In This Issue: |
October 2006 |
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 Major Media Attacks Centers, Ignores Clinic Killing
It is frustrating that the major media, whenever they cover our work, include accusations that we are dangerously misleading women. It is all part of a nationally orchestrated campaign to discredit centers and anyone who supports us, and eventually to shut us down. More... |
Featured on the Web: |
 First Pregnancy Center to Open in Hialeah, Site of Unfolding Tragedy
One of our volunteers for the Hialeah Development Committee went down to this facility (one of 37 abortion facilities in Miami!) to take a picture. While she was there, two young girls showed up. One was pregnant and they were looking for help. More... |
» Upcoming Heartbeat Trainings
» Current Pro-Life Legislation
» Updated Resources for Pregnancy Centers
» Ways to Help Heartbeat International
» Endorsements from Key Leaders
» LifeLines Archives
» Contact Us
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| Last Issue Highlights: August 2006 |
 Hollywood Director Takes Hitchcock Approach to Infanticide
While researching infertility online, Jonathan Flora - director of the powerful movie, A Distant Thunder - was horrified to discover partial birth abortion. He effectively inserted this hot-button issue into a compelling script, hoping to educate people about the procedure. More... |
* Abortion Proponents Smear Pregnancy Resource Centers
* Option Line Saving Babies, Changing Lives
* New Location Offers True Choice
* God's Great Work in Miami
* ePartners for Life
* Your Encouragement, Support Appreciated |
Major Media Attacks Centers, Ignores Clinic Killing
by Peggy Hartshorn, President
 In September, the Washington Post published
a front page article on pregnancy centers that
provide ultrasound. (Click here to read the article).
There is an old adage that “there is no
publicity that is bad publicity.” But it is
frustrating that the major media, whenever
they cover our work, include accusations that
we are dangerously misleading women. This
article was no exception.
It is all part of a nationally orchestrated campaign to
discredit centers and anyone who supports us, and
eventually to shut us down.
The campaign heated up with the recent Congressional “Waxman Report” (discussed in our last issue of
LifeLines) that accused us of providing false health
information when we tell women that abortion can have
serious physical and emotional consequences.
Congresswoman Maloney (D-NY) introduced a bill
designed to restrict a center’s ability to reach
women, and there have been recent attacks
from National Abortion Federation, NARAL
groups, and Planned Parenthood. More media
coverage is sure to follow.
Yet, on the subject of the daily killings in
abortion clinics, the lack of regulation of such
clinics, deaths resulting from RU 486 (chemical
abortion), the targeting of minorities by
abortion providers…the silence is deafening.
The story in this LifeLines about the dead
baby in the Hialeah abortion clinic accents the irony.
Does Congress or the major media report on such atrocities?
Yet our centers that offer women hope and practical
help (with no “profit motive”) come under attack!
Despite all this, God continues to bring LIFE and show
His glory every day in our centers around the world…
as you see through other stories in this issue! We
ask your continued support and we THANK YOU for
the prayer covering you provide that gives us courage
and protection.
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New Director Training Inspires Second Generation
by Virginia A. Cline
Dominica Yoho became the director of our affiliate in West Virginia when her aunt retired from the Pregnancy Resource Center earlier this year. Within weeks, she registered for Heartbeat International’s New Director Oasis in August.
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Dominica Yoho (right) with other center directors at Heartbeat’s New Director Oasis. |
She came to Columbus for four days of networking and mentoring. She represents the second generation to be trained by Heartbeat. Her aunt, Mia Bonasso, attended Heartbeat’s training for new directors in 1997.
“It was so neat to attend the Oasis like my aunt because I have heard so much about Heartbeat over the years,” said Dominica. “I received more than I ever expected…but most of all I received inspiration and encouragement in my new leadership role.”
After publishing Heartbeat’s A Vision for Your Organization: How to Start a Pregnancy Resource Center in 1994, President Peggy Hartshorn, Ph.D. realized that new directors needed their own special training.
