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Machines That Save Lives

Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers Hoping for Grants to Ultrasound Machines

BY MARGI PEARSON

Members of Culture of Life Family Services, which runs pro-life, full-service pregnancy clinics in Escondido and Little Italy, attended the August 6th and 7th Focus on the Family’s “Option Ultrasound” conference at the Westin Hotel in Los Angeles. Nicholas Jauregui, M.D., Marya Jauregui, Stephen Psomas, Robert Pearson, and I attended the event in order to learn how to qualify for the ultrasound machines needed for the four Culture of Life clinics under development. “This is one of the best, most informative conferences I have ever been to,” says Dr. Jauregui, who added, “and I’ve been to a lot of conferences!”

Option Ultrasound’s goal is to have all the nation’s pregnancy care centers convert into medical clinics. Statistics show a significant increase in mother’s choosing to carry their pregnancy to full term once they are shown their baby on an ultrasound scan. On average, pregnancy care clinics report about a 30% success rate in helping abortion vulnerable women choose life. With the addition of the ultrasound, that success rate jumps to nearly 90%.

“Revealing Life, To Save Life” is the motto of Option Ultrasound — the program which provides 80% funding for ultrasound machines for all pregnancy care centers which meet specific qualifications. Option Ultrasound began early 2004 and has since raised more than two million dollars for the project. According to Darlene Norberg of Focus on the Family, “we hope to place 650 ultrasound machines by 2010. So far, by the end of September, we will have funded 50 machines.”

Norberg, who is in charge of administering the program cited the statistics of one pregnancy care center in Texas that converted to a medical clinic and began using the ultrasound machine. “Everything changes. We saw a 66% increase in client visits once we became a clinic, a 74% increase in pregnancy tests administered, and a 151% increase in abortion-vulnerable women coming into the clinic, and a 243% increase in women who chose life for their babies.”

Norberg cautioned “the change will also affect the dynamics of the resource center: the financial resources needed, personnel, infrastructure, liability and risk management and counseling skills will all be affected,” she said. Much of the conference focused on how to administer and handle these changes and how to protect the center from liability.

Anne J. O’Connor, general counsel for National Institute of Family & Life Advocates outlined the regulations and restrictions for this type of clinic and fielded questions on both conference days from attendees worried about the legal ramifications of running a medical clinic. By providing ultrasounds, pregnancy care centers become medical clinics because they will be providing a medical service (ultrasound) and be held legally responsible for giving medical advice. The purpose of the conference, which was hosted due to the generosity of Focus on the Family donors, was to instruct centers on how to apply for the grant and meet the grant requirements.

“Option Ultrasound Program is a comprehensive package resulting in stronger centers nationwide,” Norberg stated.

Conference fees, hotel accommodations and meals were provided for free. More than 400 invitations were sent by Focus on the Family to centers throughout the western U.S. Representatives from twenty-two centers from California, Washington, Minnesota, Nebraska and Texas were in attendance. California centers included some from Corona, Mission Hills (Los Angeles), Whittier, Santa Monica, Modesto, San Francisco, Redding, Upland, Thousand Oaks, Atascadero, and Hollister. Culture of Life Family Services was the only representative from San Diego. There are 15 pregnancy care centers in San Diego County.

Training for the ultrasound could cost a center up to $8,000; however, Culture of Life will be able to forego much of that cost because Marya Juaregui — as a registered medical sonographer — is qualified to train nurses. With Focus on Family’s grants, Culture of Life will be able to purchase three top-of-the-line ultrasound machines for their clinics at approximately $7,000 each. Ultrasound machines can range in value from 22,000 to $50,000 each. Culture of Life already owns a 4-D Ultrasound machine donated by parishioners from Sacred Heart Church, Coronado.

“We are grateful to Focus on the Family for their vision and their challenge to all of us to raise our standard of care” says husband and wife team Nicholas and Marya Jauregui, adding “this is just a wonderful opportunity that will enable us to fulfill our vision for San Diego sooner.”

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