Cassidy & Dexter's Story

“I’ll never forget how I felt when I saw that positive test. Ashamed and broken is how I would describe it. I was about 7 weeks and I decided to have an abortion.” 

We hear from women like Cassidy every day as they share remorse over decisions made in haste and loneliness. “I felt as if I was destroying a piece of myself and had instant feelings of regret.”

Cassidy searched online and found the Abortion Pill Rescue^® Network (APRN). She was connected to an APRN nurse who walked her through her next steps and was referred to Heartbeat affiliate Coastline Women’s Center. That referral saved the life of her child and ultimately her own life.

“I remember walking into that ultrasound room with no hope and thinking [the baby] was already gone. I heard the nurse say, ‘There it is.’ I said, ‘It’s alive!!!’ The entire room filled with joy, and it was such a magical moment that changed everything for me. The Abortion Pill Reversal not only saved my child’s life but saved [my life] as well.” Sharing truth with love opened the door for Jesus to step through, and step through He did!

From the team at APRN and Coastline to the pharmacist that filled her progesterone prescription, the community rallied around her.  “[The pharmacist] went out of his way to pay for [the prescription] and tell me God bless. I was overwhelmed by the compassion and care people were giving me that didn’t even know me.”

“I feel incredibly honored and so grateful to Heartbeat International for placing Coastline in my journey and giving my boy a second chance at life. I never have to look back and think about what Dexter would have been, but I get to watch his beautiful life grow inside me.”

Dexter was born in May 2023.

Jinja – Uganda

Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM): Caring for Unborn Children and their Mothers.

Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) was established in 2012 as a Community Based Organization (CBO) starting its services at the church premises but in 2013 we got a single room to operate from. The establishment was based on Ministry of Health (MOH) Maternal and Perinatal Death Review (MPDR) 2012/2013 which indicated gabs in service provision and therefore the gabs needed to be addressed in order to reduce on the deaths and injuries on mothers and children especially on the unborn. In the report there were 724,806 deliveries at the health facilities and 1157 died in child births. The causes of death were due to bleeding, pregnancy complication associated with high blood pressure, infections, abortions and pregnancy related sepsis among others.  

To end the avoidable causes Pregnancy Care Ministry has devised on addressing on the root causes of abortions and unplanned pregnancies with preventive and curative interventions to address the shortage of blood at the heath facilities, lack of skilled birth attendants, lack of critical resources, lack of transport for mothers to be taken to health facilities from their homes, lack of partner support, dependence on herbal use and refusal to be taken for medical treatments. 

In 2018 Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) got a permission to operate the medical health center which included a maternity home to provide life affirming reproductive health care services, alternative to abortion, new parents educations, and rescue services in a caring and conducive environment.

A SAFETY NET  

Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) helps to serve as a safety-net for men, women and children in Jinja City.  Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) aims at being a place where women, men, and children who need hope, restorations, rescue, healing of heart and peoples life’s touched in most compassionate way and in love. The services will include parents education, free pregnancy diagnosis, low cost STD testing and treatment, laboratory Tests, counseling and Guidance, prenatal vitamins, post abortion healing, sexual risk avoidance education, natural family planning, baby shower, safe health delivery (Maama Kits), ultrasound scan, livelihood skills, material & education support.

The medical and psychosocial support Services will be provided under the direction and supervision of qualified medical and psychosocial professionals who are recognized locally and internationally.

Since inception 2012 we have impacted over 50,000 young and old women and men through medical provisions, life skills trainings and sensitization, provision safety space, spiritual nourishments, counseling, education support and care.

DONATIONS

In the words of Luciano de Crescenzo “We are all like one-winged angels, it is only when we help each other that we can fly.”  Pregnancy Care Ministry appeals for donations to build a medical center which will be center to extend Gods healing hand and providence to those in dare need, your generosity and support will create lasting impact to those we serve.

Artistic Impression for Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) Medical Center:

Some of the stories obtained from hospital records showing avoidable causes of death and injuries to mothers and unborn children, and need for a pro-life / family medical center.  

