Alpha Women’s Center has served Palm Coast, Fla., for more than 25 years, and last year the pregnancy help organization increased its services to help more abortion-minded women and families.
Abortion is illegal in Florida after six weeks with some exceptions. However, like many people in the U.S., Floridians can order abortion pills online and receive them through the mail.
Alpha Women’s Center is ready to help those who believe abortion is their best or only option, offering Abortion Pill Reversal services, providing a benevolent fund to help mothers experiencing financial needs, setting up a 24/7 nursing line, and assisting young fathers with a mentoring program.
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Serving women with Abortion Pill Reversal
After Tracie (a pseudonym) took the first pill in a chemical abortion last July, she experienced immediate regret. Upon conducting an internet search, she contacted Heartbeat International’s Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN). She was put in contact with Alpha Women’s Center, an hour away from her community. Staff there jumped into action to help her try to save her baby with the progesterone protocol for Abortion Pill Reversal (APR).
“The call came in on July 4, and all of the pharmacies were closed,” said Jennifer Thomann, Alpha’s executive director. So, Thomann and the center’s nurse drove to her, to see about helping her obtain treatment.
APR is an updated application of a treatment used for decades to combat miscarriage. It entails prescribing a bioidentical version of progesterone, the natural hormone in a woman’s body that sustains pregnancy, the counter the effects of mifepristone, the first of two drugs in a chemical abortion. If a woman acts quickly enough after taking mifepristone it may be possible to save her unborn child through APR. Statistics show that to date, more than 8,000 lives and counting have been saved thanks to APR.
Thomann and her team began offering APR services in June of last year. In addition to Tracie, their first client, they’ve received three additional calls for APR. Their journey with Tracie, however, remains special for reasons beyond the fact she was their first APR client.
Throughout her connection with the Palm Coast pregnancy help organization, Tracie experienced morning sickness so severely that she missed many days of work. She was already a single mom with another child, and the loss of income and the medical issues impacted her budget and frayed her nerves. This was an opportunity for Alpha Women’s Center to walk alongside her and support her.
“She was in and out of the hospital a few times,” Thomann told Pregnancy Help News. “She was very concerned about her paycheck because she was missing work because of being so sick. She wanted to work but couldn't.”
Alpha staff and board members decided to try to help Tracie.
“We reached out for resources for her rent, and we really couldn't find anybody to help her,” Thomann said.
The problem was her apartment complex would not accept third-party payment. “Usually if ministries want to help people, they pay directly to the apartment complex,” said Thomann. “But she lived in one that would not receive those payments, so it was very challenging.”
The Alpha Women’s Center board and staff prayed over their client and what they might do to help her.
“We just felt like God was saying, ‘You need to walk with her. It's not enough to encourage her to choose life, and it’s not enough to pray for her,’” Thomann said. “And so, we supplemented her paycheck.”
Where their client would miss time at work because she was so sick, then Alpha Women’s Center would make up the difference in her pay.
“She was so very thankful,” said Thomann.
Tracie was able to stay in her apartment, and earlier this year she delivered a small, but healthy baby boy.
Brave Mothers program
Because of that journey Alpha Women’s Center created a new program.
“God showed us that He has other brave mothers,” Thomann said, “brave mothers that come in abortion-minded because they're abandoned, and they're choosing life for their babies, knowing it's going to be harder.”
Tweet This: God showed us He has other brave mothers, who come in abortion-minded because they're abandoned and they're choosing life- center director.
Women who choose life, whether at the outset of their pregnancy or who undergo APR, and have a job, apartment, and vehicle, yet face financial hardship, as in Tracie’s case, may qualify to receive money from this new benevolent fund called Brave Mothers.
“God just said you need to do more for these mothers and walk with them after their pregnancy decision and be there for them financially,” Thomann said. “I felt like it was God trying to like get our attention and to understand that He really wants us to be there for moms that are brave.”
Helping more women and men
Another way Alpha is helping women and families is through a collaboration with another organization to respond to inquiries 24/7. The company provides nurses who can answer calls in the middle of the night when a woman might be taking a pregnancy test and is panicking. These nurses can schedule appointments for Alpha, and therefore Thomann and her staff can respond to a frightened woman’s needs within hours.
Alpha Women’s Center established a fatherhood mentoring program, and one young man’s life, and the lives of the mother of his child and that child, have been positively impacted, Thomann told Pregnancy Help News.
“We have male pastors available for one-on-one mentorship for any of any of the men, and we had our first father [recently],” she said.
The client and her boyfriend were living together and facing a lot of trials, Thomann said. He had lost his father unexpectedly at a young age, so he was very interested in meeting with the pastor. He had really been struggling with his faith and with the pressures, but after being served through the fatherhood program he and his girlfriend were baptized at the pastor’s church and have since gotten married.
“We don't want to give up on the men, and when we're helping the brave mothers financially, we’re going to be committed to praying for the fathers as well,” Thomann said. “We have to hold on to hope.”
Next steps for Alpha Women’s Center
A maternity home is planned for Alpha’s future, but for this year, helping more abortion-minded women and the fathers of their clients’ babies remain the center’s priorities.
“It’s pretty amazing how God showed us we have to do more,” Thomann said. “‘Love on her and make sure her needs are provided for until she gets to a more stable situation and pray for the father because I care about my sons as much as I care about my daughters.’”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of two lawsuits brought by state AGs concerning sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal.
