Dr. Miriam Grossman's article in Townhall.com in March 2008.

Shocked
By Miriam Grossman, M.D.

The response to the CDC’s report last week that 25% of teen girls carry a sexually transmitted infection suggests that this comes as a shock to many, including some in our sex education industry.

This is reminiscent of the scene in Casablanca in which Captain Renault tells Rick that he is “shocked - shocked! - to find that gambling is going on in here”, and then quietly collects his winnings.

The pandemic of STIs in this country is a logical consequence of the way we educate kids about sexuality. Until an “extreme makeover” of our methods takes place, young people – especially girls – will continue to pay an awful price.

Consider an organization like SIECUS ( Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States ), the leading voice for sexuality education in this country. Their Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education is in widespread use: over 100,000 copies have been distributed, and it is downloaded at the rate of 1,000 per month. Thanks to this document, our children are instructed from a tender age that “all persons are sexual”, that “both boys and girls have parts of the body that feel good when touched”, and that “couples have varied ways to share sexual pleasure.” Mind you, this is what they deem appropriate for five to eight year olds. While acknowledging that “early involvement in sexual behaviors poses risks”, one of SEICUS’ “inherent values” is that “young people explore their sexuality as a natural process in achieving sexual maturity.”

With that message coming from professionals, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that 34% of girls are sexually active by fifteen. That figure goes up to nearly 80% five years later, with over a fifth of all fifteen to nineteen year olds reporting two or more partners in the past year. Hey, they are exploring their sexuality; it’s only “natural”.

For a teenage girl in 2008, “exploring” her sexuality places her at risk for some two dozen different bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. She is likely to be infected soon after her sexual debut. This is due to the prevalence of these organisms, their ability to infect without symptoms, the widespread practice of casual sex with multiple “partners”, the inconsistent and improper use of condoms, and to a girl’s physiological vulnerability.

SEICUS emphasizes that “sexuality is a central part of being human,” and it wants our kids to know that it is “a natural and healthy part of living.” That may have been an important message for young people to hear when the organization was founded some forty years ago. But things have changed. We’re fighting a battle against a multitude of new bugs, and the bugs are winning.

Unlike Casablanca’s double-dealing police chief, SIECUS can’t have it both ways. It can’t claim to be fighting disease while celebrating the very behaviors that cause disease. Organizations responsible for protecting our children have a choice to make. Either acknowledge that remaining infection-free is not a goal of their curriculum, or begin telling kids, especially girls, to delay these experiences. Tell them “exploring” is likely to be followed, sooner or later, by regret, while “waiting” has only benefits. Sexual experiences may be “central” to being human, but so are many other things that have no place in the life of an adolescent.
That so many American girls have a sexually transmitted infection should come as no shock. Rather, the shock should be at the madness in our country that we call sexuality education.

Miriam Grossman, M.D.Miriam Grossman, M.D. is a board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. She is author of the new book "You're Teaching My Child What?"

A beacon for lives in crisis

I am often at the bedside of a patient at the end of their life. Usually, and sadly, they are often alone, unable to speak and scared. It is a poverty that so many people are left alone to die, as families disconnect from each other, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It is both humbling and a privilege to be with, and to serve people at the end of their life; especially those abandoned in the hospital at their last hour. How ironic, that the woman in a crisis pregnancy and her unborn child are often in the same dilemma or predicament as those abandoned at the end of their lives...most are scared, alone and confounded by the pressures of life, such that they experience a poverty of support.

I think Mother Teresa left us a blueprint for what our response should be in both situations

"It is not how much we do,
but how much love we put in the doing.
It is not how much we give,
but how much love we put in the giving."

When a person feels alone, abandoned and in despair, panic and darkness can easily take residence so that one simply loses the will to carry on and gives in to that despair. Our mission at Alternatives, is to lead kindly, through compassionate care and advocacy, a person in crisis 'to the light', so that no matter what ultimately happens, the person receiving care at APC, leaves our clinic knowing that we care for them.

Today, the nurses were scanning a client whose real connection to her child began the moment she saw her child on the ultrasound image projected on the screen over her head, and in that instant, she broke down in tears with amazement and joy. "It's really a baby?!" she cried as the we handed her tissues and completed our medical report. The storm we face in this fight to shed light on the truth is that most women are misinformed about the very human nature they possess in their pregnancy. Whether they are told by the abortion industry who stands to profit from her unplanned pregnancy, there is nothing but a 'blob of tissue' or some other lie, the ultrasound waves wash over the unborn child, revealing human form, human movement, and a beating heart. Diagnostic imaging, a veil lifted to reveal a truth, so that a connection can be made between a mother and her child. Does every ultrasound result in a connection? Not always. But, can it save lives and bond human beings to each other before birth? Inexplicably so, and our staff has been witness to it, time and time again.

Those who support Alternatives through their time, their talent and their treasure are really the foundation of this wonderful bulwark; like pillars and bricks of a long weathered lighthouse. Standing on the shore at the edge of a large storm...a powerful light always seeking out those who are lost and need help.

In charity, we provide free medical services, in a safe and compassionate setting, where a woman can receive free pregnancy testing, limited obstetrical ultrasound, parenting/sexual health courses, post abortive care and client centered counseling that places her welfare & that of her unborn child as our first priority. In that spirit, the light that ultimately is shed upon her is truth, compassion and love. No matter what she decides, no matter where that journey takes her, our doors remain open to her, like a beacon to a safe harbor.

Tammy Maher RN, BSN, PHN

A Letter from a New Friend

Hi Alternatives team!

