Less than a year ago, House of Ruth Pregnancy Care Center integrated Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) into its services, and in that time the center has received six calls with two confirmed lives saved.
One of those calls came in January when the pregnancy medical clinic hosted 15 fifth-grade students from a Christian school for a tour and service project.
“We were able to tell [the students] about that [phone call], that it was a mom who had changed her mind [about having an abortion],” Sara Massey, assistant director for House of Ruth, told Pregnancy Help News. “So, we prayed together for that mom and that baby, that the baby would be saved.”
Located in Cottonwood, Ariz., between Flagstaff and Phoenix, House of Ruth is the only pro-life pregnancy medical center in northern Arizona that offers the APR progesterone protocol, Massey said.
Preparing for the first call
Planning to offer APR took time.
“I spent about one-and-a-half years working to bring APR to our center,” said Stephanie Richey, the center’s executive director.
Richey worked with a friend who is an RN, and she said God worked it out that her friend was available at the same time she was prepared with funding to be able to hire her friend.
“And so, we were able to be APR capable and ready,” Richey said. “She was so beneficial in getting everything ready and lined up. She worked directly with our medical director.”
The first APR call came into House of Ruth Last summer, and since then several more have come in, including from other pregnancy help ministries.
“We’ve had calls from pretty far away,” Massey said.
House of Ruth partners with other area pregnancy centers, such as one in Flagstaff, to provide ultrasounds for APR clients. Flagstaff is located about an hour north of House of Ruth, Massey said.
“It’s a way we can support them,” she said. “We’re all coming alongside these women and helping them make a decision for life.”
Numbers from the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) show that more than 5,000 unborn lives have been saved thanks to pregnancy medical clinics and pro-life medical professionals offering APR.
Thirty-five years of service and growing
Last December, House of Ruth celebrated 35 years as a pregnancy help ministry, Richey said. The center became a medical clinic about 10 years ago. She stepped in to help the organization more than seven years ago, and the vision to go beyond even a medical clinic was put into progress.
“We quickly realized there were a lot of changes happening in the pro-life movement that we needed to equip ourselves for,” Richey said.
Although she saw the value of APR, preparing and implementing the procedure took several years. A pro-life conference they attended last summer fueled the passion to offer APR.
“God did a lot of preparation on all of our hearts at that conference,” Richey said. “It was very fast paced; it was good and bad and scary.”
“Since we got that first call, we have had six calls and two confirmed babies saved,” she said.
One of those children is expected to be born soon, Massey added.
“We’ve been in awe of the way God is using APR,” Richey told Pregnancy Help News.
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In addition to offering APR and working with other area pregnancy help centers to provide the service, House of Ruth began partnering with a local church last year to bring an Embrace Grace program to the Cottonwood community. Massey said that same church is offering Embrace Life this year.
House of Ruth also opened a children’s boutique in addition to the on-site baby boutique, and a women’s home is being added to the center’s services this year.
“I think seeing all of the things going on in the world and being so very well supported by our community,” Richey said. “We’ve been able to do some pretty awesome things.”
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Encouraging other centers
Massey encouraged pregnancy center staff and volunteers to attend a pro-life conference to find strength, courage, and inspiration.
“Get out there and see all these great ministries that are out there because it can seem so big and overwhelming to be serving our communities, but we don’t need to be an expert at everything,” she said.
She added, “Be bold, whether that’s asking a church to prayerfully consider starting an Embrace Grace group or partnering with other centers and medical professionals for APR. There’s a lot of great things happening to be able to love on these moms, so step out in faith and give other people a chance to serve as well.”
Richey also offered words of encouragement to other pregnancy center staff.
“I would encourage everybody in the pro-life movement to step out in faith and do the scary things,” Richey said. “Whether that’s APR, a house, or whatever it is for them [remember] that God is faithful, and He is good. Even if it’s so overwhelming we can’t fathom or think about it, He brings things to fruition that we can’t even imagine,” she said.
“I would tell people APR is worth the work,” she said. “Having the house is worth all the work. God moves mountains to make it work if it’s His will. Think about doing the big things – because they matter.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News.
