Anna, a leader in her church's singles ministry, came to Hope Women's Center looking for an abortion. She was embarrassed and heartbroken that she had become pregnant out-of-wedlock, but she was adamant that "no one must ever know." Abortion was the eraser that she planned to use to eradicate her unintended pregnancy.

She really wasn't even interested in having the ultrasound because her mind was already made up. When the nurse told her that the ultrasound could confirm a viable intrauterine pregnancy and rule out a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy, or detect early miscarriage, she agreed to have the scan done. "Maybe I won’t need to have an abortion, after all," she said hopefully to the counselor.

Anna's baby jumped onto the screen almost immediately, arms waving and feet kicking. She was about 13 weeks pregnant – not 9 weeks as she had estimated. The only thing she kept saying over and over again was, "I had no idea. I had no idea." Seeing the images of her own child changed her heart, and she changed her mind.

Anna married the father of her baby, and four months after their baby was born they stopped in unexpectedly at the Women's Center to say, "Thank you, thank you for providing the ultrasound and counseling that enabled us to choose life for our precious baby daughter!"

Hope Women's Center
Pompano Beach, FL
Nancy McDonald, ED