St. Louis, Mo., Jul 18, 2019 / 03:01 am (CNA).- With a law banning abortions after roughly eight weeks of pregnancy and one remaining abortion clinic whose licensure is being debated in court, Missouri has been described as a state “hostile” to abortion.
“The state makes it extremely hostile for an abortion facility to remain open,” Ushma Upadhyay, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California San Francisco, told Vox for a story on the last abortion clinic in the state.
While the state may be increasingly restricting abortions, it has numerous programs that provide a wealth of resources and support to thousands of women in need each year who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant, pro-life advocates told CNA.
“Our aim is for those moms who want to give life to their baby, we provide them with all sorts of alternatives (to abortion),” Michael Meehan, Executive Director of Good Shepherd Children and Family Services in St. Louis, told CNA.
Good Shepherd is one of eight agencies operated through Catholic Charities in St. Louis that are available to pregnant women in need, and provide them with a variety of resources and support, including housing, education classes and scholarships, counseling, and substance abuse recovery.
Good Shepherd itself has a maternity shelter and transitional living program for teen and young adult moms, who may otherwise be homeless, that can accommodate 14 mom and 20 babies, for just a few days or up to a year or longer, depending on the needs of the moms and children, Meehan said.
Besides group and individual counseling, on-staff nurses, and classes on life skills, parenting, and child development, completing a high school education is a requirement for moms in the program, Meehan told CNA.
“That’s a mandatory part of being here is re-engaging in your education. It opens and closes the single biggest bunch of doors for independence,” Meehan said. Thus, Good Shepherd has a full-time education advocate who is a certified teacher, and helps any mom who has not yet completed high school or gotten her GED.
There is also a home visitation program for women who have housing but need other kinds of support throughout their pregnancy, Meehan said. Good Shepherd provides those women with case management, crisis management for problems such as domestic violence, connection to good health care, and referrals to additional needed resources.
And because abuse and neglect prevention is a core part of Good Shepherd’s program, they can continue providing support through home visits until the youngest child in the home is three years old, he added.
“We want to ensure that moms and babies get the best possible start in life,” Meehan said.
They also have foster care and adoption services for women who feel that they are unable to parent their child but still want to provide a better life for them, Meehan said.
“We’re hopeful that we can get the word out that adoption is an option for women who might otherwise consider abortion,” he said.
When asked if he had noticed an increase in women seeking services from Good Shepherd in light of there being one remaining abortion clinic in the state, Meehan said that they have noticed an increase, but that they are unsure whether it is directly connected to the closing abortion clinics.
According to data from 2005 from the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-choice organization, the top three reasons that women seek abortions are: having a child would interfere with education, work or ability to care for dependents (74%); that she could not afford a baby now (73%); and that she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48%).
Knowing these statistics, Meehand said that it is Good Shepherd’s goal to help women remove as many of these obstacles as possible so that they can keep their babies.
“We are about removing perceived obstacles,” he said, “which typically isn’t a baby. It’s a violent relationship, it’s pending homelessness, it’s deep and desperate poverty, it’s a perception that this is impossible, I’m just not going to be able to do it, the baby would be better off not being brought into the world.”
In recent years, Meehan said, Good Shepherd has done even more work to “get the word out” about their services so that women know what resources are available to them.
“The message is that the Church wants to control women, the Church doesn’t care about women, the Church only cares about women until they’re born and then couldn’t care less,” Meehan said. Those messages are easily proved false, he said, “if anybody bothered to look a smidge more deeply.”
And it’s not just the Catholic Church, or even religious organizations, that are providing life-affirming help to women and children in the St. Louis area.
Birthright of St. Louis is a secular non-profit that does not accept state or federal government funding. The goal of the agency is to provide women with the care and support that they need to be able to handle unexpected pregnancies, and to offer life-affirming alternatives to abortion.
“We just focus on the woman one-on-one,” Maureen Zink, the executive director of Birthright in St. Louis, told CNA.
“Our focus is that you have to be a quiet place where women can come where they don’t feel like you have an agenda and just talk about why this pregnancy is so hard for them,” she said.
Birthright provides a variety of services to women free of charge, Zink said, including professional counseling, pregnancy testing, and financial aid and scholarships for women who are still in school.
They also have a program called Melissa Smiles, which supports mothers whose children are disabled and connects them to the resources that they need, she said.
