April 25, 2025 • 39 mins
April showers bring May flowers, but April is also the month for another kind of shower—a baby shower!
Kurt and Kate spent some time at A Woman's Place Medical Clinic in Pinellas Park. What an incredible work Jesus is doing at this clinic! Countless women have tragically faced uncertainty about their reproductive health, which has produced a wide array of emotions, including fear and anxiety. When women in this predicament walk through the doors of this clinic, they encounter Jesus, and experience a safe, supportive, and professional clinic where women leave feeling empowered to make Christ-centered choices for their life and future!
https://www.awomansplaceclinic.com/
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:00):
Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.
S2 (00:03):
It's a podcast too.
S1 (00:07):
Charles DeMarco, our good friend from New Life Solutions, is
with us here this morning to kick off Baby Days,
our live on location broadcast and a Woman's Place medical
clinic is where we have things set up in Pinellas Park.
And Charles, for those who are tuning in this morning
and they don't know much about new life solutions, let's
(00:28):
talk about it. What do you guys do?
S3 (00:29):
Yeah, thanks. We are celebrating our 40 year anniversary in
2025 and our mission. I know 40 years of serving
the Tampa Bay area. Our mission is this to protect
the unborn, share the gospel and transform our communities one
life at a time. And we do that under this
umbrella of New Life Solutions three ministries. One is a
(00:51):
ministry where we go into schools and we talk about
healthy choices and how your choices impact your future. That's
the prevention side of what we do. The intervention side
is where we are today at a Woman's Place medical clinic.
We have four medical clinics in the Tampa Bay area,
where all of our services are at no cost to
those that we serve. And we're fully medical where we
do ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, Well-woman care, STI testing and treatment.
(01:17):
We provide licensed mental health counseling. We provide all material
resources such as diapers, wipes, clothing, any assistance long term,
and then the restoration side of our ministry. That third
pillar is for those that have walked through trauma, whether
trauma associated with an abortion, maybe sexual trauma, any type
(01:38):
of trauma. We provide curriculum, care and counseling to help
them through that restoration process because that is so important
as well.
S1 (01:47):
So what if we have, uh, let's say there's a
woman who has an abortion in her past and she says,
you know, I've just been dealing with this. Uh, maybe
she's received some counseling at her church, But she feels
like she needs maybe a different counselor or whatever. Could
she just walk in to one of you, like, right
here where we are? Could you walk in and say, gosh,
(02:08):
I really could talk to somebody. I really need to
talk to somebody. And you plug her into the right person?
S3 (02:13):
Absolutely. That's exactly what we do.
S1 (02:15):
Or the guy involved. Maybe he says, I had an
abortion in my past.
S3 (02:18):
Yeah. Equally as important. The men and women that have
walked through that trauma and what they are carrying, and
they may know that they are forgiven from the Lord. However. Yes,
they haven't forgiven themselves. Yes. And they're carrying tremendous weight.
And we will absolutely plug them into the right space
to help them in that journey. You know, Jesus said
(02:38):
in John 1010, you know, he asked he talked about
how the enemy is coming to kill, steal and destroy.
And especially in this space relative to abortion, those who
have walked through that pain, the enemy wants to keep
that silent and hidden. But Jesus says, I've come that
they may have life and life more abundantly. So when
we talk about being pro-life, we are talking about being
pro abundant life. Meaning, yes, we are standing for the unborn,
(03:00):
but we're also coming alongside those individuals who are have
walked through trauma to provide care and restoration. And really,
at the end of the day, all of our ministries
can be summed up in this one word hope. Providing hope.
S1 (03:14):
I like that.
S3 (03:15):
And then pointing them to Jesus. That is our goal.
S2 (03:18):
Yes. And that's and and you don't, as some people
like to say. But it's not true. You're not just
about the babies. And then as soon as the baby's born,
you're gone. You know, you stay with me. You set
them up to succeed.
S3 (03:32):
Exactly. Our goal. Even if they we offer classes, we
offer content, curriculum, hundreds of classes to help with parenting,
single parenting, co-parenting, financial management, being a father, the responsibility,
those responsibilities. But our goal, too, is to really point
them to churches where they can be thoroughly discipled and
cared for, to create and provide safe places and safe
(03:56):
spaces for them to continue that healing process and that
discipleship process.
S1 (04:01):
Okay, so this is huge. You actually helped them find
a local church that they can they can go to
that they can find support from. It's like you've vetted
these churches, right. And so you're like because a lot
of times you're like, well where do I go? I
don't even know where to begin.
S3 (04:16):
That's correct. That is correct. And we have some wonderful
partner churches that come alongside and pray for us, support
what we do. And we're able to, depending on where
individuals live, recommend churches that they could go and they're
going to hear the word of God, they're going to
be discipled. And most importantly, especially for those individuals that
have walked through this, they are going to find a
(04:36):
safe place and a safe space where they feel welcomed
and accepted and not judged.
S2 (04:42):
Yeah. And they're not going to drop off or fall
between the cracks without somebody noticing and being able to
help them.
S3 (04:49):
That is correct.
S2 (04:50):
Which is so important. It's a long term solution.
S1 (04:53):
Yeah it is. And you know, the best the best
organizations that are out there. Okay. We could there are
some people who are not believers who are doing good work,
but they fall short because what you're doing is you're
helping someone temporarily, which is very good. But what are
(05:13):
you doing to help them eternally? And you see this,
and you know our heart, Charles. You know that we're
all about this, right? As believers, we are. We want
to help people, but we also want to do it
in the name of Jesus. It's not just that we're
quote unquote nice people, kind people. It's a matter of,
I'm doing this because I love Jesus. Now let me
(05:35):
tell you more about him, because that's where it really
matters most. It's it's not an either or. It's a
both end, isn't it?
S3 (05:42):
That is exactly right. And again, you know, I love
what we see in Scripture. The account in Scripture, in
Luke eight verses 40 through 48, where Jesus is walking
with Jairus, whose daughter is in the process of being
sick and will pass away and he'll raise her. But
just at that moment, a woman with a blood disorder
touches Jesus from behind, and she's healed immediately. And even
(06:04):
though her physical need is met immediately and he is
on mission going somewhere, he still stopped and turned around
and had this most beautiful conversation with her. So number one,
he had margin and time to invest in people. But
at the same time, he said, I know this individual.
It's more about not just physical needs. She needed to
be healed spiritually. She needed to be healed emotionally, and
(06:25):
she needed to be brought back into community, in a
community where she had no support and was ostracized. And
here's the thing for context. In that part of Scripture,
we know that this is an individual who had zero support.
She was saddled with guilt, sadness, shame, and grief. She
took risk by even approaching Jesus. And that's exactly how
(06:45):
every woman feels who walks through these doors every single day. Yes.
And in verse 48 he says the most beautiful thing
to her. He says, my daughter, your faith has made
you well. Go in peace. And right in front of
this huge crowd. He says, my daughter, you're my family now. Yeah.
Your faith has made you well. Acknowledging her faith and
go in peace means complete and total restoration. So while
(07:08):
we provide physical help and assistance, it's the bigger picture
is to provide help and assistance and point them to Jesus. Yes.
And to bring them back in community.
S1 (07:18):
Caitlin Drakos. And she is your registered nurse. And, Caitlin,
how did you end up here? Just curious.
S4 (07:25):
Um, well, you know, I started off at the hospital
working in cardiology and, um, towards, like, when Covid first started,
I just really felt like God was calling me to
do something bigger. Um, and because of my own story
and my own testimony, I just felt like this is
where God was leading me.
S1 (07:43):
Okay. Hang on. We like God's stories. We like testimonies.
Can you tell us your story?
S4 (07:48):
Yeah, I would love to. Um, just a little tidbit
of how I, you know, feel like God was calling
me here. So, I actually found out I was pregnant
in my senior year of high school. I was 17. Um, and, um,
a lot of the people around me were really pressuring
me to choose abortion. Um, ultimately, that's not what I chose.
