Metro area -- To save a life, it helps a lot if you can see it, first.

That’s the simple concept behind an initiative being taken by the Knights of Columbus in Michigan and across the country. Since January 2009, the Knights have been raising money for and giving ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers so that women experiencing unplanned pregnancies can see the life inside them.

Just last week, the Knights in Michigan dedicated the sixth such ultrasound machine to Compassion Pregnancy Center in Clinton Township -- the second center in the Archdiocese of Detroit to receive a machine.

“We know that 80 percent of the women who see an ultrasound decide to keep their baby,” says Paul Thorn, state program director for the Knights of Columbus and member of Council 13950 out of St. Mary of the Hills Parish, Rochester Hills. “We’re giving these centers a tool to save lives.”

In addition to the center in Clinton Township, the Knights have partneredwith Michigan dioceses and pro-life organizations to grant ultrasound machines to centers in Jackson, Saginaw, Niles, Grand Rapids and Dearborn Heights. Thorn says there are at least two more machines on the way soon, as well. The Knights in Michigan have raised more than $110,000 for the efforts.

The Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus -- the national organization -- began

the ultrasound initiative on January 22, 2009, the 36th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision which outlawed restrictions on abortion. Since, the Supreme Council has matched funds raised by state councils to pay for the machines. The typical cost per machine is $25,000 ($12,500 each from the national council and state council) though the Knights in Michigan have also chipped in to help some centers pay for training on the machines.

Nationwide, Thorn says the Knights have donated 48 machines.

At the pregnancy centers in Michigan, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

“The ability to show a woman that, at six weeks, you can see that heartbeat



and see that child is such a powerful tool,” says Joelle McCormick, executive director of Compassion Pregnancy Center, which say 700 new clients in 2009 and expects that number to grow now that they have an ultrasound machine.

McCormick, 27, says the center does everything it can to encourage women to choose life and assist them in doing so. They provide material support and offer classes on breastfeeding, nutrition, safety, parenting and other topics.

But a powerful first step in assisting young women is letting them see their child for the first time, she says.

McCormick adds that her center will start using the machine as of Aug. 10, when their training period is complete.

In Dearborn Heights, the Lennon Center also has been training its personnel to use a new ultrasound machine donated by the Knights.

Bill Kennis, the Lennon Center’s executive director, says an ultrasound machine makes a fundamental difference in the way a pregnancy center operates.

“It’s a significant shift in the way we do our business, and a significant shift in the perception by community and among clients in regards to what we can do for them,” Kennis says.

If an ultrasound is needed, he adds, it’s best to do it at the same center the client first enters.

“We used to have to send them across town to other pregnancy centers or OBs, but you lose the relationship,” he says. “They seldom would show up for their appointments… their comfort level increases when they can have their ultrasound experience (here).”

Once the Lennon Center’s ultrasound machine is operational in August, the center will support eight other local pregnancy centers.

At other centers in the state, Paul Thorn says the Knights have been hearing stories of dozens of women being emotionally touched by ultrasound images of their children and subsequently choosing to keep their children.

“We have a picture of the first baby that was saved,” Thorn says. “We don’t know the name, but we’re calling the baby KC.”

Thorn says the Knights have collected funds largely from their own ranks but also with dinners, raffles and other fundraising events -- and help from anonymous donors.

“It’s a great initiative,” he says. “It’s a great way to save lives -- and the more help we have, the more machines we can place.”

To learn more about Compassion Pregnancy Center, visit www.compassionpregnancyfriends.org. To learn more about Lennon Center, visit www.lennoncenter.org.