This is Jennifer. You guys gave me my first ultrasound in August and I just wanted to update you on the status of my pregnancy. I am now 15 weeks pregnant & ENGAGED! Oh boy! The baby is perfectly on schedule and I will find out the sex on November 23. I can't wait!!! I just wanted to reach out to you guys to say thank you for all you did for me. I needed the support in the beginning and I totally believe in what your team and organization does for young girls! Even though I am an adult and was being careful a surprise pregnancy was the last thing I saw coming in life and it can throw you for a loop! I am now very excited to become a Mommy in April of 2011!

Oh and both sides of out families are ecstatic! I attached my most recent ultrasound to show you guys the little peanut. I hope all is well and your organization keeps growing and networking. Thanks again!

Sincerely,
Jennifer & Baby

Hope In Truth

It’s a simple truth; the circumstances we find our selves in today are a direct result of decisions made yesterday, and our future will be effected by the decisions we make today. It applies to all areas of life; school, relationships, health, everything. As obvious as this seems to be, it is a truth that eludes many from time to time. How many times do we hear people say “If only I knew”?

Many women who have made the devastating decision to abort in the past, have said to us; “If only there had been a place like Alternatives Pregnancy Center for me.”

We want women to know. We want to be there for them. We want them to know what is going on inside their body, and the stages of fetal development. We want them to know the risks associated with abortion procedures. We want them to know about adoption options. To know they have options, and that they are not alone, is the most powerful help they can receive.

Our volunteers are trained to help women to look past her fears and empower her to make a decision she can live with the rest of her life. We believe women should have medically accurate and compassionate information before choosing how to handle an unplanned pregnancy. It’s exciting that over 85% of women will choose life for their child when given this type of support!

We help women find hope and strength to walk through the “valley of despair” created by yesterday’s poor choices. We are here for her, to empower her in decisions today, so she can celebrate her tomorrows!

Together for Life!

Sue O’Connor

Ultrasound: It's More Than a Machine

God has blessed APC with a powerful tool that speaks truth and hope to our clients. The ultrasound machine in our medical clinic is providing a glimpse into the womb of the delicate life within.

It is a beautiful thing to witness the bond that begins as the Holy Spirit ministers to the heart of an abortion-vulnerable woman, when for the very first time she hears the beating heart of her baby.

It may just be a machine, but God is using it to save lives!

Written by: Renee Eckley, RN, BSN, PHN
Nurse Manager

Six Years of Hope

Amanda was only 19 when she came into Alternatives six years ago. Single and pregnant, she believed abortion was her only option. After being presented with a supportive parenting program and encouraged by a loving client advocate, Amanda chose life, and gave birth to her daughter. Her relationship with the client advocate continued long after the program ended.

However, when the pressures of life became overwhelming, Amanda found herself pregnant again and this time, she chose abortion.

Amanda recently came back to Alternatives and joined our weekend abortion recovery weekend group, aptly named "Hope Encounter." I was able to witness to the Godly healing she received as she acknowledged the pain, shame and guilt from her abortion decision.

Amanda was joined by her client advocate who has walked with her through the past six years: through her crisis pregnancy, the birth of her baby girl, and now, her journey of abortion recovery.

Will you please continue to give and pray so that women like Amanda can come in our doors for hope, help and healing? As you can see from this story, we are here to love them ALL along the way of their victory and challenges.

Written By: Kathy Hoover, Volunteer Training Coordinator

More Than People Think

There are various tools and educational materials that we use in the counseling room to present medically accurate facts to a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy. What can be a more powerful tool than ‘Truth’? Recently, a young girl came into the counseling room. She was determined to get an abortion. We began to discuss her circumstances and her options. With her permission we discussed fetal development information, she kept saying: “Its so big, wow - its so big, I didn’t know that.” She was fascinated with the heart beating at only 21 days after conception. She said she could not get an abortion now that she knows how developed the baby is already. Seeing her child during the ultrasound confirmed that decision. She was overwhelmed with emotion, and I was fascinated to see a mother bond with her unborn child, before my eyes. She couldn’t thank us enough, and was hugging everyone she passed by on her way out the door. This is what she wrote on her evaluation: “They have a lot of information, and help you more than people think.”

by Natasha Kosachevich, Client Services Director

We Were Filled with Laughter

"We were filled with laughter and sang for joy." Ps. 126:2

I was so excited to see the turnout for our Grand Opening in Folsom last night. The crowd of over 250 people came despite a Rainy forecast and the lure of staying at home on a Monday night. Everyone came because they wanted to join with others in celebrating the bond of Life affirmation.

I heard over and over individuals telling me about the excitement they have in knowing that more lives will be saved because we said Yes to the challenge of this endeavor. Can I tell you how proud I am to lead such a team of servants? It would take pages and pages and it would all be true. I lead the best staff and volunteers in the world! What a joy.

I want to quote a few of the statements that were made from Congressman Lungren as he delivered a proclamation on this momentous occasion:

"Whereas, Alternatives Pregnancy Center believes that every community should have a life-affirming pregnancy center in order to assist in meeting the needs of young women in such communities as Folsom and Sacramento; and

"Whereas, Alternatives Pregnancy Center serves high risk youth population in need of a powerful and effective sexual health and integrity education program, with the potential of reaching over 13,000 high school students in the Folsom/El Dorado Hills area; and

"Whereas, Alternatives Pregnancy Center offers free ultrasound services so that women can make informed choices..."

(there were more Whereas statements, but for the sake of space, these were highlighted).

Congressman Lungren then went on to proclaim publicly his congratulations for our grand opening of our first satellite office.


The highlight of the evening was getting to share more of the vision for our future “life affirming” efforts, and to be blessed by the meaningful prayers by Pastor Brad Franklin and Pastor Kent Carlson. I am very grateful for all who came, all who celebrated,and for those who came to simply say “we are in this together.”

It was a night I will never forget. And now, we begin the journey of witnessing the miracles that God will do one woman, one man, one baby, one life at a time.

by Jennifer Zachariou