35 Years of Loving Women to Life
by Dorothy A. Benoit
As a pregnancy crisis center, we help girls or
women who are concerned about a pregnancy. We
help them carry their babies to term. As our
Founder, Louise Summerhill said: “We love them
to Life.”
We are an all volunteer organization. We are a
501c3 non-profit. We rely solely on donations.
We do not receive money from the government.
The volunteers have helped over 9000 girls and
women from their teen years up thru their mid
40’s. Anytime someone is concerned about a
pregnancy, she can come to us for help. We walk
with these girls and women as they start this
new chapter in their lives. Some of them are
happy, but many are not. Many have been told to
get an abortion before they find us. We help
them find solutions to have their babies.
I have been a volunteer since 1996. There are
times I never know the end of the story. Here
are a few of the stories I know.
I knew a young couple still in high school and
they came to us for a free pregnancy test. It
was positive. What will they do? We talked for
quite a while about how to talk to their
parents, how important it is to finish high
school, what to look for in their jobs; things
like that. They stayed and thought about their
plans. A month or two later, I received a
picture of them with a note just letting me know
they were ok. And then, I did not hear from
them. 2 1/2 years later a young woman came into
the office with her child. She and her husband
wanted me to know how Birthright helped them.
They finished school, were married and he found
a job with training and advancement
opportunities. But most of all, they wanted me
to meet their daughter. It was my young couple.
Another time, on Christmas Eve, a woman and her
sister came into the office. They just stopped
by because they were thinking of a time 18 years
ago when the older sister came to us for help.
Her test was positive. She did not want to carry
the baby to term. She was getting ready for
college. Her whole life was planned. It did not
include a new baby. We talked and she discovered
that she could adjust her plans. Her world did
not come to an end. The path she was on did
change, but she said it was for the better. She
stopped to tell me this because her son started
college and was the joy of her life. It scares
her now to think of what could have happened,
had she not stopped at Birthright that day, so
many years ago.
I have had parents bring in their daughters to
get a test. They share with me that they
remember me from many years ago when they needed
a test. Now their daughter needs a test and they
are thrilled to know we are still here.
There was a woman who left to get an abortion
after her test came up positive. She could not
have another child. She had 4 older kids at
home. She would not allow us to help her. My
volunteer was distraught. What could she do? I
said, now tell God all about her and let Him
touch her heart. And He did. Two weeks later she
came back. She changed her mind. She needed
information on doctors and insurance. And, 7
months later she called us again. She needed
baby clothes for her baby boy. She let me hold
him.
One Halloween while I was passing out candy a
little ballerina danced onto my porch and said
“trick or treat”. I placed candy in her pumpkin
and looked up to see the smiling face of her
mom. “Do you remember me, she asked?” My mind
raced back to when I first met her at the
center. She had just graduated from high school.
She was shocked to find out her test was
positive. She was tearful and angry. I listened
to her for the next few weeks as her baby’s life
hung in the balance. And then she stopped
calling. “Of course I remember you!” She told me
it wasn’t easy but it was the right thing to do.
She is married now and cannot imagine her life
without her precious little girl. She wanted me
to meet her daughter.
Even though the circumstances aren’t perfect, if
we stop and look at the BIG picture, we realize
that we are strong enough to handle any
situation and choose Life.
My volunteers and I have been blessed to be a
part of this center and the lives of these girls
and women.
To us, LOVE means to care and serve and be
responsible for other people, so that, as soon
as we see another in distress, we immediately
respond.
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