Lives are saved every day by ultrasounds.
by Susan Graham Mathis
“You don’t have to sugar coat it. The facts don’t lie. It’s a baby!”sonographer Tim says as told how he came to volunteer at a local pregnancy resource center and what it means to him.
While Tim was in training, a mother intended to have an abortion, even with the ultrasound information. “It ripped me up. She was going to kill her baby!” Tim recalls. After that he decided to volunteer at the PRC to provide the truth and promote life. In this setting, he often experiences the rewards of ultrasound technology.
“An ultrasound is a presentation of reality. Hearing the heartbeat and seeing the baby echo in the parents’ memory, no matter what they choose,” Tim says. “Most often, a mum who sees her baby will recognise that it’s more than just tissue.”
Fathers in similar situations also understand the truth about life. Bill, a member of the military, was sent overseas not long after he married Rachel. Shortly after he returned, Rachel became pregnant. Worried about her age (40) and financial struggles, she went to the PRC with a pro-abortion mind-set. A counselor suggested that Rachel and her husband come back for an ultrasound, and when they returned, they saw their baby.
Bill remembers, “When we heard the heartbeat and saw the baby, I felt nervous, scared, happy and elated. I can’t see how someone could say it’s a blob of tissue. It’s part of you, starting to grow.”
Revealing truth
“A large majority of women who come to the PRC are pro-abortion,” says Cindy, a nurse at the center. “They don’t think they have a choice aside from abortion. So we give them the truth and help them understand that they have other options. We give them information so they can look at abortion realistically instead of seeing it as a quick fix. They won’t get the information they need in an abortion clinic.”
One of the most unusual experiences that Cindy encountered was when a mother who recently had an abortion came in to the PRC. She was pregnant. Cindy called the abortion clinic and verified that the woman had undergone a surgical abortion at eight weeks. But when the PRC had an ultrasound done, it showed a healthy 18-week baby. The abortion had failed, so the woman decided to keep the baby. “I believe God hid that baby from the abortionist,” Cindy says.
Saving lives
Unfortunately, many mothers see their pregnancy as a crisis. For instance, Jackie became pregnant while separated from her husband. When the husband found out, he demanded she get an abortion.
“I was against abortion, but I was told it was just a blob of tissue,” Jackie says. “So I set up an appointment for an abortion. A few days before [the appointment], I had an ultrasound. When I saw that Sarah was a healthy little baby and watched a video on what they do in an abortion, I couldn’t go through with it. I couldn’t kill a human being, especially my daughter!”
When mothers see and hear their babies through the technology of ultrasound, nearly 90 percent of the babies are spared. “Having immediate access to ultrasound saves many babies. The visual experience of bonding with her baby stays with a mother and brings reality to her,” Cindy says. “It’s a tool of life.”
DeeAnn, another nurse at the PRC, says, “On an ultrasound, I can see a little baby’s personality at eight weeks [in the womb]. Sometimes you can see the baby waving, doing somersaults and things like that. And you can see a woman’s mind change as she views that little life. The woman realizes there’s a live being inside her. [Ultrasound] is a lifesaving wonder.”
Copyright © 2004, Focus on the Family. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. Used by permission.
