Across the United States, 341 Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) now offer sonograms.
Stephanie Monegro, 17, was two months pregnant when she went to a crisis pregnancy center seeking an abortion. What she saw there changed her mind. She had a sonogram done--an electronic picture of the baby, taken with sound waves.
"I saw my first sonogram of the baby, and I burst into tears," Stephanie said. "I thought: Why would I want to kill something that's living?"
Across the United States, 341 Crisis Pregnancy Centers (CPCs) now offer sonograms. That's twice the number from just three years ago, but still far short of the 1,800 CPCs operating in this country. The ultrasound pictures seem to be contributing to lower abortion rates among teens.
A study by Eric Keroack, medical director of a CPC in Boston, showed that 75 percent of mothers who express interest in having an abortion decide not to if they have a sonogram. "Ultrasound is an amazing reality check," he said.
At six weeks' gestation, mothers can see and hear an embryo's beating heart. Just before 10 weeks, they can see the fetus sucking its thumb. "All I know is that [if] a woman hears a heartbeat, she chooses life," said Thomas Glessner, president of the National Institute for Family and Life Advocates. His group is trying to equip 1,000 CPCs with ultrasound machines by 2010.
While abortion rates are down, there are still an estimated 1.3 million abortions performed in the United States annually. Twenty percent of all abortions are by teens ("Saved by Ultrasound," http://www.christianitytoday.com ).
