Live ultrasound at Life Choices banquet demonstrates how 'Life Matters'

The eighth annual Life Choices Fundraising Dinner provided a glimpse at the center's future -- providing free ultrasounds to clients. The live ultrasound conducted by registered sonographer Bridgett Hopgood enabled the audience to see not only the head, spine, beating heart, ribs, stomach and face of the 14-week-old baby but also see it flip, wave a hand and point a finger.

It's through access to ultrasound technology that "95 percent of women look at those hands and heartbeat and say, 'Life Matters,'" said featured speaker Austin Boyd, using the theme of the eighth annual Life Choices Fundraising Dinner.

The Nov. 15-16 event provided a total of $68,474 -- $36,179 in pledges and $32,295 in one-time gifts, which includes underwriting -- for Life Choices Pregnancy Support Center.

The live ultrasound conducted during the fund-raiser showed how Life Choices is "heading in the direction of a dream come true -- its own ultrasound equipment," said Beverly Green, the event's master of ceremonies who has also been part of Life Choices since it began in 2000.

With ultrasound, Life Choices will be able to confirm intrauterine pregnancy and gestational age. "Our hope is that as a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy sees what is inside her, she will be empowered to choose life," said Reni Bumpas, the center's executive director.

And through the five P's of crisis pregnancy in why life matters, Boyd said, those present could be part of that choice.

Those five P's are passion, prayers, promises, priorities and partners. And while they could pertain to young ladies who find themselves in a crisis pregnancy, "that's not why I came," Boyd said. He came to use his own testimony to discuss the importance of getting involved and making a difference.

"You may be wondering why a guy with my background -- Navy pilot, nuclear weapons officer, spacecraft engineer, satellite designer, NASA astronaut finalist, inventor, author -- is here in Dyersburg talking about life," Boyd said. "We need more men to take a stand. None of those girls who come in (to a crisis-pregnancy center) are virgins. We tend to minimalize the man's part (and make it) about her crisis pregnancy and the mistake she's made. Where's the guy and his testimony?"

Boyd's testimony begins in 1974, when he became a Christian while attending college. It was shortly after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, the pro-life movement was just under way and Boyd realized abortion wasn't right. Later, as he became a husband and each time he became a father, he became more and more convicted that abortion was wrong. He did what he could -- providing financial support to the local crisis-pregnancy center.

And he felt that he was doing his part ... until he visited friends John and Debra Giles. Debra asked what he thought of the pro-life movement and what he was doing to show what he believes.

"That really got me," he said. "When I was 12, I was in the woods and heard a voice in my heart say, 'You will do something that makes a difference.' I had been hanging on to that for years and years and years."

A few weeks after visiting the Giles, Boyd took his kids to school and having to take a different route, he saw some ladies picketing against abortion. He wanted to do something for them; so he went and got flowers for each.

"I got a parking space and as soon as I got out of the car, there was a man with a shotgun in my face telling me to get out," Boyd said. "I told him what I was there for; he told me to leave."

The man was a police officer. The ladies were picketing in front of an abortion clinic and Boyd had parked next door; they were a little too close to not be observing the picketing law. "Thirty years later, at the age of 45, in God's amazing humor," Boyd found how he could make a difference -- for the next two years, he went to that abortion clinic every Wednesday and picketed with those ladies.

"Abortion clinics are all about money -- not the right to choose," Boyd said. "On Jan. 23 five years ago -- the 29th anniversary of Roe v. Wade -- the clinic closed. I went to Choose Life (the crisis-pregnancy center in Huntsville) and told them there are two things I know -- how to raise money and buildings."

In the time since, and through many obstacles, Boyd has seen, and helped, Choose Life grow from a small office to a permanent facility, from a pregnancy test center to providing ultrasounds. Its journey, Boyd said, is similar to that of Life Choices.

"I have a passion for this ministry because I've seen it can make an incredible difference," he said. "When you make a priority in life, you will make a change."

And because that change will be faced with opposition, Boyd encouraged Life Choices supporters to "unite in prayer."

"Every one of you has a plan in God's book," Boyd said. "Each of you is here because you were drawn for a particular reason -- to make a difference."

That difference can be made by partnering with Life Choices. With the ministry in the process of converting to a medical clinic, the opportunities to be a partner have grown. Boyd emphasized three -- be a prayer partner, be a volunteer and be a financial partner.

* There are several ways to volunteer:

Boyd commented on the number of women involved with Life Choices. He emphasized the importance of men becoming more involved as volunteers. Once again using his own experiences, he told of his first college girlfriend. After several weeks of dating, they slept together and a short while later he broke up with her in an ugly and public way. The following semester, he said, she wasn't the same person. As he became older and wiser, he realized what effect the breakup -- and the way he did it -- may have had. What if she was pregnant with his child and had an abortion? Is he the father of an aborted baby? He doesn't know. But he does know there are several other men who may be in the same position. He encouraged men to think about that and help make a difference either by volunteering their time or their wallets.

Bumpas mentioned a way pregnant women can help Life Choices. Volunteers are needed to serve as models in the training of sonographers; the ultrasound will be free. Training will be held in January and "if all those things go according to plan, we should be able to provide free ultrasounds to our clients by the beginning of February," she said.

In addition, Life Choices is seeking recipes for a community cookbook to be sold in the spring. The deadline is Feb. 14, 2008.

Volunteers are also needed for other areas at Life Choices -- liaisons; crisis prayer-chain members; new client advocates and folks who can help with office work, mail-outs and cleaning. Client advocates have one-on-one contact with clients; training will be held in February. "Those who would like to volunteer can call (center director) Erin Hollingsworth," Bumpas said. "In fact, you can get your feet wet by beginning to volunteer in all sorts of ways now and then possibly begin working with clients after the training."

* During the dinner, Life Choices introduced several ways to be a financial partner:

each month, donate the monetary equivalent of a tank of gas.

cover or help with the cost of a $20,000 Shimadzu ultrasound machine or the $10,000 for ultrasound training.

donate $5 to $15 monthly. If 300 to 600 people provided that, all of Life Choices' budget needs would be met.

become a part of the new "Sponsor a Day" campaign, which allows donors to sponsor a day that is special to them and help in that day's expenses at Life Choices. That $545 is broken into 12 monthly payments of $45. There's also the option of sponsoring a half a day for $272.50, or $22.70 monthly. The sponsor decides which day of the year they would like to sponsor. It can be done in honor of a birthday, anniversary or other significant day or in memory of someone.

"Because of your support, somebody is always there for a girl who needs help," Boyd said. "I encourage you to make a difference. This is a chance to do something to change lives."

Life Choices plans to make DVDs of "Life Matters" available for a $5 donation. For more information on any Life Choices fund-raiser or program, call 286-4673 or visit www.lifechoicesdyersburg.com.