A Loss of Trust. Bombarded recently by social media and the print media for decades, at least three generations of American youth have been fed information they could not rely on as correct or true. That bombarded information has become embedded in their brains and they have accepted it as correct and true.
Particularly over the last 10 years, more and more information has become available and there is no control on the sources to be reliable. Each person has it within his or her power to use what part of this flood of information he or she wants to modify. Each person chooses which platform of the internet to use and to blast out his or her position on an issue.
Loss of good dialog
This has certainly been the case on one of the most important questions of all time: When does human life begin? Not surprisingly, it is this topic and other related questions that clearly divide the populace and prevent good dialog from occurring.
The result? As a result, federal annual expenditures of more than $500,000,000 has gone to Planned Parenthood, which —according to Planned Parenthood’s 2022-2023 Annual Report—performed 392,715 abortions and had an income of $2.054 billion. 
The Charlotte Lozier Institute reported that abortion accounted for 97.2% of Planned Parenthood’s pregnancy resolution services in 2021-2022.
Just using these verified numbers alone, there is no question about the huge size of Planned Parenthood’s enterprise. There is no question that Planned Parenthood is Big Business!
Walking Forward with Clarity of Purpose
We are living in perilous times – many seek to take away our individual Constitutional freedoms, destroy the nuclear family, and remove God from society. Realizing this my wife Pat and I co-founded the St. John Paul II Life and Family Center, “JPII Life Center”, more than 14 years ago.
We did not know where this journey would take us, but set out with a purpose to save babies’ lives and to help women by providing care and education. We have asked Jesus and our patron St. John Paul II to walk with us each step of the way and they have done so!
We will continue on this path as long as the Holy Spirit allows our good health to continue. That’s why we want to share with you how the JPII Life Center has advanced, and how we are striving to help bring harmony back to our American society.
Ways to establish dialog, especially in moments of crisis
When I say “providing care” at the JPII Life Center, exactly what do I mean? Included is the medical care provided by our Vitae Clinic full-time OB/GYN physicians, but in addition we have become accustomed to receiving a woman who is frightened, believes her life and health are in immediate jeopardy, feels all alone with no one to rely on!
As Judy Ames, one of our wonderful Client Advocates, says, “We listen to their problems and provide real solutions.”
Our Client Advocates literally care for each client during pregnancy and for a total of three years. The Client Advocate almost becomes a member of the expectant mother’s family. Beautiful strong personal bonds are formed and maintained.
Life Can Change in a Split Second
As you may know, on May 4, 2024, while going to visit friends, my wife Pat and I experienced first-hand how life can change in a split second. We were T-boned by a car traveling between 50-60 MPH, and by the Grace of God we survived. The impact was hard and fast. Side airbags immediately deployed, just as we began to feel the impact of the speeding car.
The car rammed into our 2023 Ford Expedition on the driver’s side, just behind the passenger seat at the rear wheel well, spinning our car around and knocking our Expedition some 75 feet from the point of impact and in the direction from which we were coming.
Interestingly, instead of either of us being agitated or emotional, we each experienced an unusual sense of calm. It was as if God was telling us, “you are safe, and I am with you!”
The two cars were totaled and fortunately the four people in the other car walked away.
When Pat and I later shared about the wreck with a wise priest, he commented that in life there are times when each of us has what he calls “thin spaces” and this is when we are closest to God. This had definitely been a thin space moment with God for Pat and me.
Pat and I recognize that God left us here on this earth for us to complete as best we can the work now on going with our children, grandchildren and great granddaughter. And also to help continue the work of the JPII Life Center so that there can be this particularly special place in Austin for decades to come to care for expectant mothers and to save babies lives.
A Shared Intersection of Children’s and Women’s Needs
After World War II, Europe was devastated with hungry, homeless children who had been orphaned by the battles. They were put in large camps where they were given food and care. Yet they didn’t sleep well at night; they were nervous, fearful and fidgety.
The caregivers in those camps taught each other to give a child a piece of bread every night, not to eat, but to hold in bed.