“As word spread about our Vision manual, I began receiving five to ten calls a day from people interested in starting a center and those who needed help running a center,” said Peggy. “I
quickly found that each new center director needed a mentor, and more importantly, they needed to know they were not alone.”
In the last decade, Heartbeat has trained over 350 new center directors and distributed over 600 Vision manuals. Last month, two of our LifeSavers felt called to find out how to start a pregnancy center in their communities. If God is prompting you to start a center, please contact us to receive your copy of our
Vision manual.
In addition to providing the Vision manual, Heartbeat offers more than 30 key resources (including manuals, tapes, CDs, DVDs, and brochures) designed specifically for pregnancy centers. Over the past two years alone, Heartbeat has helped 57 brand new affiliates around the world make an impact for LIFE in their communities. Today, Heartbeat International has 990 affiliates in 46 states and 36 countries serving nearly one million women each year.
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 New Center to Serve Tribal People
Margaret Clay attended the New Director Oasis in August and opened her pregnancy center on the Flathead Reservation in September. The Montana center will serve the very diverse population of Mission Valley including three Indian tribes (the Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d’Oreille). Approximately 85% of county births in 2004 were to single or underage girls. “Heartbeat mentors at the Oasis were very helpful,” said Margaret. “They provided what I needed to be more effective in my community.”
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Margaret Clay and her Board in front of their area sign, part in the Salish tribal language. |
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Every Two Minutes Someone Contacts Option Line® for Help
Option Line operates 24/7
 In July, 39 compassionate consultants worked around
the clock at Option Line (800-395-HELP) responding
to 20,321 calls and emails. Many of the girls
and young women who reach our national call
center, have been told abortion is the choice
they need to make. Option Line consultants
help callers, such as the following, focus on
life-affirming choices they have not considered.
One young woman called when she found out
she was pregnant. The baby’s father was
pressuring her to abort. However, she was
receiving support from her father and her
brother. Our consultant encouraged her to think
about alternatives. With the realization that she
had other options, she was eager to visit a
pregnancy center.
A caller from Atlanta, who saw the Option Line
television spot, wanted to learn about abortion procedures. She was two months pregnant and scheduled
for an abortion the next day. The consultant was able
to connect that caller with her local pregnancy center.
A woman from Ohio called in the middle of the night
to express regret over her abortion performed three
days earlier. The consultant
comforted the woman and referred
her to a pregnancy center in her
area that has a post-abortion
support program.
A 17-year-old girl from Texas
called to ask the consultant if her
parents could force her to have an abortion. After assuring the girl
that no one could force her into
having an abortion, the consultant connected the caller with a local
area pregnancy center so she could
get more information and support.
Each caller is connected to the closest pregnancy
resource center for the support she needs to choose
life for her baby.
Option Line® is a joint venture between Care Net and Heartbeat
International®.
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Hollywood Director Takes Hitchcock Approach to Infanticide
 Jonathan Flora
Writer/Director
A Distant Thunder
“When God proved the doctors wrong and blessed us with our daughter, the first ultrasound we saw was that of her tiny beating heart. Heartbeat International’s ministry is often the first sincere act of love and support women experience when they find themselves in the difficult and confusing situation of considering an abortion. This incredible organization is changing hearts and minds and, most of all, saving lives.” |
Jonathan and Deborah Flora, the writer/director and
lead-actress of the powerful movie A Distant
Thunder, were told they could not have children.
While researching infertility online, Jonathan was
horrified to discover partial birth abortion.
He effectively inserted this hot-button issue into a
compelling script, hoping to educate people about
the procedure.
The Floras are not reticent
about saying that they intend
for the movie to change
attitudes and lives. The
movie targets teenagers and
adults on both sides of the
abortion debate.
A Distant Thunder is
endorsed by many pro-life
organizations and activists such as Father Frank
Pavone of Priests For Life, calling it, “Without a
doubt, one of the most powerful tools to make
people think and wrestle with the abortion issue.”
A Distant Thunder is available on DVD at
www.adistantthunder.com or 800-523-0226.