I chose life for my daughter.
S1 (08:10):
Were you a believer at the time?
S4 (08:11):
I wasn't. No, I was not a believer. Um, I
was not in church. Um, was not, you know, actively seeking, um,
you know, Jesus or faith or anything. Um, so, yeah,
I ended up choosing life, though I knew that it
was not. I knew abortion wasn't what was right for me.
And so, um, my daughter just turned 19 in January.
S1 (08:32):
What's her name?
S4 (08:32):
Savannah.
S1 (08:33):
Hi, Savannah.
S2 (08:34):
Hi.
S1 (08:34):
If you're listening.
S2 (08:35):
Yeah.
S1 (08:36):
How exciting.
S2 (08:37):
That's great. And see what God does if you let
him take over. You know, in a situation where I'm
sure 17 panic, just, you know, and everybody telling, you know,
go get an abortion, it's going to ruin your life.
Look at you now. Yeah. Look at you now. You
know what God will do?
S4 (08:54):
It's really quite amazing. And, you know, after having my
daughter a few years after that, I ended up walking
through a domestic violence situation. And, you know, at the time,
like you said, I was scared, panicking and like chaos.
But I look back and I'm like, wow, God really
had his hand in every part of my life and
every part of my journey. And to be able to
(09:16):
serve in this ministry, um, and be able to walk
alongside women that maybe are in their senior year of
high school and find out they're pregnant or are in
a domestic violence situation? Yes. Um, it's a true it's
a gift and an extremely huge blessing.
S5 (09:31):
Do you see how.
S1 (09:31):
God uses everything in our lives? And it's for his
glory and our good and the good of others.
S2 (09:39):
Yes.
S1 (09:40):
And he never wastes anything, you know. A lot of
times we tend to think, well, I have wasted years. Mhm.
You know, I think about that sometimes myself. I'm like
all those years that I could have been serving God
and I didn't in my youth, but he does restore
the years the locusts have eaten and we should not
have regrets regarding that. Yes there are. There's a certain
(10:03):
degree of regret. But Charles, getting back to the word
that you highlighted, there's tremendous hope because we know that
God can take what we offer him and make something
beautiful out of it. And there is a sense of
authority when you. And by that I mean good authority.
There's a sense of, um, when you're when you're chatting
(10:25):
with these ladies, uh, who come in here and maybe
some of the men, they listen to you because you've
been through it. And I am certain that God allows
us to deal with these challenges so that bridges can
be built, uh, to other people's hearts so they will
be open and not only helped in the here and
(10:47):
now there again, but then also, um, pointing them to
himself and he can take it. It's just, you know,
that's when you think about things like this. It's a
holy ground moment. It's the God of the universe taking
the ugly and making it beautiful. It's beauty for ashes.
And that's the story of all of our lives, isn't it?
S4 (11:08):
Absolutely. Yeah, I see that every day. We have. You know,
I recently had a patient come in that was in
a domestic violence situation that was walking through our abortion
pill reversal protocol. And I just I was able to
just come alongside her in a different way because I
had walked through a similar situation. And so it was
(11:28):
just a blessing to be able to just plant those
seeds and really provide her some hope and just say, look,
I've been where you're at and I know you're struggling
and trying to figure out life right now, but you
can do this. Like, you can get over this mountain.
There's there's hope and there's healing beyond this.
S5 (11:45):
Yeah.
S1 (11:45):
And she's looking at you and it's like, okay, there's
hope sitting right in front of me.
S5 (11:49):
Yeah.
S1 (11:49):
And what a testimony for our God. Can I ask
you how you came to Jesus? You said you were
far away from him. But how did that how did
that pan out? How did it work?
S4 (11:57):
Yeah, I actually, um, someone had been telling me someone
that one of my sons, um, played soccer with their
mom had actually been encouraging me to go to Indian
Rocks Baptist Church for a while. And, um, I was
a single mom. You know, I had four kids under
the age of five, and I was trying to get
through nursing school, and I was like, I don't have
time for that.
S5 (12:17):
Yeah, exactly.
S4 (12:19):
Yeah. And just like, walking through a really challenging season and, um,
literally one day I woke up and I was like,
I think I'm going to go to Indian Rocks today. Wow.
And I started going there, and I went there for
probably about six months and went to service. The kids
went to, you know, children's ministry. Um, I got plugged
into a Bible study there and just met an amazing mentor.
(12:41):
And I would go there every single week and just
sit in Bible study and like, a connection group. And
one day, um, I just walked up to her and
I was like, look, I want to know what you're
talking about, or want to learn more and want to
understand this, but I truly have no idea any of
these stories that you're telling about the Bible. Um, and she,
(13:01):
you know, the next week she invited me to Wednesday
night service and dinner. Um, bought me a Bible and
then just prayed with me and my my daughter Savannah,
to accept Jesus. And that's kind of how our our
journey started.
S1 (13:15):
I never get tired of hearing those stories. Caitlin, let's
talk about what you do. You, uh, you kind of
handle the scans and everything, right? So tell us how
that works.
S4 (13:24):
Yeah. So, um, we actually have a wide variety of
medical services that we offer. Pregnancy testing, um, STI testing
and treatment well-women services. We do limited obstetrical ultrasounds. Um,
and then also well-woman services. Um, abortion pill reversal. Um,
so we have a large range of services here.
S1 (13:44):
Okay. So let's talk about the abortion pill reversal and
how that works.
S4 (13:49):
Yeah. Um, so, um, abortion pill reversal is specifically for
patients that have moved forward with a chemical abortion. Um,
also known as the abortion pill or medical abortion. Um,
and with this type of abortion, there's two separate pills. Um,
so we'll just call them one and two. Um, the
names are kind of complicated, and so most people won't
(14:10):
remember them, but just one and two pills. And with
abortion pill reversal, our goal is to intercept between the
patient taking the first and the second pill. Um, and
the reason for that is because the first pill actually
cuts off the nutrient supply. Um, and it blocks the
progesterone supply to the baby. And then with the abortion
pill reversal, we provide progesterone prescriptions, which re-establishes the nutrient supply. Um,
(14:36):
provides progesterone to the pregnancy to help support it. Um,
and really helps to sustain the pregnancy.
S1 (14:42):
So what's the time? You know, what's the window of
opportunity here?
S4 (14:46):
So, um, optimal time is 24 hours. So 24 hours
after they take that first pill. We want to start
the progesterone. But we've seen successful reversals all the way
up until 72 hours.
S2 (14:58):
How long between the first pill and the second?
S4 (15:01):
Um, so you mean for them to take.
S2 (15:03):
For them to take it? Yeah.
S4 (15:04):
So we usually, um, a patient will, uh, take the
first pill, uh, in the clinic, the abortion clinic, or they'll,
you know, get it mailed to their house, which is
really common right now. Chemical abortions are on the rise,
but male male abortions are really popular right now, too. Um,
so they take that first pill and then usually, um,
within 24 hours to 48 hours. They're, um, recommended to
(15:26):
take that second abortion pill. So we have a really
tight window.
S6 (15:31):
Thank you for taking some time to listen to this
episode of the Curtin Kate Mornings podcast. We always welcome
a review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel
free to subscribe and follow us as well.
S1 (15:42):
We have Jonathan Reyes with us as well. He's the
Director of Programs and Outreach. What has surprised you most
about this position God has led you to?
S7 (15:52):
Hmm. So what has surprised me the most? And I
hope churches don't stab me for this one, but it's, uh.
There is a because I've served on the side as
an associate pastor for many years. I understand that many
churches want to help, so it can be very discouraging
at times where you're trying to collaborate and partner with
(16:17):
churches in the area who are pro-life, but do little
to nothing to show that they're pro-life except vote. So
when we try to show up and say, hey, here's
a way that you can actually move beyond the voting
booth and actually save unborn lives, or even educate young
people to not even end up at the pregnancy center.
