By Marlene Quaroni - Florida Catholic

HOLLYWOOD | Because of generous donations toward an ultrasound machine, pregnant women and girls coming to the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center can now see their unborn babies on a large screen television.

“We’ve dreamt of having an ultrasound machine for several years,” said Sandi Le Bel, the center’s program coordinator. “This was made possible through generous donations from many different individuals and groups.”

One of those groups came to the center recently to present a $3,000 check to help pay for the machine’s operating costs.

Mike Thomas, Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus Holy Spirit Council 6032, along with seven other members of the council and Father Andrew Chan-A-Sue, pastor of St. Bartholomew Parish, presented the check to Le Bel April 20. Council members come from St. Bartholomew and St. Stephen Church, both in Miramar.

The center received the new $28,000 ESAOTE My Lab Six ultrasound machine in October 2015. In March, the center hired a part-time technician to run the machine. The technician, Marcella Villegas, has worked at medical facilities but decided to work for less than the going rate at the pregnancy center.

“I’m helping women to keep their babies,” said Villegas, the mother of two little girls. “Although I’m taking a pay cut, doing this is more rewarding.”

Le Bel explained that the pregnancy help center is not a medical facility. The ultrasound is strictly for pregnant women to see their baby. Dr. Mary Jo O’Sullivan, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist, oversees all five of the Archdiocese of Miami’s pregnancy help centers.

“We’re here to dispel the lies about unborn babies and abortion,” she said. “Their baby is not just a blob. We help women find other choices for crisis pregnancies with love and support.”

The South Broward center was formerly located at 5600 Hollywood Boulevard. It is now part of Our Lady of Hope Expectant Life Center at 4747 Hollywood Boulevard, which opened in October 2015. An anonymous donor gave the 5,000-square foot facility to the Respect Life Ministry, said Joan Crown, Respect Life director. Archbishop Thomas Wenski blessed the new “life center” Dec. 18, 2015.

The center includes the Respect Life Ministry’s administrative office, which oversees the archdiocese’s five Pregnancy Help Centers. The South Broward Center is the third center to obtain an ultrasound machine.

“The building was badly in need of repair,” said Crown. “The roof leaked and the structure needed to be painted. Volunteers helped with most of the repairs. I helped paint the interior of the building and performed other tasks. Just about everything in the center was donated.”  

Rooms at the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center are named for individuals and churches that have donated money, time and goods, Crown said.

Le Bel pointed out two framed pictures hanging on a wall in the Project Rachel Room, where women who have had abortions are counseled. One picture is a little boy and the other a little girl picking flowers. Their backs are turned so you don’t see their faces.

“The donor said she found the pictures in her garage,” said Le Bel. “They turned out to be surprisingly appropriate pictures for the room.”

In addition to the donation from the Knights Council 6032, Annunciation Church’s Council 4851 recently donated $1,600 and Council 13097 from Little Flower Church in Hollywood donated $500 to the center.

The center also receives funding from the Florida Pregnancy Support Service Program created by former Fla. Governor Jeb Bush. Faith-based centers, not abortion providers, receive money from the initiative to run their programs.

The Knights’ Thomas addressed the importance of the pregnancy help center by recalling a talk he had with a stranger at St. Bartholomew after Mass.

“He asked, ‘Didn’t I see you at the blessing of the South Broward Pregnancy Help Center?’” Thomas said. “He told me that he came from the Bahamas to see his daughter’s newborn baby. She had thought about having an abortion but changed her mind after receiving counseling at the pregnancy help center. The man was very emotional and close to tears as he told me the story.”