•  A 32-year-old mother gravida 9 para 1 aborted at 5 months and developed severe anemia. She got renal failure and sepsis and passed away.
• A mother was admitted from a traditional mother attendant (TBA) with a big baby and obstructed labor and a history of having taken native medicine. She had a cesarean section but died on the operation table. A live baby boy was delivered.
• A 35-year-old pregnant mother was admitted to obesity. Injury Severity Score (ISS) and pregnancy-induced hypertension. She was treated and discharged only to be re-admitted within 7 hours after collapsing suddenly with difficulty in breathing, severe headache, palpitation ad dizziness. She shortly died after admission.
• A 24-year-old mother diagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension who had refused referral from the lower Health Center unit was admitted with eclampsia. She was delivered by cesarean section and began to convulse after c/s. she died soon after.
• A 37-year mother gravida 4 para 3 was admitted with a history of transverse lie and Arm prolapse. A cesarean section was done. She got post-partum hemorrhage and was given 1 unit of blood before she died of anemia.
• A 36-year-old mother was admitted with obstructed labor and maternal distress having been reoffered from traditional birth attendant (TBA). History showed she had not attended antenatal care. She was delivered by cesarean section and died of the shock of no obvious cause.
• A 30-year-old mother gravida 6 para 5 was referred from Health Center II where she had stayed for 2 days. She came in with both maternal exhaustion and fetal distress. A cesarean section was done but she died suddenly after the operation.
• A 14 year admitted to RRH 2 weeks before and was transfused. She was re-admitted here through the antenatal clinic critically ill with severe anemia and pregnant 20 wk. she was transfused 3 times but each time she became more jaundiced ++. She died 2 days later.
• A gravid 3 and para 2 HIV+ mother not ART with baseline CD4 of 540 cells who had collapsed suddenly for one day had been referred but refused. She had an abortion after 2 days and died.
• A 17-year-old mother was admitted after delivery in a clinic and got retained placenta. There was a delay in reaching the hospital. Manual removal of the placenta was done in the labor ward. Blood transfusion had just started when she gasped and died.        

All financial gifts received designated for our approved “alliance” affiliates will be forwarded to them in a reasonable timeframe (usually upon exceeding $250US). Heartbeat International deducts $30 plus 3% from the transfer, to help defray internal cost for money transfers, currency conversion, clerical costs, bank fees and any processing fees that might be charged. Should any funds be unable to be forwarded – primarily related to the recipient - they may be re-allocated for similar international work.

Silent Voices Uganda

Silent voices Uganda is an interdenominational organization which was founded in 2009 registered as community based organization in 2012 having found out that there were rampant cases of abortion especially among school girls and young women leading to death of babies and their mothers as a result of abortion.

Although the clergy, Christians and the community condemn it there was no effort put to actively sensitize society and institutions about the dangers, physical complications of abortion and its long term effects and in addition train these girls in skills for self-reliance and sustainable livelihood.

So our VISION is promoting openness, tolerance, forgiveness, reconciliation as a means of protecting life and sustainable development.

Our MISSION is carrying out sensitization on abortion, reconciliation, mobilization and skills acquisition on to common action plan of development.

Client Testimony

 Silent voices Uganda since its inception has sensitized over 3,000 school girls and boys in schools such as Halycon High School, Jeressah High School, Bethany Girls senior Secondary School, Cross roads Soroti Senior Secondary School, Light Secondary School, Manafa Secondary School Pioneer Primary School, Aminit Vocational Institute. We have reached 120 young mothers with social material support such as clothing, soap. Out of family resources and since we started this vision in 2009, we have now registered young single mothers who have been a abandoned by the boys who impregnated them and then they run away, leaving them with no help and this group is over 3,000 young mothers in the districts where silent voices operates from.