(16:38):
Or I would go even to far go as far
as when you preach on a Sunday morning about abortion. Uh,
you don't go as far as to acknowledge the Knowledge
that post-abortive men and women in the congregation.
S1 (16:51):
They are there?
S7 (16:52):
Yes. Yes.
S1 (16:53):
The men and women who are sitting in the pews,
so to speak. There are many. I forget what the
stat is, but we've had guests on it. What is it, Charles?
S3 (17:01):
It is 1 in 4 have walked through the pain
and trauma and experience of abortion personally themselves. 1 in 4.
And many are sitting silently struggling. Right? Right. In our
own churches.
S1 (17:12):
You know what? We have some folks right now listening
to us who are in that very same situation. Charles,
I want to get back to this. And also, Jonathan,
they have an abortion in their past. They know the gospel.
They know the power of Jesus blood to forgive them
for even this. They know this intellectually, but they are
(17:34):
having a hard time working through it. Because yes, it's
that they can't forgive themselves, but the enemy is also
screaming at them there. There's a lot of opposition so
they know the truth of the gospel. They're listening this morning,
and a lot of times, folks who've been through this,
when this conversation comes up about, uh, you know, abortion
(17:57):
and all of this, they just turn it off. It's
just too painful. If you're listening this morning, I don't
want you to turn off the radio because I believe
that God makes divine appointments. I know he does. He
does with us all the time. We want to communicate
to you that, yes, you understand the grace of God
that covers your sin, but you also need to own
(18:21):
it in a very deep way. And maybe you need
some help from somebody who can help you, you know,
through all of this. And so, uh, Charles and Jonathan,
I'd love for you to tag team this and speak
to those people listening today who decided, you know what?
I'm going to leave the radio on. I want to
hear what they have to say.
S3 (18:41):
Yeah. And I'll have Jonathan give our passages of Hope
website in a minute. And our passages of Hope ministry
is specifically the ministry designed for those who have walked
through trauma, specifically with their history and experience of an
abortion for for women and men. Because what we are
seeing that 1 in 4 statistic, they are right in
our congregations, within our churches. And and when you start
(19:04):
to dig down into some of the data of why, um, um,
they are silently struggling, the answers are because they do
not feel like there is a safe place or a
safe space for them at their church. And then when
you ask, why is that? It's because they they'll communicate
that they feel like they will be judged or condemned.
(19:24):
And this is a topic that is not not that
often talked about. And so what we're trying to do
is say there is healing. There is restoration. Jesus loves you.
He is in the restoration business. I always say this
our past does not define our future, and our God
is a God of complete and total restoration. There is
(19:47):
nothing too big for him. And then this becomes part
of your testimony. And the kingdom impact is immense.
S1 (19:54):
Jonathan follow.
S2 (19:55):
Up.
S7 (19:55):
Yeah. So to me it's a discipleship issue. So like
like you said, Kurt, like you can know the gospel.
You know whom the son sets free is free indeed.
But we need to learn how to walk in that freedom.
So what ends up happening is what we want to
do with our with the churches is we want to
create spaces where men and women can walk through this
with people who've gone through that themselves, through the truth
(20:18):
of God's Word. Because there's different areas in your life,
whether it's related to despair, depression, anger, bitterness. You're not
wondering why you're struggling with these areas, and it could
be directly to it could come from that abortion experience.
So what we want to do is help people find
that hope and healing through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Uh,
(20:38):
another thing is that, um, some of some of these emotions, um,
come later in life. So immediately what ends up happening?
I just saw this on a TikTok video yesterday. It
was a young woman crying in front of her mirror,
recording herself. It's it's a thing now with young people.
But she was saying she was like, I had an
abortion a few years ago, and now I find myself grieving,
(21:02):
wondering the life I would have had with my child.
Why didn't anyone tell me of this? Yes. Yeah. So
now she's suffering in silence and it's almost like a
bait and switch. They're coming to the realization that they
were promised something, but it was a lie. And now
they're dealing with the repercussions of that. And what would
my role specifically is? I want to partner with churches,
(21:23):
specifically with small groups, pastors, and see if we can
offer a this type of group. And usually when I
meet with pastors, I tend to ask them very direct
question do you offer Celebrate Recovery? They'll say yes. Do
you offer divorcecare? Yes. Yeah. Do you offer a single
mom's care? Yes. Do you offer post-abortive care. Mm.
S2 (21:41):
Yeah. Mhm.
S7 (21:43):
And then I just let it sit and then I
was like yeah, 1 in 4 people in your congregation
have walked through this before. This is just another area
that you can care for them and help them grow
in their discipleship.
S1 (21:54):
Alicia Scott's with us, too. Hey, Alicia. You're the hot
seat now. Welcome.
S8 (22:00):
Good morning. Thank you.
S1 (22:01):
So, Alicia, you are the clinic manager here. How long
have you been doing that?
S8 (22:06):
Um, I've been in this role since 2020. Um, so. Yeah,
but I've been with the organization since 2012.
S1 (22:14):
Why do you do what you do?
S8 (22:15):
Why do I do what I do? It's a calling,
for sure. Um, and you know what? I, I can
relate to, um, a lot of these women's story with
my own story, so.
S1 (22:28):
Okay. So, you know us, you listen to the show, right?
S2 (22:32):
Yes.
S1 (22:32):
Right, right, right. So when you're going to open the door,
you know, I'm going to run through it. Could you
share your story with us?
S8 (22:38):
Um. Well, um, I had my first daughter when I
was 18. Um, had my second daughter, I was 19.
came to know the Lord in my early 20s and
it was just on from there. So I was a
single mom up until my girls were in high school. Um,
got married, you know, and grandkids and, you know.
S2 (23:00):
So.
S1 (23:00):
That's great. I love your smile, too, because you're so happy. Alicia. Um,
how the Lord has, um, you know, the the fulfillment
and the joy that he gives you as you are here,
as the clinic manager, you're seeing babies saved.
S8 (23:16):
Yes.
S1 (23:17):
Lives saved. Lives changed almost every day, aren't you?
S8 (23:22):
Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. Um. So. Yeah. So every day we
meet women from all walks of life. Um, and the
first thing we do is like, we meet. We want
them to feel welcome when they come in here. Um, so, um,
we make this a safe place for them to just
open up and we meet them where they are. Um, so. Yeah,
(23:43):
but we get to see, you know, various decisions made. Um,
but we also encourage them that no matter what they decide,
we're here for them, you know, and we're here to
walk alongside them as much or as little as they
will allow us. Um, so, yeah.
S1 (23:59):
Sometimes they just need to well, obviously they need to
feel accepted and loved. And Charles, you were bringing us
up where they're not judged, right? Right. And they they
need to know that the reason why you do what
you do is because of Jesus. Yes, it is his
(24:19):
love that compels us to reach out to others. And
I am a firm believer. I was mentioning Alicia about
your your joy that's contagious and your smile. When people
know Jesus, you can tell Charles you agree.
S3 (24:33):
Absolutely, absolutely. And Alicia and the team right here in
Pinellas Park. But our entire teams across all four of
our centers, and in fact, all of the partner ministries
that we're speaking with today, do an amazing job of
when an individual walks through the door who is saddled
with grief, chaos, anxiety. They are met with compassion. They
(24:54):
are met with love. They are met with grace. They
are met right where they're at. And we will walk
that journey with them so that they feel like they
are supported and they are hopeful. Many for the first time.
S1 (25:05):
You were just sharing a story and, uh, you know,
New Life Solutions is, again, it's the umbrella organization. And
you have several locations for these pregnancy care centers, these
medical centers, uh, we're one of them in Pinellas Park.
But you have a location near USF, right? Correct. And
you were sharing a story about something that happened at
(25:28):
that location. So share the story.
S3 (25:30):
Sure. Our North Tampa location, which is up at University
Cove near near USF, is right next door to an
abortion clinic. So not down the street. It's in a
medical park, and our front doors are probably 20 to
25ft away. You could stand between the two buildings and
touch the walls. Wow. And we had a couple.
