As we approach the holiday season head on, I had planned to make a blog post about thankfulness and gratitude. However, supporting local women and families these past few weeks have steered me in a different direction – domestic violence.

Many of us are making our holiday grocery lists and contemplating whether to splurge and put that Christmas tree up early. Unbeknownst to us, a woman down the road is carefully crafting an escape plan in her head. She is slowly gathering spare cash in the pockets of dirty jeans and coins in the floorboard of the car. She is slowly adding a few sets of clothes for her children that will not be missed. She adds them to her escape bag. She slowly waits for the perfect time when he will be gone and she can leave.

The reality of the holiday season is that many families in our area are walking on eggshells in their very home. While we laugh and enjoy time with our loved ones and extended family, many are trying to survive and not make their abuser angry. They try to keep everything perfect in the home, the kids quiet, and the dinner warm.

According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN):

Although there has been substantial progress in reducing domestic violence, an average of 20 people are physically abused by intimate partners every minute. This equates to more than 10 million abuse victims annually. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been physically abused by an intimate partner, and 1 in 5 women and 1 in 7 men have been severely physically abused by an intimate partner. Millions of Americans live in daily, silent fear within their own homes. In addition, every year millions of children are exposed to domestic violence. Domestic violence incidents affect every person within a home and can have long-lasting negative effects on children's emotional well-being, and social and academic functioning. [1]

The moment the brand-new study came out showing the real-world harms of the abortion pill, I felt an urgency to share it. I have sat in front of you in our intake room as you share your post abortion stories. I held your hands and cried with you. I have prayed for you. I have sat in silence as I listened to your stories of how the abortion industry failed you, from hemorrhaging alone at home with your toddler to going septic in the hospital. From having your abuser attempt to shove mail-ordered abortion pills down your throat to you weeping in the bathroom holding a 12-week fetus you were told would be a clump of cells.

We, pregnancy center workers, hear you. We see you. We know what is true. But now, there is a LARGE study to prove your stories. This new study, released in April, shows the true dangers of the abortion pill. It shows that it is far more dangerous and far more complicated than simply “taking Tylenol.”

The new study completed by the Ethics & Public Policy Center has analyzed 865,727 claims of women who were administered Mifepristone from the recent years of 2017-2023.

The findings are astounding. I will share all the links at the end, but I will also summarize the results below.

• This is the largest-known study of the abortion pill process. It is based on an analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claim database.[1]
• The results show that 10.93 percent of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhage, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.
• This rate is at least 22 times higher than what is reported on the drug label during the clinical trials (reporting less than 0.5%).
• This study did not focus on expected side effects or outcomes. It did not focus on mild to moderate adverse reactions. The study focused primarily on serious or life-threatening events defined by the FDA. [2]
• Over 3,000 women were administered Mifepristone who had an undiagnosed Ectopic Pregnancy.

This failure to properly diagnose the ectopic pregnancy before the abortion attempt placed each of these women’s lives at risk.

At Life Line Sampson, we regularly walk with our clients through crisis and life’s storms. We are a place of refuge—a safe place for education and support. We are a place that sits in the trench with you and are willing to provide the resources to help get you out.

As we navigate these unexpected life storms with our clients, I am often reminded of the time when the disciples met a storm in the middle of the lake without Jesus. This account can be found in Matthew 14 and Mark 6.

These same disciples had previously gone through a storm while in a small boat but Jesus was in the boat with them. He was so unbothered by the storm that he slept through it until his disciples woke him.

In the instance documented in Matthew 14 and Mark 6, Jesus had just completed the famous miracle of multiplying bread and fish to feed 5,000 men and an unknown number of women and children. This miracle was historical! After, the crowds wanted to follow the disciples and Jesus everywhere they went. The disciples had to quickly leave in the boat and Jesus went alone to the mountainside. In the middle of the lake, several miles out, the wind became violent. The waves grew higher, larger, and rocked the boat heavily. The disciples were afraid. Jesus was not in the boat.

I had a conversation with God recently and asked Him, “Why did Jesus send the disciples into the sea knowing a storm was coming?”