“Pretty much anything a woman needs, we’ll work with her,” Zink said. “We love to be able to take care of the women, so that they can take care of their babies. The goal is that they’ll be able to provide a loving, safe, and nurturing healthy home for their babies.”
Every service provided by Birthright is free, Zink said, but women do not necessarily have to demonstrate a financial need to seek out help from the agency.
“There’s college women that find out that they’re pregnant and they’re overwhelmed and they need help sorting it out,” Zink said.
Zink said that she has not noticed an uptick in women seeking services from Birthright in light of the closure of all but one abortion clinic; things have remained “pretty steady.”
“I think our services will always be needed no matter what the laws are,” she added.
Mary Varni, program manager with the Respect Life Apostolate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, sent CNA a list of resources, both Catholic and secular, that they use to help connect women facing unexpected pregnancies with the resources that they need.
Varni noted that while many women in crisis pregnancies are poor, financial stability is often not the only thing they need.
“Based on our experience, if a woman is pregnant and concerned about her financial situation, she may also be concerned about the safety of the residence or neighborhood in which the child will grow up, the education the child will be able to receive, the child’s health care, or even basic needs like food and shelter,” she said.
“There is help to address all of these concerns, and by sharing the resources we know can help with the women we serve, we hope they will see that life is the right choice.”
Besides Good Shepherd, Catholic Charities in St. Louis also operates three additional shelters, Varni said: the Queen of Peace Center, which offers family-centered behavioral health care for women (and their children) who are overcoming substance use disorders; the St. Patrick Center, which helps people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless; and Marygrove, which offers an independent housing program that provides shelter and services to pregnant teens and young adults.
Furthermore, the Respect Life Apostolate offers the Blessed Theresa of Calcutta fund, which offers financial aid to expectant or recent parents within the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
There is also Our Lady’s Inn, which shelters and supports homeless women and their babies, and Thrive St. Louis, a women’s clinic that provides pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, parenting and life-skills classes, and referrals for housing, medical care, counseling, utility assistance, food and more.
The Society of St Vincent DePaul in St. Louis also provides food and financial resources, such as assistance with housing and transportation, to those in need, Varni said. They are also currently considering a closer partnership with Good Shepherd to more directly assist pregnant women and families in need.
Varni said that when a woman comes to the apostolate or the archdiocese for help, their first job is to listen to what those women are struggling with.
“We let them know they are not alone in their struggles, which is why there are so many resources available to assist with their needs, and alternatives to abortion that can help support a healthy life for their baby,” she said.
“We remind them that their pregnancy is a gift from God, and that He chose them to carry their baby for a reason He knows better than all of us—and that because He loves them, there is always hope. They will be able to overcome the challenges they are facing.”
The licensure of Missouri’s last operating abortion clinic, a Planned Parenthood in St. Louis, is still being debated in court. The next hearing over the clinic’s license is not until October, and a judge has ruled that the clinic can still offer abortions through that hearing.
But despite some of the hand-wringing over what could be the closure of the last abortion clinic in the state, Meehan said it would be a good thing – and that women will still get the help that they need, through the many services available in the state.
“People lose track of the fact that…we’re talking about well over 600,000 babies dying every year (from abortion),” he said. “That’s a lot.”
“If Planned Parenthood disappeared today, the need of our population could be met, that’s not an issue. They’re not nearly as indispensable as they would have us believe.”
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Bravo.
Response (or lack thereof) should be interesting.
The adage is “don’t ask for permission, but later for forgiveness.” But, an apology only, or what else?
Besides, the IOC might harmonize polarities—a recent theological trick—by suggesting that the float was “non-liturgical, spontaneous, and therefore not scandalizing” (why not bless the float, two-by-two, under Fiducia Supplicans?). The sin is not only anti-religious blasphemy, but also an underlying STUPIDITY. Or, maybe the French novelist Georges Bernanos is even more perceptive:
“The modern world will shortly no longer possess sufficient spiritual reserves to commit genuine evil. Already . . . we can witness a lethal slackening of men’s conscience that is attacking not only their moral life, but also their very heart and mind, altering and decomposing even their imagination . . . The menacing crisis is one of INFANTILISM.” (Interview with Samedi-Soir, Nov. 8, 1947, cited in Hans Urs von Balthasar, “Bernanos: An Ecclesial Existence” [San Francisco: Ignatius, 1996], 457, caps added).