S1 (25:47):
Location, location, location.
S3 (25:50):
That's true. It really is true. So we had a
young couple, a young woman and man come into our
facility thinking they were next door, and they said they
were there for their abortion. Well, our team said, well,
we don't we don't do that here. You're thinking you're
next door. But before you go, let us just share
with you what we we do do and let let
us talk about some, some hope that we can provide.
(26:11):
And they said, hey, thank you very much. After they
listened and they walked. They said, we're still going to
go next door though. So they walked next door and
it was about 20 minutes later, our team heard a
knock at the door and they went back. And it
was this. It was this couple again. So they came
back and they said, you know, we were sitting next
door filling out this paperwork, and if it was very
(26:33):
cold in there from a not, not just the temperature,
but it was just sterile cold. And they said we
looked at each other and we said we said, we
want to go back to where this is their words,
where it smelled good, where we were greeted, where we
were treated with kindness. And they said where we have hope.
(26:54):
And our team had a chance to pour into them
like we were sharing earlier with compassion and love and
grace and hope. And they saw their ultrasound and they
chose life for their baby. They heard the gospel for
the first time and are being discipled. Yeah. And here's
an interesting thing with with this story too. You know,
the man said this, the father of the baby said, well,
I was just going along with this because I thought
(27:16):
that's what you wanted to do to move forward with
this abortion. And she was saying, well, I was just
moving forward with this abortion because I thought you would
never want to support. And really, both of them were
on the same page and they would have been able to,
but there was no communication, and they needed someone to
step in to say, we can help you, we can
offer you care, we can offer you support and resources,
and we're going to walk with you long term, and
we're going to offer hope. And that's just one of
(27:38):
many stories that we see every day in our four
medical clinics.
S1 (27:42):
In the name of Jesus.
S8 (27:45):
Yes.
S1 (27:46):
Yes. Look at what's going on there. These are untold stories.
They shouldn't be untold. Right. We should release them. And
I'm glad we're releasing a few of them here this morning. Yeah. Uh, Charles.
That's great. Something else I wanted to ask you about. Uh,
it's another powerful story that you had mentioned, uh, in
our conversations off the air that, um.
S2 (28:05):
I know I'm not going to make it through this one.
S1 (28:06):
I know, yeah, you know where I'm going with this, Kate?
S2 (28:09):
Yes, I do. And I'm glad we're sharing it. You're
sharing it.
S1 (28:12):
So, uh, so it's, uh, we talked about chemical abortions
and these types of things, and you were sharing a
story of, uh. Well, you know what story I'm talking about, right? Yes. Yeah. Well,
go ahead and share it with everybody.
S3 (28:24):
Yeah. Okay. So for context, we're seeing the radical growth
of chemical abortion. 63% minimum of all abortions are a
chemical abortion, which is a pill method, meaning people are
home alone in their bathroom walking through their experience. And
what that means is this. And this is happening right
now in the Tampa Bay area, but I had a
colleague of mine from Washington state call with a very
specific story that they just walked through in their clinic
(28:48):
just a couple of weeks ago, and it's happening right
here every day in the Tampa Bay area. And this
is why the trauma is increased significantly with chemical abortion.
And this is exactly what's happening. They get a call
from from their client. And again, we see this now
and happening right here. And the communication is I now
(29:09):
have walked through my chemical abortion experience here in my
bathroom alone. I have tried to flush my baby down
the toilet three times, but he's too big. So I
scooped him out of the toilet. And now I'm walking
around my house with him for the last couple hours.
(29:30):
What do I do? The Lord has not created us
to process that weight. That is not he. And so
now the trauma that we are seeing, because when we
say people now are alone in the restroom walking through
their chemical abortion experience, that is even a very sanitized
way to say the reality of the trauma that's taking
place for individuals alone in their restroom when they have
(29:53):
to deal with the aftermath. And the aftermath is exactly that.
It's the fact that there is all of this now.
They see, depending on how far along they are with
the gestational period. They see their child in the toilet.
They now have to clean up. And in this case
we are seeing flushing down the toilet, down the sinks,
down the bathtubs and all the issues associated with that.
(30:16):
That's why we see heightened levels of PTSD, heightened levels
of sadness, heightened levels of anger and rage. And by
the way, the anger and rage is aimed at the
abortion clinic. Or were they ordered the chemical abortion pills
because they see for the first time that their experience
is not matching the promise that they were given? They
were told it would not be like that.
S1 (30:35):
Yes.
S3 (30:36):
And now they're walking through significant trauma and they will
need help. And everything is amplified and ramped up.
S1 (30:43):
Okay, so here's another sidebar to all of that. That's
the main part of this. But then you have what
is it? Water pollution issues.
S3 (30:51):
Yeah. Two two major issues not being talked about too
much relative to chemical abortion is exactly what we were
just talking about. Two things. One, the waterways and water
systems are being polluted like never before because of all
of the fetal remains, medical waste and the active chemicals
in the abortion pill, drugs which are mifepristone and misoprostol,
(31:16):
being being in our waterways. And they don't dilute over time.
And they're not they don't test for this. And so
our waterways, with the exponential growth of chemical abortion, our
waterways are being polluted and with other with chemical abortion,
traffickers and abusers are now ordering chemical abortion pills to
further abuse their victims without taking them to a location
where our teams have been trained to recognize symptoms of
(31:37):
human trafficking that's been eliminated now.
S2 (31:41):
Yeah. It's evil.
S1 (31:42):
Untold story right there. Kate, were you aware of this?
S2 (31:46):
These nuances. I never even thought about those. Those two things, but. Yeah. Yeah.
I have thought being a woman of being alone, doing that,
that would. I can't even imagine that. You know, haunting
is what I think of. It would haunt you because
you're all alone. This is an experience only. And who
can relate to it? We really need to get groups
of these women to be able to talk to each other. Yeah,
(32:08):
that was like mine. Or this happened to me because
they're just it's I can't even imagine how hard that
would be.
S1 (32:15):
We have a very special guest who's joining us as well.
Sonia Garcia, of course.
S9 (32:21):
I appreciate that. You can hear my story. So, you know,
if I hear about ChatGPT. Yes, it's the app that
you can ask whatever you want and they give you
a lot of information. So I just ask GPT. And
last night I cried like, oh my goodness, what I
do in that moment in ChatGPT. He sent me information
about women's place and they told me like, hey. ChatGPT
(32:45):
told me, like a lot of information is for location,
but now the location from vanilla was closed because the
moment was for the hurricane. All right. So I said,
let me go there. Let me go at the Tampa.
So that's the moment when me Alicia and was amazing
because at that moment I feel like so alone. I
(33:07):
love that I don't know what to do. Sure. You know,
sometimes when we receive, like, you know, that you're pregnant,
it's not easy, you know? Right. And more for if
you don't have, like, family. So it's like difficult moment.
But I really appreciate this place because it help me
feel more comfortable. It's not just information about how can
(33:29):
I be everything. It's just emotional support. It's a lot.
It's a lot. So it's like my second family.
S2 (33:36):
Oh, good.
S1 (33:37):
And we were talking about all the smiles around here. Yeah.
And Sonia has a big smile, too. Beautiful. Just like Alicia.
So you guys connecting? And Alicia, you actually shared your
story with us earlier in the broadcast here this morning. But, um,
the special connection you have with each one of the
ladies and and actually the the guys come in, too,
(33:57):
but the connection you have. But I can tell you
guys have something maybe extra special, you know, in terms
of your, your connection. Tell us more about that and,
and walk with us through. Because what we're doing here
is we're really sharing a story of what it looks like. Um,
you know, almost in real time. So share with us
how how you worked with Sonia, how that played out
(34:19):
and where you guys are today.