Silent voices Uganda carries out pregnancy tests in schools when girls return after voices and many of them who are found testing positive in pregnancy are encouraged to keep the pregnancy and then return to school after delivery which has been successful.

Silent voices helped 3 girls to return to school and two of them have finished courses in teaching and Midwifery. It’s upon these that we request for your support in terms of finances, training and pregnancy facility development. We will greatly appreciate your support in any way which is possible to you.

Life Care Uganda

About Life Care – Mbale, Eastern Uganda

Life Care is a Christ-centered pregnancy ministry located in Mbale, in Uganda’s Eastern Region. Led by a compassionate and skilled senior midwife, Life Care reaches some of the most vulnerable women in the region with life-saving support and the hope of the gospel.

Each month, an average of 15 pregnant women in crisis arrive at Life Care seeking help—and even more are referred from across the region. Many are fleeing abuse, poverty, and rejection by their families or communities. Some have traveled long distances, only to find that they are turned away from health centers due to lack of funds. Others arrive starving, homeless, or too traumatized to care for themselves or their babies.

What Life Care Offers:

• Crisis pregnancy counseling

• Pregnancy testing and limited medical care

• Outreach programs to schools, churches, and communities

• Essential supplies for expectant and new mothers

• Delivery kits and medication

• Emotional and spiritual support

• Referrals for care when possible

Our Greatest Need: Shelter

The most urgent need is for a shelter—a place where mothers who have been rejected or have nowhere to go can stay after giving birth. Right now, Life Care is not able to house women even for a few days after delivery, despite many requests.

The vision is to one day expand this shelter into a full maternity home, where safe and dignified deliveries can take place under the care of our midwife. Many women in our area suffer or even die during childbirth simply because they cannot reach a health center, or they are turned away due to poverty. A Life Care maternity home would be a life-saving refuge for mothers and babies.

How You Can Help

• Emergency food and supplies for women in crisis

• Counseling and emotional care

• Outreach to educate and prevent crisis pregnancies

• Shelter for new mothers to rest and recover

• Future development of a maternity home

Life Care is a lifeline—but we cannot do this alone. Please consider partnering with us to support these mothers and protect the lives of their unborn children.

Jinja – Uganda

Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM): Caring for Unborn Children and their Mothers.

Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) was established in 2012 as a Community Based Organization (CBO) starting its services at the church premises but in 2013 we got a single room to operate from. The establishment was based on Ministry of Health (MOH) Maternal and Perinatal Death Review (MPDR) 2012/2013 which indicated gabs in service provision and therefore the gabs needed to be addressed in order to reduce on the deaths and injuries on mothers and children especially on the unborn. In the report there were 724,806 deliveries at the health facilities and 1157 died in child births. The causes of death were due to bleeding, pregnancy complication associated with high blood pressure, infections, abortions and pregnancy related sepsis among others.  

To end the avoidable causes Pregnancy Care Ministry has devised on addressing on the root causes of abortions and unplanned pregnancies with preventive and curative interventions to address the shortage of blood at the heath facilities, lack of skilled birth attendants, lack of critical resources, lack of transport for mothers to be taken to health facilities from their homes, lack of partner support, dependence on herbal use and refusal to be taken for medical treatments. 

In 2018 Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) got a permission to operate the medical health center which included a maternity home to provide life affirming reproductive health care services, alternative to abortion, new parents educations, and rescue services in a caring and conducive environment.

A SAFETY NET  

Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) helps to serve as a safety-net for men, women and children in Jinja City.  Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) aims at being a place where women, men, and children who need hope, restorations, rescue, healing of heart and peoples life’s touched in most compassionate way and in love. The services will include parents education, free pregnancy diagnosis, low cost STD testing and treatment, laboratory Tests, counseling and Guidance, prenatal vitamins, post abortion healing, sexual risk avoidance education, natural family planning, baby shower, safe health delivery (Maama Kits), ultrasound scan, livelihood skills, material & education support.

The medical and psychosocial support Services will be provided under the direction and supervision of qualified medical and psychosocial professionals who are recognized locally and internationally.

