My visit to My Life Pregnancy Help Clinic in Columbia, MO was a beautiful look into the facility and staff that serve pregnant women in my community. Entering their warm and inviting clinic, I was able to meet several staffers and directors that work to ensure MyLife’s programs and services reach pregnant women facing uncertainty with love and patience, professional medical care and careful attention to each individual client.
MyLife is located almost directly across the street from the Planned Parenthood Clinic in Columbia, and to my surprise, is actually housed in the building Planned Parenthood formerly occupied. The Director of Advancement, Mark Loeber, and I had to smile at the redemptive beauty of this peaceful PRC serving women in the place the country’s largest abortion provider used to occupy.
Unlike some other PRCs, My Life clinic is able to offer professional medical care during all of their operating hours. While many PRCs have visiting nurses and ultrasound technicians, My Life employs a full time qualified Nurse Practitioner on site who administers the pregnancy tests, has the ability to communicate with client’s OB/GYNs and other physicians, and is also a certified ultrasound technician. This designates the center as a “Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic”. Can you imagine if all centers were able to provide this level of medical care for their clients?!
My Life is equipped with a $40,000 ultrasound machine that was donated by the Knights of Columbus in mid-Missouri. With this equipment and a full-time certified ultrasound technician, this clinic can see a client, confirm her pregnancy test and take her back for an ultrasound same-day. These services are vital to women in Columbia, as it is sometimes challenging to have a client come in for a second visit if they are abortion minded. This high-tech ultrasound equipment has a significant impact on women seeking abortion as well. Sometimes women seek appointments at My Life clinic to obtain a free ultrasound in order to date their pregnancy as a next-step to obtaining an abortion; after seeing their baby, hearing the baby’s heartbeat and talking with a counselor, they see the majority of these abortion-minded clients elect to continue with their pregnancies.
ALL of My Life’s client services are 100% free for pregnant women. They provide pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, limited STI screenings with referral for more screenings through RAINN (https://www.rainn.org/), individual and group counseling, parenting classes taught by community professionals that cover a broad range of topics and skills (from visiting and utilizing the Columbia library system to CPR certification), peer-to-peer parenting relationships, group Bible studies and material support in the form of diapers, clothing, baby items and small furniture. They also offer abortion recovery counseling for women struggling with the weight of their decision to abort.
It is clear to me that My Life is a place of healing, hope and loving support. Even visiting them for just an hour, I felt the deep sense of calm and confidence their building and staff keep. With Christ at the core, generosity and care without judgment or discrimination, this center is a have for women who face an unplanned pregnancy, lack health insurance, feel overwhelmed or confused by their friends and family about “what to do”, or even women who just need that extra support to stay healthy, well and confident in their pregnancy.
My Life deeply impacts their clients. Brooke’s story below illustrates everything I’ve written above. This is real life, and life-saving work.
You can learn more about My Life Pregnancy Help Clinic’s mission through the Life Network of Central Missouri’s website at: www.lifenetworkfriends.com or visit their clinic website at: www.mylifeclinic.org.