S8 (34:21):
Yeah. So, um, when we met, um, in our town
and country clinic. So I just sat down with her,
had a conversation just to kind of figure out where
she was, and kind of decide how we were able
to move forward and, you know, assist her. So after we,
you know, went through our whole process of finding out
what's going on with her, um, we got a schedule
(34:42):
to return for an ultrasound. Um, so she came back and.
S1 (34:46):
Okay, let's talk about the ultrasound. Sonia, how was that?
S10 (34:49):
Oh, my God.
S9 (34:51):
That was amazing. Of course I cried in that moment.
S10 (34:55):
Oh, yes. Of course.
S9 (34:56):
It was amazing. You don't hide that. Hear me? I
love for that. Changed my life. That changed my life.
And that's the reason that I'm here for sure. Because we.
I don't know how can I express this emotion? Because
in that moment, I just. Of course. Did you see
the ultrasound? You can see the little boy and that's it. Yeah.
(35:19):
But when the doctor, he. She told me. Oh, you
want to hear the her baby.
S10 (35:25):
The heartbeat, the heartbeat.
S1 (35:27):
Yeah.
S9 (35:28):
That was like.
S10 (35:29):
What? I had a little human inside me. Yes. It's true.
S9 (35:34):
So that changed my life. And I chose to say,
you know what? I want to get this baby with me.
I want to be mom. I don't know how because
I was afraid for the hurricane. And in that moment,
I don't have nothing. Like literally nothing. In that moment,
I say, I don't know how figure out this situation,
but I want to do it. In that moment, Alicia
give me a lot of support. Like, hey, every woman
(35:58):
have different story, but you can do this sometimes. And
we need we need that. We need, we need you sometimes.
You know you can do it. Yeah. And she told
me that. And I just I say, you know what? Yes,
I can do this. And, well, I just, I now
I just come every Tuesday here and I read a
couple things for my baby and that made me feel
(36:18):
so happy, like, oh, you know what? It's it's good,
it's good. It's a lot of people, they, they want to,
you know, help other people. It's not just, oh, they
should not just working with me like, hey, no, this
is your part and this is my. No. She literally. Hey,
how are you feeling today? Yeah. Yes.
S1 (36:36):
And listening.
S10 (36:36):
Right. Listening.
S1 (36:37):
It's not just say, well, how are you doing today?
And then. Okay, I'm doing fine. No. It's like, no, no,
they're paying attention. No. How are you really doing today?
S9 (36:45):
Yeah. Well. I'm nervous.
S10 (36:47):
Yeah. Yeah. They are nervous.
S1 (36:50):
I never would have.
S10 (36:50):
Known.
S1 (36:51):
That. I wouldn't know.
S10 (36:52):
That. Yeah, I know. As cool as a cucumber, man.
S9 (36:55):
Yeah, I'm nervous, but I feel so blessed for this opportunity.
I want to share my story just because I want
every woman the world. Not just here in this country
and the world, they. They needed to know. There is
a lot of good persons and in every part. And
sometimes we don't hide the about the organization like church,
(37:18):
like a lot of things in the world. So we
have to looking for sometimes we focus on the bad
situation and we don't looking for the opportunities. And this
is the opportunity for me, for grow, for learn, for
every Tuesday that come here and learn about About something.
How can I be like the second trimester? Like third trimester?
(37:39):
And now I have, like, 18 weeks, and it's like, oh,
and yesterday. And you know what? That's really good. Every
time I come here, every Tuesday is something special happened
to me.
S10 (37:51):
Oh, seriously?
S9 (37:52):
And because they.
S10 (37:53):
They.
S9 (37:54):
They pray for me. And I said yes, please. It's
the best part. It's the.
S10 (37:57):
Best part. Because that's not the only thing.
S8 (37:58):
Sonya's actually doing Bible study with us as well.
S1 (38:01):
I was going to ask you about your walk with Jesus.
S8 (38:03):
Um, so. And she's plugged in? Well, not. She started
attending countryside church up in Cleveland. Oh, yes.
S1 (38:10):
Oh, nice up there. That's great.
S10 (38:13):
Yeah.
S9 (38:13):
And I just, you know, sometime in that moment, I
feel like lost, like, alone. But. And now I believe
that God is working the perfect time for everything. For everything.
It's like I don't have any idea about, like, if
you told me one year ago. Hey, how are you doing?
(38:34):
How how do you think you're going to be? I
say like, I don't know. I don't hide them. Maybe professionally.
And now I'm a mom and I'm feel so blessed
from God because he showed me how he loved me.
S10 (38:48):
Mhm.
S9 (38:49):
And I never experienced something like this in my life.
Like now like support and I choose. Interesting. And you
know what I want to learn more about God because
of course there is in my he he working with me.
He's providing a lot of things. So it's just I
say thank you. Thank you.
S10 (39:08):
God.
S11 (39:09):
Round of applause. Yay! God!
S10 (39:10):
Yay!
S2 (39:17):
Thanks for listening to Kurt and Kate Mornings podcast. Please
take a minute to follow, subscribe and review us. And
no matter where in the world you are, you can
listen to us live from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays
on the Moody Radio app.
Kurt and Kate mornings. Not just on the radio.
S2 (00:03):
It's a podcast too.
S1 (00:07):
Charles DeMarco, our good friend from New Life Solutions, is
with us here this morning to kick off Baby Days,
our live on location broadcast and a Woman's Place medical
clinic is where we have things set up in Pinellas Park.
And Charles, for those who are tuning in this morning
and they don't know much about new life solutions, let's
(00:28):
talk about it. What do you guys do?
S3 (00:29):
Yeah, thanks. We are celebrating our 40 year anniversary in
2025 and our mission. I know 40 years of serving
the Tampa Bay area. Our mission is this to protect
the unborn, share the gospel and transform our communities one
life at a time. And we do that under this
umbrella of New Life Solutions three ministries. One is a
(00:51):
ministry where we go into schools and we talk about
healthy choices and how your choices impact your future. That's
the prevention side of what we do. The intervention side
is where we are today at a Woman's Place medical clinic.
We have four medical clinics in the Tampa Bay area,
where all of our services are at no cost to
those that we serve. And we're fully medical where we
do ultrasounds and pregnancy tests, Well-woman care, STI testing and treatment.
(01:17):
We provide licensed mental health counseling. We provide all material
resources such as diapers, wipes, clothing, any assistance long term,
and then the restoration side of our ministry. That third
pillar is for those that have walked through trauma, whether
trauma associated with an abortion, maybe sexual trauma, any type
(01:38):
of trauma. We provide curriculum, care and counseling to help
them through that restoration process because that is so important
as well.
S1 (01:47):
So what if we have, uh, let's say there's a
woman who has an abortion in her past and she says,
you know, I've just been dealing with this. Uh, maybe
she's received some counseling at her church, But she feels
like she needs maybe a different counselor or whatever. Could
she just walk in to one of you, like, right
here where we are? Could you walk in and say, gosh,
(02:08):
I really could talk to somebody. I really need to
talk to somebody. And you plug her into the right person?
S3 (02:13):
Absolutely. That's exactly what we do.
S1 (02:15):
Or the guy involved. Maybe he says, I had an
abortion in my past.
S3 (02:18):
Yeah. Equally as important. The men and women that have
walked through that trauma and what they are carrying, and
they may know that they are forgiven from the Lord. However. Yes,
they haven't forgiven themselves. Yes. And they're carrying tremendous weight.
And we will absolutely plug them into the right space
to help them in that journey. You know, Jesus said
(02:38):
in John 1010, you know, he asked he talked about
how the enemy is coming to kill, steal and destroy.
And especially in this space relative to abortion, those who
have walked through that pain, the enemy wants to keep
that silent and hidden. But Jesus says, I've come that
they may have life and life more abundantly. So when
we talk about being pro-life, we are talking about being
pro abundant life. Meaning, yes, we are standing for the unborn,
(03:00):
but we're also coming alongside those individuals who are have
walked through trauma to provide care and restoration. And really,
at the end of the day, all of our ministries
can be summed up in this one word hope. Providing hope.