It’s 2024. As another election year rolls around, we are surrounded by high emotions, confusion, misunderstandings, and even lies. In the midst of this, we have found that abortion pills are now more accessible than ever before—even despite the state laws you reside in.

Safe guards are in place not to harm you but to protect you. Before you consider a chemical abortion (the abortion pills), there are a few things you need to make sure have happened.

1. Have you had a medical pregnancy test to confirm your pregnancy?

Our office sees anxious women every month who state they took a “positive” at-home pregnancy test but were actually not pregnant. In the midst of a stressful situation, it is easy to misinterpret a pregnancy test, see a “faint line,” and sometimes, even experience faulty pregnancy test results.

Coming to LLS to take a free medical pregnancy test can provide you with immediate answers.

Is this a worrisome and stressful question that has been repeated over and over in your mind since the day you saw the positive lines on a pregnancy test? If so, kick your feet back and scroll down. This one is for you!

Through the years of working as a pregnancy center nurse, I have been met with this question many times. “When did I get pregnant?” If we are being honest, it is not an unlikely circumstance for men and women in this day to be sexually active with more than one partner. When pregnancy occurs in casual relationships, it can cause great stress for the man and woman in determining when the pregnancy occurred.

But there is good news! We are going to break down this question today. The first thing we need to do is define some key words.

1. What is Ovulation?

“Ovulation occurs when your ovary releases an egg. It happens around the 14th day of a 28-day menstrual cycle.” [1]

2. What is Conception?

According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Conception happens when sperm swims up through the vagina and fertilizes an egg in the fallopian tube. It happens in the hours or days after you have unprotected sex. After conception, the fertilized egg implants into the uterus and a pregnancy begins.” [2]

You are living your normal day to day life and then all of a sudden, your heart falls to your stomach. You realize you can’t remember the last time you had a period and have recently been sexually active.

You take a pregnancy test and see the positive test results. Maybe you are excited! Maybe you are scared. Maybe you are depressed. Maybe you are in complete shock and have no idea what to do next.

The shock slowly wears off. You begin to picture your life with a little baby. You realize that you feel great! You must be one of the lucky ones with no pregnancy symptoms, right? But then you enter into your sixth week of pregnancy and BAM!

• Nausea
• “Morning sickness” that is really ALL day sickness
• Food aversions
• Frequent urination
• Insomnia
• Breast tenderness
• Intense emotions

[To name a few…] All of a sudden, you definitely feel pregnant! Are these normal signs of pregnancy? Is everything ok?

Let’s talk about it!

According to the Oxford Dictionary, hope is defined as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.”

As I reflect on the year 2023, I have seen a lot of hope found and a lot of hope lost.

I have walked with many women down many journeys on this ultrasound table you see above.

As I performed an ultrasound this year, one young woman stated “I had lost hope,” as she looked with astonishment at the ultrasound screen. She saw a baby that she was told she would never have naturally. She told me she had lost hope in ever having a baby naturally after years of trying.

She found hope that day.

Another young woman sat on this same ultrasound table and was reviewing her pregnancy history with me. While gathering this history, she explained that only a few months prior to this ultrasound appointment, she had lost hope in her situation. She did not believe she could parent a baby and chose to have an abortion. With lots of love I asked, “How are you doing?” Her response was wordless but the newly formed tears said it all. She was experiencing major regret.

As a foster parent & youth leader, I see the effects of fatherless homes every day. The hard truth is that children are growing up without a father more frequently today than ever before & it shows. Women and young mothers are struggling to be both, mother and father. Nice parent & mean parent. Friend & authority figure. The roles i...

The answer is yes! If you have started the first step of the Abortion Pill process but have not taken the second pill, you may be able to save your baby. This process is called the Abortion Pill Reversal or APR found here: https://www.abortionpillreversal.com/abortion-pill-reversal/overview . Though, there are no guarantees, if the APR process is s...

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When it comes to pregnancy planning, universally, there are three options. 1. Parenting 2. Abortion 3. Adoption -Open -Semi-open -Closed When undecided on what pregnancy plan to choose, it is important to collect vital information. At an in-person appointment at a pregnancy center, you will have the opportunity to: 1. Verify your pregnancy with a &...