issues and substance abuse.
We recently began a Men’s Services ministry.
We also have Reproductive Grief Care counseling, which includes abortion, miscarriage, premature birth, infertility, and stillbirth (death of a child after 21 weeks). We want to provide a safe place where people feel safe to communicate their loss. Reproductive grief is a loss that our society generally doesn’t talk about openly the way we do other losses, so often there is a feeling of guilt and shame.
We help men and women understand their loss, allow them to feel their grief, and then let go of the pain. We suggest ways that they can have an enduring connection with the deceased that doesn’t keep them stuck in the pain.
Sadly, not every woman who comes to BRWC decides to parent or make an adoption plan. But even if they let us know that they intend to make an appointment for an abortion, we let them know that they are always welcome to come back should they need us; to us, that’s part of showing them the love of Christ.
Adoption
We do not provide adoption services, but we have a close working relationship with an adoption agency who will, at the request of a client, come to BRWC to meet with an interested client.
Coming in 2024 - Making Life Disciples
This program will give women an opportunity to have a life mentor. This would be people in the local churches who would walk alongside a woman/man and disciple her/him.
How can you get involved?
10 Ways to Support the Blue Ridge Women’s Center
Pray!
Pray for women who enter the center feeling hopeless and scared, that BRWC might provide a safe environment in which these women can receive information, feel cared for, and especially come to know the gospel.
Pray for the men’s ministry, that BRWC would establish an effective program which supports men as they navigate relationships and potential fatherhood.
Pray as BRWC builds an education program. Right now, BRWC leadership is working to put structure around in-person classes. This will allow a better relationship with clients, disciple them in the ways of Jesus, and ultimately hand them over to the local churches for long-term community.
Pray for the hearts of women to soften. BRWC is observing a noticeable difference in the number of women who don’t want to hear any truth about abortion. They simply want an ultrasound to determine their gestational age and have immediate plans to terminate. More of them are simply not open to hearing about their other options.
Join BRWC’s email list to receive their monthly e-newsletter, “Life Matters,” and keep up with lives changed, saved, ministry updates, and other important information.
Take part in Providence’s Baby Bottle Campaign (taking place from now until February 4, 2024). The campaign enables our congregation to come together in a practical way of living out our faith through compassionate response to unplanned pregnancy.
Participate in their meals ministry, where volunteers provide a frozen meal (casseroles, soups or stews, plus perhaps a frozen vegetable) that they can make available to needy clients. Further instructions and a signup are available here.
Fill a table (or more!) at BRWC’s annual fund-raising event, “Night for Life.” You’ll enjoy a nice dinner at the Hotel Roanoke and hear the latest details on what the Lord is doing at BRWC.
If you’re looking for a more hands-on opportunity, visit the BRWC website to see individual volunteer opportunities and fill out a volunteer application.
Take a tour of BRWC.
Donate items to their baby store. They accept new and gently used baby and maternity items. You can see a list of items they accept here.
Connect your Kroger card to the Kroger Cares Program and you can support Blue Ridge Women’s Center every time you shop at Kroger. Click here to sign in and create an account with your Kroger loyalty card. Search “Blue Ridge Women’s Center” or enter VG701. Every time you shop at Kroger, make sure to use your Kroger loyalty card and a percentage of your purchase will go to BRWC.
Add BRWC to your annual budget for monthly gifts.
Barbara ended her presentation with a great testimony and praise:
“A client came into the Center after Thanksgiving, undecided if she would keep her baby. In her visit, she said “no” to seeing the ultrasound of her unborn child but said “yes” to hearing the gospel. Our client advocate prayed with her and accepted Christ as her savior. Recently, she came back for a follow-up ultrasound and chose life for baby! Life for mom and baby!”