S1 (03:14):
I like that.
S3 (03:15):
And then pointing them to Jesus. That is our goal.
S2 (03:18):
Yes. And that's and and you don't, as some people
like to say. But it's not true. You're not just
about the babies. And then as soon as the baby's born,
you're gone. You know, you stay with me. You set
them up to succeed.
S3 (03:32):
Exactly. Our goal. Even if they we offer classes, we
offer content, curriculum, hundreds of classes to help with parenting,
single parenting, co-parenting, financial management, being a father, the responsibility,
those responsibilities. But our goal, too, is to really point
them to churches where they can be thoroughly discipled and
cared for, to create and provide safe places and safe
(03:56):
spaces for them to continue that healing process and that
discipleship process.
S1 (04:01):
Okay, so this is huge. You actually helped them find
a local church that they can they can go to
that they can find support from. It's like you've vetted
these churches, right. And so you're like because a lot
of times you're like, well where do I go? I
don't even know where to begin.
S3 (04:16):
That's correct. That is correct. And we have some wonderful
partner churches that come alongside and pray for us, support
what we do. And we're able to, depending on where
individuals live, recommend churches that they could go and they're
going to hear the word of God, they're going to
be discipled. And most importantly, especially for those individuals that
have walked through this, they are going to find a
(04:36):
safe place and a safe space where they feel welcomed
and accepted and not judged.
S2 (04:42):
Yeah. And they're not going to drop off or fall
between the cracks without somebody noticing and being able to
help them.
S3 (04:49):
That is correct.
S2 (04:50):
Which is so important. It's a long term solution.
S1 (04:53):
Yeah it is. And you know, the best the best
organizations that are out there. Okay. We could there are
some people who are not believers who are doing good work,
but they fall short because what you're doing is you're
helping someone temporarily, which is very good. But what are
(05:13):
you doing to help them eternally? And you see this,
and you know our heart, Charles. You know that we're
all about this, right? As believers, we are. We want
to help people, but we also want to do it
in the name of Jesus. It's not just that we're
quote unquote nice people, kind people. It's a matter of,
I'm doing this because I love Jesus. Now let me
(05:35):
tell you more about him, because that's where it really
matters most. It's it's not an either or. It's a
both end, isn't it?
S3 (05:42):
That is exactly right. And again, you know, I love
what we see in Scripture. The account in Scripture, in
Luke eight verses 40 through 48, where Jesus is walking
with Jairus, whose daughter is in the process of being
sick and will pass away and he'll raise her. But
just at that moment, a woman with a blood disorder
touches Jesus from behind, and she's healed immediately. And even
(06:04):
though her physical need is met immediately and he is
on mission going somewhere, he still stopped and turned around
and had this most beautiful conversation with her. So number one,
he had margin and time to invest in people. But
at the same time, he said, I know this individual.
It's more about not just physical needs. She needed to
be healed spiritually. She needed to be healed emotionally, and
(06:25):
she needed to be brought back into community, in a
community where she had no support and was ostracized. And
here's the thing for context. In that part of Scripture,
we know that this is an individual who had zero support.
She was saddled with guilt, sadness, shame, and grief. She
took risk by even approaching Jesus. And that's exactly how
(06:45):
every woman feels who walks through these doors every single day. Yes.
And in verse 48 he says the most beautiful thing
to her. He says, my daughter, your faith has made
you well. Go in peace. And right in front of
this huge crowd. He says, my daughter, you're my family now. Yeah.
Your faith has made you well. Acknowledging her faith and
go in peace means complete and total restoration. So while
(07:08):
we provide physical help and assistance, it's the bigger picture
is to provide help and assistance and point them to Jesus. Yes.
And to bring them back in community.
S1 (07:18):
Caitlin Drakos. And she is your registered nurse. And, Caitlin,
how did you end up here? Just curious.
S4 (07:25):
Um, well, you know, I started off at the hospital
working in cardiology and, um, towards, like, when Covid first started,
I just really felt like God was calling me to
do something bigger. Um, and because of my own story
and my own testimony, I just felt like this is
where God was leading me.
S1 (07:43):
Okay. Hang on. We like God's stories. We like testimonies.
Can you tell us your story?
S4 (07:48):
Yeah, I would love to. Um, just a little tidbit
of how I, you know, feel like God was calling
me here. So, I actually found out I was pregnant
in my senior year of high school. I was 17. Um, and, um,
a lot of the people around me were really pressuring
me to choose abortion. Um, ultimately, that's not what I chose.
I chose life for my daughter.
S1 (08:10):
Were you a believer at the time?
S4 (08:11):
I wasn't. No, I was not a believer. Um, I
was not in church. Um, was not, you know, actively seeking, um,
you know, Jesus or faith or anything. Um, so, yeah,
I ended up choosing life, though I knew that it
was not. I knew abortion wasn't what was right for me.
And so, um, my daughter just turned 19 in January.
S1 (08:32):
What's her name?
S4 (08:32):
Savannah.
S1 (08:33):
Hi, Savannah.
S2 (08:34):
Hi.
S1 (08:34):
If you're listening.
S2 (08:35):
Yeah.
S1 (08:36):
How exciting.
S2 (08:37):
That's great. And see what God does if you let
him take over. You know, in a situation where I'm
sure 17 panic, just, you know, and everybody telling, you know,
go get an abortion, it's going to ruin your life.
Look at you now. Yeah. Look at you now. You
know what God will do?
S4 (08:54):
It's really quite amazing. And, you know, after having my
daughter a few years after that, I ended up walking
through a domestic violence situation. And, you know, at the time,
like you said, I was scared, panicking and like chaos.
But I look back and I'm like, wow, God really
had his hand in every part of my life and
every part of my journey. And to be able to
(09:16):
serve in this ministry, um, and be able to walk
alongside women that maybe are in their senior year of
high school and find out they're pregnant or are in
a domestic violence situation? Yes. Um, it's a true it's
a gift and an extremely huge blessing.
S5 (09:31):
Do you see how.
S1 (09:31):
God uses everything in our lives? And it's for his
glory and our good and the good of others.
S2 (09:39):
Yes.
S1 (09:40):
And he never wastes anything, you know. A lot of
times we tend to think, well, I have wasted years. Mhm.
You know, I think about that sometimes myself. I'm like
all those years that I could have been serving God
and I didn't in my youth, but he does restore
the years the locusts have eaten and we should not
have regrets regarding that. Yes there are. There's a certain
(10:03):
degree of regret. But Charles, getting back to the word
that you highlighted, there's tremendous hope because we know that
God can take what we offer him and make something
beautiful out of it. And there is a sense of
authority when you. And by that I mean good authority.
There's a sense of, um, when you're when you're chatting
(10:25):
with these ladies, uh, who come in here and maybe
some of the men, they listen to you because you've
been through it. And I am certain that God allows
us to deal with these challenges so that bridges can
be built, uh, to other people's hearts so they will
be open and not only helped in the here and
(10:47):
now there again, but then also, um, pointing them to
himself and he can take it. It's just, you know,
that's when you think about things like this. It's a
holy ground moment. It's the God of the universe taking
the ugly and making it beautiful. It's beauty for ashes.
And that's the story of all of our lives, isn't it?
S4 (11:08):
Absolutely. Yeah, I see that every day. We have. You know,
I recently had a patient come in that was in
a domestic violence situation that was walking through our abortion
pill reversal protocol. And I just I was able to
just come alongside her in a different way because I
had walked through a similar situation. And so it was
(11:28):
just a blessing to be able to just plant those
seeds and really provide her some hope and just say, look,
I've been where you're at and I know you're struggling
and trying to figure out life right now, but you
can do this. Like, you can get over this mountain.
There's there's hope and there's healing beyond this.
S5 (11:45):
Yeah.
