Pregnancy Resource Center in Menomonie offers information about women’s choices
Since Roe vs. Wade was overturned, pregnancy resource centers (PRC) have been in the spotlight, sometimes being the target of malicious speech and being maligned by the spread of misinformation.
Options for Women Menomonie (OFWM) is a Dunn County pregnancy resource center located in Menomonie. This type of center is different from Planned Parenthood clinics in that pregnancy resource centers discuss with their clients all aspects of the different choices they have – about pregnancy, adoption, and abortion. Although OFWM does not refer for or provide abortions, what a woman decides is strictly up to her. There is no judgment, only care and respect for the client and concern for her and her circumstances.
“At Options for Women Menomonie, we provide more than a service at our pregnancy help center, we provide a family. We aim to build relationships and support moms and dads through pregnancy and beyond…We offer confidential pregnancy tests and pregnancy Options information about pregnancy, parenting, abortion, and adoption…We are a listening and caring non-judgmental support system…” as stated on their website. optionsmenomonie.com.
OFWM provides information about pregnancy, abortion, parenting, adoption, sexual health and sexual risk, family planning, etc. This includes information on the changes a woman’s body goes through during pregnancy, how the fetus grows and develops in the womb, and what both the woman and the baby experience during the various abortion procedures. OFWM uses the “A Woman’s Right to Know…” publication from the Wisconsin Department of Public Health, and resources from Heritage House and Focus on the Family. OFWM also provides information about community resources for housing, food, clothing, health care, child care, mental health concerns, etc. OFWM offers free in-person and online classes dealing with pregnancy, parenting and child development, and life skills such as financial stability, employment, and healthy relationships. Grief support after miscarriage, stillbirth and abortion, and sexual trauma and abuse support are also provided. All services are confidential and free of charge.
Laurie Christianson, a Dunn County resident was quoted saying this about Options for Women – Menomonie: “Ronda Luna (OFWM Executive Director ) stresses the importance of helping the women who walk through their facility to feel welcomed and have a feeling that they truly care for them and their situation. They are non-judgmental, supportive, full of compassion and love, and that is crucial for a pregnancy in a woman’s life.”
There are two basic types of pregnancy resource centers (PRC). The first type offers free basic services including, but not limited to the following: self-administered pregnancy tests (medical grade, CLIA waiver), pregnancy options information, parenting classes, sexual health information, baby supplies, cribs, etc., community and other resource information such as job-seeking, food and housing assistance, and financial opportunities such as grants. OFWM is this type of PRC. The second type of PRC is often referred to as a pregnancy resource clinic or pregnancy help clinic, and offers one or more of the following in addition the services listed above: limited obstetrical ultrasounds (not diagnostic) which are performed to locate a heartbeat, age, and positioning of the fetus, STI testing and treatment, and prenatal exams. Medical services in these PRC’s are overseen by a licensed medical doctor, a RN, and trained sonographer or RDMS. Clients are always told to consult their own health care providers.
Options for Women Menomonie is not currently a medical clinic. Their focus is education/information and support, both relational and material. All services are confidential and provided at no cost to the client. Their Earn While You Learn Program (EWYL) allows moms (and dads) to complete lessons about pregnancy, parenting, life skills, etc., and earn points they can redeem for baby items, clothing, supplies, and personal care items. Lessons can be completed in person or virtually. The pregnancy tests at OFWM are self-administered by the clients, and are permitted and approved via a CLIA Waiver awarded by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a division of the US Health and Human Services Department). OFWM is not currently offering medical services and since all services are free they are not required to abide by HIPAA regulations, OFWM does maintain strict client confidentiality and never shares client information of any kind without permission from the client.
Currently Options for Women Menomonie has two part time staff, six regularly scheduled volunteers, and five board members. Staff and volunteers go through an application process and an extensive training prior to working with clients. OFWM follows best practices – staff and volunteers read, sign, and follow the policy and procedures manual, undergo background checks, sign confidentiality policies, answer to a governing board, follow bylaws, use encrypted software, and follow government rules of privacy. Volunteers who work directly with clients go through extensive training including a certification process through Elevate Life from Bloomington MN. The certification includes two 8 hour days of training, additional training videos, a minimum of 16 hours shadowing/observing, and safety training. OFWM also requires additional training using BrightCourse training modules, as well as continuing education.
OFWM routinely serves approximately 12 clients enrolled in the EWYL programs at any given time. At the time this article was written, more than 16 clients delivered babies, two are currently pregnant, five have come in for pregnancy options discussions, and several have participated in grief support groups for miscarriage, early infant loss, and/or post-abortion recovery. Many others have received resources, information, referrals and material supplies without continuing in parenting or other programs.
According to the Insider, (“What the data says about abortion in the U.S.,”Jan.11,2023) there were 807 abortion centers in the US in 2020. This number does not include hospitals and physicians’ offices that provide abortions. The CDC reported that for 2019, there were almost 620,000 abortions in the US – 39% were Black, 21% Hispanic, 33% White, 7% other races and 8% were teens (ages 13 to 19). The total number does not include the number of induced abortions due to abortion pills outside clinical settings. There are 2,700 pregnancy centers located throughout the US. Seventy percent of the pregnancy resource centers (PRC) offer free ultrasounds.
There are different abortion procedures based-on the gestational age of the baby. The woman has a chemical abortion (2 abortion pills) or a surgical abortion (some form of sedation or anesthesia is used, Dilation and curettage(D&C)). In addition, the ‘morning after pill’ is used before pregnancy is even determined. Early in pregnancy, the “abortion pill” or RU486 is used and followed by a second ‘pill’, Misoprostol. Prior to 14 weeks gestation, dilation and curettage (scraping of the uterus) and vacuum aspiration (suction process) is also used. Abortions occurring after 14 weeks use a dilation and evacuation process (baby and placenta removed using forceps and/or suction curettage, sometimes requiring the infant to be dismembered). This information about abortion comes directly from “A Woman’s Right To Know…”, a publication of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. This publication is used as a resource by OFWM, and is available online at www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p4/p40074.pdf.
There is a misconception that the U.S. Supreme Court took away a woman’s right to abortion. The USSC gave back the right to decide the abortion issue to the states. Before Roe vs. Wade, abortion was not a federal issue as each state decided what abortion laws were appropriate for their constituents.
Former Georgia Representative, Stacy Abrams recently stated that “There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks” and “It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have the right to take control of a woman’s body away from her.” According to Medical News Today, (“When does a fetus have a heartbeat?” Jan.6, 2023). ”The heart of an embryo starts to beat from around 5 to 6 weeks of pregnancy.” At this stage it is possible to see the first visible sign of the embryo, known as the fetal pole. By the fifth week, the heart is made up of two tubes that have fused in the middle and begins to beat. After eight weeks the embryo is referred to as a fetus. By the tenth week, the fetus’s heart is fully developed.
Some PRC’s have curriculum with faith components but do not require clients to participate in those modules. Nor do they refuse services based on a client’s religion or a certain belief. Prayer is offered if clients request it, but services offered are not contingent on any faith or belief system.
Many centers throughout the U.S. just want to help women make an informed decision and want to support these women in a variety of ways, yet many of these centers have been physically vandalized, experienced cyber-attacks on their websites, and have been harassed since the Supreme Court reversed Roe vs. Wade.
The reason that PRC’s exist is to help women through a stressful, uncertain time in their life. They are there to provide support and information on all the different choices the woman has for her pregnancy, the woman chooses the option that is right for her. PRC’s hope is to provide an alternative to abortion. — Submitted by JoAnn Utphall