Since inception 2012 we have impacted over 50,000 young and old women and men through medical provisions, life skills trainings and sensitization, provision safety space, spiritual nourishments, counseling, education support and care.

DONATIONS

In the words of Luciano de Crescenzo “We are all like one-winged angels, it is only when we help each other that we can fly.”  Pregnancy Care Ministry appeals for donations to build a medical center which will be center to extend Gods healing hand and providence to those in dare need, your generosity and support will create lasting impact to those we serve.

Artistic Impression for Pregnancy Care Ministry (PCM) Medical Center:

Some of the stories obtained from hospital records showing avoidable causes of death and injuries to mothers and unborn children, and need for a pro-life / family medical center.  

•  A 32-year-old mother gravida 9 para 1 aborted at 5 months and developed severe anemia. She got renal failure and sepsis and passed away.
• A mother was admitted from a traditional mother attendant (TBA) with a big baby and obstructed labor and a history of having taken native medicine. She had a cesarean section but died on the operation table. A live baby boy was delivered.
• A 35-year-old pregnant mother was admitted to obesity. Injury Severity Score (ISS) and pregnancy-induced hypertension. She was treated and discharged only to be re-admitted within 7 hours after collapsing suddenly with difficulty in breathing, severe headache, palpitation ad dizziness. She shortly died after admission.
• A 24-year-old mother diagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension who had refused referral from the lower Health Center unit was admitted with eclampsia. She was delivered by cesarean section and began to convulse after c/s. she died soon after.
• A 37-year mother gravida 4 para 3 was admitted with a history of transverse lie and Arm prolapse. A cesarean section was done. She got post-partum hemorrhage and was given 1 unit of blood before she died of anemia.
• A 36-year-old mother was admitted with obstructed labor and maternal distress having been reoffered from traditional birth attendant (TBA). History showed she had not attended antenatal care. She was delivered by cesarean section and died of the shock of no obvious cause.
• A 30-year-old mother gravida 6 para 5 was referred from Health Center II where she had stayed for 2 days. She came in with both maternal exhaustion and fetal distress. A cesarean section was done but she died suddenly after the operation.
• A 14 year admitted to RRH 2 weeks before and was transfused. She was re-admitted here through the antenatal clinic critically ill with severe anemia and pregnant 20 wk. she was transfused 3 times but each time she became more jaundiced ++. She died 2 days later.
• A gravid 3 and para 2 HIV+ mother not ART with baseline CD4 of 540 cells who had collapsed suddenly for one day had been referred but refused. She had an abortion after 2 days and died.
• A 17-year-old mother was admitted after delivery in a clinic and got retained placenta. There was a delay in reaching the hospital. Manual removal of the placenta was done in the labor ward. Blood transfusion had just started when she gasped and died.        

All financial gifts received designated for our approved “alliance” affiliates will be forwarded to them in a reasonable timeframe (usually upon exceeding $250US). Heartbeat International deducts $30 plus 3% from the transfer, to help defray internal cost for money transfers, currency conversion, clerical costs, bank fees and any processing fees that might be charged. Should any funds be unable to be forwarded – primarily related to the recipient - they may be re-allocated for similar international work.

Voice for Life (Glas za Život) -  Bosnia and Herzegovina

Our vision is to help women in the situation of unplanned pregnancy, by walking alongside them in their own unique circumstances. We provide counseling, as well as emotional and material support. We also help women who have suffered reproductive loss and have had abortion/s to find healing and restoration.

These are some of our client's testimonials:

I got pregnant with my third child unexpectedly. My first thought was, oh no, how are we going to provide for this one?! I went to see a doctor and he told me I was 12 weeks pregnant. The only thought I had in my mind is to have an abortion. I thought that would be the most responsible decision. Still, I had my doubts, so I decided to look for answers online. There I found your FB page, and I read that you help women in crisis pregnancy.