S1 (11:45):
And she's looking at you and it's like, okay, there's
hope sitting right in front of me.
S5 (11:49):
Yeah.
S1 (11:49):
And what a testimony for our God. Can I ask
you how you came to Jesus? You said you were
far away from him. But how did that how did
that pan out? How did it work?
S4 (11:57):
Yeah, I actually, um, someone had been telling me someone
that one of my sons, um, played soccer with their
mom had actually been encouraging me to go to Indian
Rocks Baptist Church for a while. And, um, I was
a single mom. You know, I had four kids under
the age of five, and I was trying to get
through nursing school, and I was like, I don't have
time for that.
S5 (12:17):
Yeah, exactly.
S4 (12:19):
Yeah. And just like, walking through a really challenging season and, um,
literally one day I woke up and I was like,
I think I'm going to go to Indian Rocks today. Wow.
And I started going there, and I went there for
probably about six months and went to service. The kids
went to, you know, children's ministry. Um, I got plugged
into a Bible study there and just met an amazing mentor.
(12:41):
And I would go there every single week and just
sit in Bible study and like, a connection group. And
one day, um, I just walked up to her and
I was like, look, I want to know what you're
talking about, or want to learn more and want to
understand this, but I truly have no idea any of
these stories that you're telling about the Bible. Um, and she,
(13:01):
you know, the next week she invited me to Wednesday
night service and dinner. Um, bought me a Bible and
then just prayed with me and my my daughter Savannah,
to accept Jesus. And that's kind of how our our
journey started.
S1 (13:15):
I never get tired of hearing those stories. Caitlin, let's
talk about what you do. You, uh, you kind of
handle the scans and everything, right? So tell us how
that works.
S4 (13:24):
Yeah. So, um, we actually have a wide variety of
medical services that we offer. Pregnancy testing, um, STI testing
and treatment well-women services. We do limited obstetrical ultrasounds. Um,
and then also well-woman services. Um, abortion pill reversal. Um,
so we have a large range of services here.
S1 (13:44):
Okay. So let's talk about the abortion pill reversal and
how that works.
S4 (13:49):
Yeah. Um, so, um, abortion pill reversal is specifically for
patients that have moved forward with a chemical abortion. Um,
also known as the abortion pill or medical abortion. Um,
and with this type of abortion, there's two separate pills. Um,
so we'll just call them one and two. Um, the
names are kind of complicated, and so most people won't
(14:10):
remember them, but just one and two pills. And with
abortion pill reversal, our goal is to intercept between the
patient taking the first and the second pill. Um, and
the reason for that is because the first pill actually
cuts off the nutrient supply. Um, and it blocks the
progesterone supply to the baby. And then with the abortion
pill reversal, we provide progesterone prescriptions, which re-establishes the nutrient supply. Um,
(14:36):
provides progesterone to the pregnancy to help support it. Um,
and really helps to sustain the pregnancy.
S1 (14:42):
So what's the time? You know, what's the window of
opportunity here?
S4 (14:46):
So, um, optimal time is 24 hours. So 24 hours
after they take that first pill. We want to start
the progesterone. But we've seen successful reversals all the way
up until 72 hours.
S2 (14:58):
How long between the first pill and the second?
S4 (15:01):
Um, so you mean for them to take.
S2 (15:03):
For them to take it? Yeah.
S4 (15:04):
So we usually, um, a patient will, uh, take the
first pill, uh, in the clinic, the abortion clinic, or they'll,
you know, get it mailed to their house, which is
really common right now. Chemical abortions are on the rise,
but male male abortions are really popular right now, too. Um,
so they take that first pill and then usually, um,
within 24 hours to 48 hours. They're, um, recommended to
(15:26):
take that second abortion pill. So we have a really
tight window.
S6 (15:31):
Thank you for taking some time to listen to this
episode of the Curtin Kate Mornings podcast. We always welcome
a review with your thoughts and comments, and please feel
free to subscribe and follow us as well.
S1 (15:42):
We have Jonathan Reyes with us as well. He's the
Director of Programs and Outreach. What has surprised you most
about this position God has led you to?
S7 (15:52):
Hmm. So what has surprised me the most? And I
hope churches don't stab me for this one, but it's, uh.
There is a because I've served on the side as
an associate pastor for many years. I understand that many
churches want to help, so it can be very discouraging
at times where you're trying to collaborate and partner with
(16:17):
churches in the area who are pro-life, but do little
to nothing to show that they're pro-life except vote. So
when we try to show up and say, hey, here's
a way that you can actually move beyond the voting
booth and actually save unborn lives, or even educate young
people to not even end up at the pregnancy center.
(16:38):
Or I would go even to far go as far
as when you preach on a Sunday morning about abortion. Uh,
you don't go as far as to acknowledge the Knowledge
that post-abortive men and women in the congregation.
S1 (16:51):
They are there?
S7 (16:52):
Yes. Yes.
S1 (16:53):
The men and women who are sitting in the pews,
so to speak. There are many. I forget what the
stat is, but we've had guests on it. What is it, Charles?
S3 (17:01):
It is 1 in 4 have walked through the pain
and trauma and experience of abortion personally themselves. 1 in 4.
And many are sitting silently struggling. Right? Right. In our
own churches.
S1 (17:12):
You know what? We have some folks right now listening
to us who are in that very same situation. Charles,
I want to get back to this. And also, Jonathan,
they have an abortion in their past. They know the gospel.
They know the power of Jesus blood to forgive them
for even this. They know this intellectually, but they are
(17:34):
having a hard time working through it. Because yes, it's
that they can't forgive themselves, but the enemy is also
screaming at them there. There's a lot of opposition so
they know the truth of the gospel. They're listening this morning,
and a lot of times, folks who've been through this,
when this conversation comes up about, uh, you know, abortion
(17:57):
and all of this, they just turn it off. It's
just too painful. If you're listening this morning, I don't
want you to turn off the radio because I believe
that God makes divine appointments. I know he does. He
does with us all the time. We want to communicate
to you that, yes, you understand the grace of God
that covers your sin, but you also need to own
(18:21):
it in a very deep way. And maybe you need
some help from somebody who can help you, you know,
through all of this. And so, uh, Charles and Jonathan,
I'd love for you to tag team this and speak
to those people listening today who decided, you know what?
I'm going to leave the radio on. I want to
hear what they have to say.
S3 (18:41):
Yeah. And I'll have Jonathan give our passages of Hope
website in a minute. And our passages of Hope ministry
is specifically the ministry designed for those who have walked
through trauma, specifically with their history and experience of an
abortion for for women and men. Because what we are
seeing that 1 in 4 statistic, they are right in
our congregations, within our churches. And and when you start
(19:04):
to dig down into some of the data of why, um, um,
they are silently struggling, the answers are because they do
not feel like there is a safe place or a
safe space for them at their church. And then when
you ask, why is that? It's because they they'll communicate
that they feel like they will be judged or condemned.
(19:24):
And this is a topic that is not not that
often talked about. And so what we're trying to do
is say there is healing. There is restoration. Jesus loves you.
He is in the restoration business. I always say this
our past does not define our future, and our God
is a God of complete and total restoration. There is
(19:47):
nothing too big for him. And then this becomes part
of your testimony. And the kingdom impact is immense.
S1 (19:54):
Jonathan follow.
S2 (19:55):
Up.
S7 (19:55):
Yeah. So to me it's a discipleship issue. So like
like you said, Kurt, like you can know the gospel.
You know whom the son sets free is free indeed.
But we need to learn how to walk in that freedom.
So what ends up happening is what we want to
do with our with the churches is we want to
create spaces where men and women can walk through this
with people who've gone through that themselves, through the truth
(20:18):
of God's Word. Because there's different areas in your life,
whether it's related to despair, depression, anger, bitterness. You're not
wondering why you're struggling with these areas, and it could
be directly to it could come from that abortion experience.
