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Ambria Hammel/CATHOLIC SUN
Sherry Gorslin, NP, demonstrates an ultrasound at Life Choices Women’s Clinic on a woman who is 10 weeks into her pregnancy. The ultrasounds, many which have 4D capability, are key to helping women choose life.
CDA funding keeps clinics open,
helps women choose life
By Joyce Coronel | April 1, 2010 | The Catholic Sun
A young college student, pregnant and afraid of what her parents would say when they found out, sought help from Life Choices Women’s Clinic last month.
Funding from the Charity and Development Appeal helps keep clinics like Life Choices open and ready to serve the hundreds of women across the Diocese of Phoenix who might otherwise choose abortion.
Last year, Life Choices received $44,000 from the CDA, money that was used to purchase equipment and supplies, including an ultrasound machine that helps clients see their unborn child. More than 90 percent of women who view ultrasound images of their babies choose life rather than abortion.
Evelyn Acosta has been a medical assistant at Life Choices for the last three years. She said CDA funding helped launch a much-needed second clinic last year. Together the two facilities serve at least 100 women every week.
Acosta said the women who seek services at Life Choices face a myriad of difficulties, including poverty and domestic violence, and are often afraid of continuing the pregnancy.
“If they are afraid of the father [of the child] we give them information on how to get a restraining order or we refer them to an attorney or adoption agencies,” Acosta said. “We help them get a copy of their birth certificate if they need it.”
The college student Acosta helped last month cried when she found out she was pregnant, saying there was “no way she could have a baby.” It took two ultrasound exams to break through the paralyzing fear that enveloped her, but she finally decided against having an abortion.
“Her parents are very strict and she was afraid of what they would say,” Acosta said.
Women who visit pro-life pregnancy clinics like Life Choices and 1st Way Pregnancy Center in Phoenix are not only given free pregnancy tests and ultrasound exams, they are offered the opportunity to learn.
Not all the clinics are in the Phoenix metro area. Women in rural areas benefit from the learning and services at pro-life clinics that are also funded in part by the CDA.
Reaching out
At the Advice and Aid Pregnancy Center in Kingman, that means participating in the “Earn While You Learn” program. Susan Stokka, the assistant director of the clinic, said clients learn about pregnancy, birth and child discipline by watching videos and reading brochures. Life Choices has a similar program.
“They do homework each week and earn credits,” Stokka said. “They spend the credits at the center on things like baby clothes, diapers and blankets.”
At seven months, each client is given a layette with brand-new items such as pacifiers, sleepers and handmade receiving blankets.
The Kingman pregnancy center opened 10 years ago and serves about 300 women annually. A second, satellite facility operates out of a mobile home located on the grounds of Our Lady of the Desert Parish in a small community called Dolan Springs about 35 miles away.
Last year, Advice and Aid’s two locations received $3,520 from the CDA to help cover operational costs. Rosemarie Poskarbiewicz has been helping out at the Dolan Springs site since it opened in 2004. She’s also the CDA chairwoman for her parish, Our Lady of the Desert.
The 76-year-old retired office worker and school aide never dreamed she would be so deeply involved in the pregnancy center or CDA.
“I thought I was going retire and sit in my rocking chair,” Poskarbiewicz said. “I enjoy what I do.”
One of the things Poskarbiewicz does is connect clients to social services like the Arizona Baby program, which pays for hospital delivery and visits to the doctor. She also refers them to the Women, Infants and Children program. If they have a home that needs repair, she sends them to an agency in Kingman to get a grant.
Poskarbiewicz spoke to parishioners during the CDA kickoff weekend about the important work Advice and Aid does in the community.
“One lady came up to me afterwards and said she doubled her charity contribution because of my talk,” Poskarbiewicz said.
People need to know how crucial their contributions are, she added. Without them, the pregnancy clinics wouldn’t be there to help women choose life.
Fr. Peter Dobrowski, pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Bullhead City, is a big supporter of the two clinics. In addition to the CDA funding Advice and Aid receives, the parish kicks in $200 monthly.
“It’s important to give witness to our commitment to life,” Fr. Dobrowski said. “I have people here with a strong sense of right to life.”
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