A pregnancy center in California is still serving women from a place adjacent to the local Planned Parenthood even though the center changed locations earlier this past fall, and the pregnancy help staff is convinced they are right where God wants them.
Napa Women’s Center in Napa, Calif. initially opened its doors in November 2020 next to the Napa Planned Parenthood. The placement was strategic, as pregnancy centers will often locate in proximity to abortion centers to be available to women in need.
Later when the Napa Women’s Center needed to relocate to accommodate growth and offer more services, the center found a new space based on meeting its needs. That space just happened to be downstairs from where the Napa Planned Parenthood had moved in January 2023.
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
Planned Parenthood personnel were not pleased with Napa Women’s Center having opened next door when it did, according to a report from local CBS affiliate KPIX, claiming the pregnancy help center brought protests with it even though the center's work does not entail organizing such demonstrations. The abortion giant opted to move its Napa facility a short distance away.
Meanwhile Napa Women’s Center, which had been established with the assistance of a Life Launch Grant through Heartbeat International, saw the need to expand its services to become a medical clinic and offer free ultrasounds along with all of its other services to support moms and their babies. Those services include pregnancy tests, advocacy, material assistance, post-abortion support, abstinence training, adoption and community assistance referrals, and parental training.
Expanding at the original office would not be cost effective. Still, Executive Director Julie Murillo was convinced it was necessary to hold onto the location because for the first three years the location was fruitful in drawing most of the client traffic.
“We had engaged an architect,” Murillo told Pregnancy Help News. “We were ready to start construction. We were approved by the city and then, God had a different plan.”
“Our contractor just happened to meet our new landlord, and he had overheard the contractor talking about this new project,” she recalled. “The landlord said, ‘I have a place and it’s a medical center in a medical building.’”
The description was intriguing enough for Napa Women’s Center President Gerry Cruz to go along with the contractor to check out the proposed location.
Cruz was immediately sold and convinced Murillo to at least take a look for herself.
“Once I walked in, I thought ‘well, this is where we’re supposed to be,’” Murillo said.
Tweet This: "This is where we’re supposed to be" - Napa Women's Center director on inadvertently locating next to Planned Parenthood a second time.
The new site was formerly an OB office and had already received state approval as a medical facility.
Planned Parenthood had just moved in at the same location and while some media reporting alluded to a supposed motive on the part of Napa Women’s Center to follow Planned Parenthood, Murillo continued to be in awe of God’s hand in the matter.
With the same street address separated only by a unit number, Napa Women’s Center maintains able to be present where women need a true choice for life.
“We have a five-year lease with our landlord, and they are very happy we are here,” Murillo said.
The move happened in September of this year but approval from the condominium association for signage took until late November. This has also not stood in the way of Napa Women’s Center providing life-affirming services to women.
“People have been finding us, even without signs,” said Murillo.
“We applied for a medical license with the state of California,” she added, “and we have hired a nurse manager, she has 30 years’ experience.”
Reflecting on all that has taken place to get the Napa Women’s Center where it is today, serving women and families, including of late procuring an ultrasound machine and other medical equipment, Murillo said, “God is moving and shaking and we’re just along for the ride.”
“He has been with us the whole way,” she said. “It has been an amazing ride.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