For an historical take on blasphemy/stupidity/infantilism on the Seine, yours truly humbly suggests my own letter to the IOC (July 30), found in the thread to an earlier CWR article: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/07/27/how-the-olympic-committee-violated-its-own-charter/ From a back-bleachers layman! Very synodal, that.
So, in addition to a minimal apology, how about restitution from the IOC for violating its own charter? Maybe an IOC resignation, plus housecleaning of float organizer Thomas Joystick or whatever.
It does not matter so much that we mere humans are offended but that God was mocked. Those who committed these blasphemies should be called to repent, lest they be cast into Hell. The IOC sins grievously against the first of the commandments, and they will be held to account before God, if not by men. Now I applaud the small cadre of bishops for their letter, but it could have been stronger. And yet, the letter is much louder than our pontiff’s voice, which remains silent in the face of this international blasphemy. Perhaps he is ambivalent and is still in a hangover from his Pachamama blessing, or perhaps he is embarrassed, as he had just endorsed the Olympics for its peacefulness. Perhaps there are prelates inside the Vatican whispering in our pontiff’s ear, who, like Sr Jeanne Grammick, are looking for an angle of endorsement “I applaud the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence for their financial assistance to those in need. I support them because of all their good works.” That quote is from last year. Maybe someone is waiting for the IOC to make a donation (of sorts) to the Vatican, and then all will be OK.
“It is hard to understand how the faith of 2 billion people can be so casually and intentionally blasphemed” say the prelates.
WRONG – It is NOT hard AT ALL to understand. Can we at least agree on that much?
Thomas Jolly and Anne Descamps – you could at least have the decency to admit what is obvious to anyone with half a brain – you INTENTIONALLY meant to offend billions of Christians.
For what seems to be the umpteenth time – has the pope had anything to say about this? 8 days after the fact that doesn’t seem like too much to ask for.
Or does it?
Addendum – Apology?
Don’t hold your breath.
How telling that the saying of the centuries old Latin Mass is apparently more offensive to Bergoglio than this evil mockery of Christ in His holiest of Sacraments.
Acceptable to Bergoglio:
Abominable Paris blasphemy.
Rupnik abuses, both sexual and artistic.
Martin and others encouraging sinful acts.
Not acceptable to Bergoglio:
The celebration of traditional form of the Mass in which Christ Jesus Himself is praised and adored.
What does that tell us?
I wonder. If this same group had submitted an application to mockingly act out verses from the Koran, would it have been approved? Of course, we know the answer. Only Christians are fair game.
Athanasius, may I suggest that Christians are fair game for freemasons in France ever since the genocidal Freemasonic coupe d’état described as a “Revolution” sought to eliminate them?
Even if a raunchy parody of Muslims had been approved it would probably be the last time. There would be consequences far greater than polite letters from clergy.
Exactly my thought. I can imagine a similarly extremely offensive “parody” and what the reactions would be ..
The Good News amidst the bad – that many would have obtained the Portiuncula indulgence today – https://spiritdaily.org/blog/news/how-can-you-get-the-portiuncula-indulgence-tomorrow
France and Francis and Francis … Holy Father visiting the amusement park to remind the persons there that they too are capable of being set free from undue attachments to creatures which is the temporal punishment of sins that are removed through indulgences , to strengthen our ‘bones ‘ of holy relationship with the Famly of heaven ..The bears who came to tear up the children who mocked Prophet Elisha – our times too , millions have been torn up by the bears of scorn and mockery towards God and the Sacraments …the call to bring them all again and again unto The Mother – to her many manifestations of the role given her in France alone – The Immaculate Conception – to be set free from the carnal flood waters of our times …manifested by those who are drowning in same… Lord never tires of throwing the ring of His holiness and Love unto us ..and tell us to be ever ready to be struck on the other cheek for doing same ..to keep at it without expecting honor from those who indirectly are demanding that they be seen as family in excess of tolerance without any demands of love as responsibility …
The Winning Family of Heaven – Sts Francis , Holy Fmly and all – flood waters of that Love to wash out the dragon waters … in the hidden springs of holiness such as at Lourdes and The Immaculate Conception … Glory be!
I will leave the link to the video of an Eastern Orthodox priest (based in California) speaking about the blasphemy and those who designed it. He also speaks about so-called “apology” (I agree with him and this is why I do not care about “apologies” from those people)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEMx33nsIyA
That they could only gather 27 out of thousands of bishops is itself a scandal.