The outcome was astonishing.
The children slept through the night because they realized they wouldn’t go hungry the next day. Clutching the bread gave them a sense of 
protection (they were safe), importance (somebody cared about them), and happiness (there will be more bread tomorrow).
Those three things were what those children needed. It is what each of needs in our lives: Safety, Somebody to care, and Happiness. Jesus – He is our nourishment, everywhere, every time. (The Word For You Today)
These same three needs are what we purposefully offer at the JPII Life Center to frightened pregnant women.
In addition to frightened pregnant women who come to the JPII Life Center for a free ultrasound or for any support they can find, we also are aware of the many loving couples who struggle to become pregnant and have a child or children for their family.
We help these families who struggle to get pregnant too!
I believe we should do all that we can to help these families through moral and ethical medical procedures to help those couples have a child naturally. So I want to share with you some of the things we’ve learned that can help women having difficulty conceiving. This is where education becomes so important!
The IVF Dilemma
In February 2024, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created during the IVF process should have full personhood rights.
Destruction of Excess Embryos
The Alabama high court’s decision forced many people—for the first time in their lives— to think deeply about the ethical implications of the IVF procedure, which, as commonly practiced in the U.S., results in the destruction of excess embryos.
In the IVF procedure, doctors create extra embryos to ensure the best chance for a successful pregnancy. The “leftover” embryos are frozen, destroyed or donated to medical research.
Think about that! Human Embryos are frozen, destroyed or worse. This type of moral and ethical issue deserves extensive discussion and thoughtful consideration.
A better solution… that works!
If there were a medical procedure to assist a woman to become pregnant without the need for additional embryo implantation, that were less costly than IVF, yet equal to or even sometimes faster than IVF, and healthier for the mother, wouldn’t that be wonderful? 
This alternative to IVF does already exist!
At our Vitae Clinic, we already have more than 300 women who can testify to the success of this all-natural method. Yes, Natural Procreative TECHNOLOGY or one of the other Natural Family Planning Methods for a woman to get pregnant does exist. I will share some of these success stories in future articles.
In the meantime, if you or someone you know wants more information or help to get pregnant naturally, please call/contact Sandra or Giselle at the JPII Life Center (512) 407-2900.
A Closer Look at the JPII Life Center
Mission: The JPII Life Center promotes a culture of life through supportive pregnancy and parenting resources, transformative education, and life-affirming OB/GYN healthcare.
Vision: Our Vision is a society that recognizes the God-given dignity of each human being from the moment of conception and empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their lives.
What others say… and Why
Shawn Carney, President and CEO of 40 Days for Life says about the JPII Life Center, “I have worked with hundreds of pregnancy care centers in my life and yours is the best one.”
The JPII Life Center’s approach is to accept each woman with no religious test and without judging her.
We accept each person without regard to race, ethnicity or ability to pay, and treat each one with respect, dignity and love. We want every pregnant woman who comes to the JPII Life Center to have her child after receiving proper care and education to best be able to rear her child.
And we nurture these women according to their individual needs for up to three years! We offer a safe haven, someone to care and nurture their happiness.
In sharp contrast, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, says, “We can help.” They say a chemical or medical abortion is “safe,” even safer than medicines like penicillin and Tylenol.
It is a lie. The words of Planned Parenthood are misleading, manipulative and isolating. They underestimate the potential physical and emotional risks associated with chemical or medical abortion… and the risks are beyond imagination extensive and dangerous.
The JPII Life Center’s Vitae Clinic combats these lies by providing fact-based diagnostic tools. Armed with medical -grade pregnancy tests and 3D / 4D ultrasounds, we equip our clients with confidence, competence and courage. By informing minds, we are saving lives!
Embrace the Opportunities before you
I encourage you to prayerfully embrace in your own life the words of St. Francis de Sales that Pat and I read on May 4, 2024, (the day of our car accident) in The Reflection of the Day:
“Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving Father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings.” -St. Francis de Sales
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