Click here to view a clip from A Distant Thunder - The first movie to address partial-birth abortion!
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First Pregnancy Center to Open in Hialeah, Site of Unfolding Tragedy
by Rev. John Ensor, Executive Director, Urban Initiative
Heartbeat of Miami—our special initiative to
establish three to five pregnancy centers in the
neediest neighborhoods of Miami—has now
assembled our first Development Committee and
targeted the Hialeah neighborhood for Heartbeat’s
first center. It was chosen in large measure because of
the infestation of abortion mills concentrated in this
one neighborhood. It has seven. Make that six.
In July, as we started to assemble a
Development Committee, God
providentially exposed the heart wrenching
cruelty, greed and truly
murderous spirit of the abortion
business in that very neighborhood.
According to news reports, an 18-year-old mother gave birth to a 23-week-old baby in a Hialeah abortion
clinic. Instead of helping this innocent, a clinic
worker allegedly killed it. An anonymous caller,
believed to be an employee, notified the police. Upon
arrival however, no baby was found. Nine days later
another tip came in and this time the baby’s decomposing
body was found in a biohazard bag. The medical
examiner has confirmed the baby was born alive. Click here for more info...
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Rev. John Ensor with
Center Development Committee. |
One of our volunteers for the Hialeah Development
Committee went down to this facility (one of 37
abortion facilities in Miami!) to take a picture. While
she was there, two young girls showed up. One was
pregnant and they were looking for help. She called
me and said, “I had never been to an abortion facility
before and I didn’t know what to say to them. I
prayed, and I told them what had just happened there
and then I struggled with
what to say next.” She
drove home thinking,“We have got to get this
Heartbeat of Miami
center open!”
We don’t need a special
sign from God to answer
the call to save innocent
life. We have Proverbs
24:11-22: “Rescue those who are being taken away to
death; hold back those who are stumbling to the
slaughter.” But Providence also seems to be urging us
forward, dramatically exposing the evil of abortion in
Miami, in the Hialeah neighborhood. Will you join us
in praying and giving toward this urgent need? Visit
www.heartbeatofmiami.org.
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New Center’s First Ultrasound Leads to New Life
Patricia was surprised to learn that she was pregnant.
She did not have a car or a job or a home. She was
sinking financially. She knew her baby’s father would
not provide any financial support. Patricia thought she
had to choose abortion.
Fortunately, Heartbeat International’s
affiliate in Virginia had been working
very hard to open ultrasound-equipped
clinics for the medically underserved
women in Portsmouth, Suffolk,
Virginia Beach, and Norfolk.
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Director of Center Management for The Keim Center, Veronica Cavanaugh (left), with Patricia and her new baby. |
After discovering The Keim Centers in
the phonebook, Patricia learned that the
center would provide an ultrasound at
no charge. She had been told that her
baby was nothing more than a “seed.”
As the ultrasound was being performed, Patricia was
captivated by what she saw on the monitor. It was
apparent to her that she was not looking at a seed. She
saw her baby. She was most impressed by her baby’s
beating heart. She left that day resolved to carry her
baby to term.
Patricia was the first client to receive
an ultrasound at The Keim Center in
Norfolk. She immediately changed
her mind at the sight of her baby’s
beating heart.
Patricia’s story continues to unfold
in a remarkable way. She not only
chose life for her baby, she chose
life for herself as she committed her
heart to Jesus. Patricia, in her own words...
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A Gift from Your Heart to Heartbeat
 If you believe in the mission of Heartbeat International to save and change as many lives as possible, EFT (electronic fund transfer) is a great way to support our ministry. You can increase the value of each dollar you give by becoming an ePartner for Life. Unless the Lord is directing you to a significant one-time gift, your electronic monthly gift is the most effective way to expand God’s vision of making abortion unthinkable.
Not only do we save time and processing costs, but the stability of this giving method greatly increases our ability to plan financially sound programs over the course of the fiscal year. Will you please consider a monthly EFT gift to support our ongoing work? If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact Anita at 1-888-550-7577. She is available during business hours to help you with EFT.
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