I don’t think there will be an apology.
In any case, I think an apology won’t do.
Heads need to roll.
The Eastern Orthodox priest has it right.
I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it happens.
No desire to denigrate? No intention of disrespect? It’s unfathomable that anyone with a functioning brain can be that clueless.
Oh, and btw, if there was an outraged response from James Martin, SJ, the go-to guy for all matters rainbow, I must have missed it. I’m serious when I say, please, someone, let me know if he commented, and if so, how. Apparently, a response from the current pontiff is still forthcoming.
Or, maybe NOT a direct response from Pope Francis or from any pope? Would such an action be twisted to confer a kind of equivalence and legitimacy to a tribe of lunatics floating through Paris or wherever?
Another proposition is that the Holy Spirit already works in subtle but concrete ways…
The demand for an apology comes from bishops from around the world (just as the Olympic Games include nations from around the world). And the demand was possibly fostered by Cardinal Burke who, by incoherent circumstance, no longer lives in the Vatican. And, therefore, now is more free to say what must be said without engaging in an historic pissing contest between the perennial Catholic Church and moral mutants feeding on what’s left of the West.
The brief letter also evangelizes clearly and concisely, in only a few sentences, rather than in thousands of unread words on Vatican letterhead. The only fly in the ointment (fly, so to speak), is the earlier Vatican blessing of irregular “couples” under Fiducia Supplicans… butt surely pairs of drag queens are not to be excluded.
Better that oblique harmonizers of “polarities” stay out of this.
I would like to know if there was a pre parade briefing for the press as to the theme and nature of the depiction. Also what were the actors told by the artistic creators as to what they were portraying? If they say it was a pagan scene why the discrepancy? Why the misunderstanding? It seems that “there is something rotten in the state of Denmark “
I think that an apology will not be issued. The designers of the Opening Ceremonies will continue to insist that their display had nothing to do with Christianity.
So instead of continuing to demand an apology, I think we should drop it and concentrate on getting devout Catholic and Protestant Christians involved with planning/designing the 2028 Olympics which will be held in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. I know that there are plenty of Catholics who have experience and expertise in designing/managing large events–put out the call for them to get involved with the 2028 Olympics, especially those who live in/near L.A. We need to act rather than react, volunteer rather than boycott, and pray rather than fuss. I fear that if Christians choose to avoid any involvement with the Olympics, as well as other secular “big events” (e.g., anything in entertainment, or sports), and instead, wait til the offence is committed before we cry out “Foul!”, we will continue to see even greater offences against what and WHO we know to be sacred. The reason there are so many beautiful works of architecture and art in Europe is that Catholics designed and built them!
If they truly believe that it had nothing to do with Christianity make them prove it? What were the actors told that they were representing? Was the press briefed beforehand as to what it was all about? What scenario did the artistic creators present to those who made decisions about the presentation? Things were known, decisions were made and the people involved should be held accountable.
If you had to debate this issue from their point of view, what would you say?
I see that the Biden-Harris administration got the message re their odious deal with the 9/11 organizer.
Didn’t pussyfoot around pleading for/demanding an apology either.
An apology will not happen, primarily because they operate with no moral framework and no religious sensibility of right and wrong. So, we have the defaming of the Last Supper. Then we have the attack on normal sexuality by their allowing men to pummel women in physical contact sports, which could easily end in injury or death to the genuinely female opponent.But of course death appears to be preferable to these folks, compared to telling a small and clearly mentally ill minority that not only is allowing them to compete physically dangerous for their opponent, but also gives them a grossly unfair advantage to win. How much of a “win” is it, when you win by cheating? In my opinion, none. Its clear we are on a path to eliminating womens sports. Trying to continue in this way will inevitably end in tragedy. Sadly I do believe that for their own safety, women athletes should refuse to compete when paired with a male opponent. Finally, all people should be making their voices on this issue heard loud and clear to your political representatives. The democrats have been pandering to this abnormality and trying to normalize it for years. Its disgusting. Good old Joe Biden has just pushed through the changes in title 9 allowing bio men to change in womens locker rooms and play on womens teams at our public schools. To the parents of young women: no scholarship is worth the potential danger and sexual harassment of your daughter in this situation. Remember which party has been pushing this through when next you vote.Only the blind cant see this is a societal turning point.