I called you, and you were so patient and kind to me. I talked to my husband after that and we both agree that we actually want this baby and that we will manage to provide for her somehow. Now after A was born, we couldn’t imagine our lives without her. Thank you so much for being there for me and for encouraging me to make the right decision.

At the beginning of our relationship, everything was “perfect”. He was kind, gentle and loving. However, the moment I told him I was pregnant, he completely changed. He said he could pay for my abortion and that things can go back to how they were before. I was raised Catholic, and I knew that abortion was wrong. I told myself that I will not have one. Still, I didn’t know what to do. I went to the priest and I asked for help. He told me he could refer me to some people who could help. He connected me to a lady who then connected me to your center. Words can’t express how grateful I am that you paid my rent for all of those months when I couldn’t afford a place to stay. I’m forever grateful to you all for providing a safe place for me and my daughter.

Through “Save One” that you offered me as a tool for healing I discovered some wounds that I was still carrying around. Through all of this, I’ve learned (and I’m still learning) the following:

• I believe that God forgave me in His mercy, even though I remember and cry about it sometimes.
• I have to accept forgiveness, not because of my own merit, but by the grace of God.
• I want to move on trusting that I will help someone else change their view on unborn life.

Center for Life LIGHTHOUSE (Centar za Život SVJETIONIK) – Bosnia and Hercegovina

 WHO ARE WE?

The LIGHTHOUSE Center for Life, the first pro-life registered center in the nation of Bosnia and Hercegovina since 2001, is managed by Robert and Sara (Sandrina) Jurjevich. The LIGHTHOUSE offers information and education for women about pregnancy, regardless of whether it is planned or unplanned. Through our educational activities and workshops, we aim to answer the questions that pregnant moms have concerning their pregnancy and how to prepare for the most precious gift in life – parenthood.

The highest priority of the LIGHTHOUSE ministry is to offer hope to women facing a crisis pregnancy and to offer alternatives to abortion, which is considered the main birth-control remedy in Bosnian society.

Testimony: “I was in a situation where I already had one baby of 14 months and found myself quickly with an unplanned pregnancy with a second baby. I was hit with fear and worry. What now? It was too soon…would I be able to handle it or not, because there was little difference … I have no help … I have no one … I will go crazy … I will fall into a depression. I cried and said to myself I did not wish for or want an abortion. By chance, I then came across the website of the LIGHTHOUSE! While seeking advice I wondered why this website? How could they help me? I received support through counseling and understanding. The pregnancy calendar I received prevailed, and I did not decide on an abortion. Through it, I learned so much that I didn’t know about. I highly recommend the LIGHTHOUSE! To everyone who finds themselves in similar circumstances and does not know what decision to make, contact the LIGHTHOUSE!” – I.G., Sarajevo

‘PREPARE FOR YOUR BABY’ PREGNANCY WORKSHOPS. Throughout the year the LIGHTHOUSE team offers a course of 6 consecutive weekly workshops for pregnant moms where we discuss the development of their baby in the 2^nd and 3^rd trimesters of pregnancy; the importance of a healthy diet and exercise; preparation for the birth of the child; and, what to expect in the first weeks after birth.

In the workshops, we provide pregnant moms with a nine-month pregnancy calendar called ‘The Miracle of Life’ which walks them through the details of their pregnancy month by month. Additionally, at the end of the workshop, the attendees receive a gift bag filled with items they will need for the baby.

Testimony: “All the information, examples, exercises were useful in preparation for giving birth, staying calm, understanding my body through each stage of development. The breathing exercises were most important for me during my own experience in giving birth because I was able to control the pain and helped myself and the baby.” – Samka M. H., Sarajevo

We stay in touch with the moms up to the first birthday of their child.

OTHER SERVICES OF THE LIGHTHOUSE

• Counseling after a stillbirth or crib death
• Post-abortion healing classes
• Humanitarian aid for single moms and families in need of food, clothing, firewood, etc.
• Online counseling
• Publishing books and literature focused on pregnancy issues