So what we want to do is help people find
that hope and healing through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Uh,
(20:38):
another thing is that, um, some of some of these emotions, um,
come later in life. So immediately what ends up happening?
I just saw this on a TikTok video yesterday. It
was a young woman crying in front of her mirror,
recording herself. It's it's a thing now with young people.
But she was saying she was like, I had an
abortion a few years ago, and now I find myself grieving,
(21:02):
wondering the life I would have had with my child.
Why didn't anyone tell me of this? Yes. Yeah. So
now she's suffering in silence and it's almost like a
bait and switch. They're coming to the realization that they
were promised something, but it was a lie. And now
they're dealing with the repercussions of that. And what would
my role specifically is? I want to partner with churches,
(21:23):
specifically with small groups, pastors, and see if we can
offer a this type of group. And usually when I
meet with pastors, I tend to ask them very direct
question do you offer Celebrate Recovery? They'll say yes. Do
you offer divorcecare? Yes. Yeah. Do you offer a single
mom's care? Yes. Do you offer post-abortive care. Mm.
S2 (21:41):
Yeah. Mhm.
S7 (21:43):
And then I just let it sit and then I
was like yeah, 1 in 4 people in your congregation
have walked through this before. This is just another area
that you can care for them and help them grow
in their discipleship.
S1 (21:54):
Alicia Scott's with us, too. Hey, Alicia. You're the hot
seat now. Welcome.
S8 (22:00):
Good morning. Thank you.
S1 (22:01):
So, Alicia, you are the clinic manager here. How long
have you been doing that?
S8 (22:06):
Um, I've been in this role since 2020. Um, so. Yeah,
but I've been with the organization since 2012.
S1 (22:14):
Why do you do what you do?
S8 (22:15):
Why do I do what I do? It's a calling,
for sure. Um, and you know what? I, I can
relate to, um, a lot of these women's story with
my own story, so.
S1 (22:28):
Okay. So, you know us, you listen to the show, right?
S2 (22:32):
Yes.
S1 (22:32):
Right, right, right. So when you're going to open the door,
you know, I'm going to run through it. Could you
share your story with us?
S8 (22:38):
Um. Well, um, I had my first daughter when I
was 18. Um, had my second daughter, I was 19.
came to know the Lord in my early 20s and
it was just on from there. So I was a
single mom up until my girls were in high school. Um,
got married, you know, and grandkids and, you know.
S2 (23:00):
So.
S1 (23:00):
That's great. I love your smile, too, because you're so happy. Alicia. Um,
how the Lord has, um, you know, the the fulfillment
and the joy that he gives you as you are here,
as the clinic manager, you're seeing babies saved.
S8 (23:16):
Yes.
S1 (23:17):
Lives saved. Lives changed almost every day, aren't you?
S8 (23:22):
Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. Um. So. Yeah. So every day we
meet women from all walks of life. Um, and the
first thing we do is like, we meet. We want
them to feel welcome when they come in here. Um, so, um,
we make this a safe place for them to just
open up and we meet them where they are. Um, so. Yeah,
(23:43):
but we get to see, you know, various decisions made. Um,
but we also encourage them that no matter what they decide,
we're here for them, you know, and we're here to
walk alongside them as much or as little as they
will allow us. Um, so, yeah.
S1 (23:59):
Sometimes they just need to well, obviously they need to
feel accepted and loved. And Charles, you were bringing us
up where they're not judged, right? Right. And they they
need to know that the reason why you do what
you do is because of Jesus. Yes, it is his
(24:19):
love that compels us to reach out to others. And
I am a firm believer. I was mentioning Alicia about
your your joy that's contagious and your smile. When people
know Jesus, you can tell Charles you agree.
S3 (24:33):
Absolutely, absolutely. And Alicia and the team right here in
Pinellas Park. But our entire teams across all four of
our centers, and in fact, all of the partner ministries
that we're speaking with today, do an amazing job of
when an individual walks through the door who is saddled
with grief, chaos, anxiety. They are met with compassion. They
(24:54):
are met with love. They are met with grace. They
are met right where they're at. And we will walk
that journey with them so that they feel like they
are supported and they are hopeful. Many for the first time.
S1 (25:05):
You were just sharing a story and, uh, you know,
New Life Solutions is, again, it's the umbrella organization. And
you have several locations for these pregnancy care centers, these
medical centers, uh, we're one of them in Pinellas Park.
But you have a location near USF, right? Correct. And
you were sharing a story about something that happened at
(25:28):
that location. So share the story.
S3 (25:30):
Sure. Our North Tampa location, which is up at University
Cove near near USF, is right next door to an
abortion clinic. So not down the street. It's in a
medical park, and our front doors are probably 20 to
25ft away. You could stand between the two buildings and
touch the walls. Wow. And we had a couple.
S1 (25:47):
Location, location, location.
S3 (25:50):
That's true. It really is true. So we had a
young couple, a young woman and man come into our
facility thinking they were next door, and they said they
were there for their abortion. Well, our team said, well,
we don't we don't do that here. You're thinking you're
next door. But before you go, let us just share
with you what we we do do and let let
us talk about some, some hope that we can provide.
(26:11):
And they said, hey, thank you very much. After they
listened and they walked. They said, we're still going to
go next door though. So they walked next door and
it was about 20 minutes later, our team heard a
knock at the door and they went back. And it
was this. It was this couple again. So they came
back and they said, you know, we were sitting next
door filling out this paperwork, and if it was very
(26:33):
cold in there from a not, not just the temperature,
but it was just sterile cold. And they said we
looked at each other and we said we said, we
want to go back to where this is their words,
where it smelled good, where we were greeted, where we
were treated with kindness. And they said where we have hope.
(26:54):
And our team had a chance to pour into them
like we were sharing earlier with compassion and love and
grace and hope. And they saw their ultrasound and they
chose life for their baby. They heard the gospel for
the first time and are being discipled. Yeah. And here's
an interesting thing with with this story too. You know,
the man said this, the father of the baby said, well,
I was just going along with this because I thought
(27:16):
that's what you wanted to do to move forward with
this abortion. And she was saying, well, I was just
moving forward with this abortion because I thought you would
never want to support. And really, both of them were
on the same page and they would have been able to,
but there was no communication, and they needed someone to
step in to say, we can help you, we can
offer you care, we can offer you support and resources,
and we're going to walk with you long term, and
we're going to offer hope. And that's just one of
(27:38):
many stories that we see every day in our four
medical clinics.
S1 (27:42):
In the name of Jesus.
S8 (27:45):
Yes.
S1 (27:46):
Yes. Look at what's going on there. These are untold stories.
They shouldn't be untold. Right. We should release them. And
I'm glad we're releasing a few of them here this morning. Yeah. Uh, Charles.
That's great. Something else I wanted to ask you about. Uh,
it's another powerful story that you had mentioned, uh, in
our conversations off the air that, um.
S2 (28:05):
I know I'm not going to make it through this one.
S1 (28:06):
I know, yeah, you know where I'm going with this, Kate?
S2 (28:09):
Yes, I do. And I'm glad we're sharing it. You're
sharing it.
S1 (28:12):
So, uh, so it's, uh, we talked about chemical abortions
and these types of things, and you were sharing a
story of, uh. Well, you know what story I'm talking about, right? Yes. Yeah. Well,
go ahead and share it with everybody.
S3 (28:24):
Yeah. Okay. So for context, we're seeing the radical growth
of chemical abortion. 63% minimum of all abortions are a
chemical abortion, which is a pill method, meaning people are
home alone in their bathroom walking through their experience. And
what that means is this. And this is happening right
now in the Tampa Bay area, but I had a
colleague of mine from Washington state call with a very
specific story that they just walked through in their clinic
(28:48):
just a couple of weeks ago, and it's happening right
here every day in the Tampa Bay area. And this
is why the trauma is increased significantly with chemical abortion.
And this is exactly what's happening. They get a call
from from their client. And again, we see this now
and happening right here. And the communication is I now
(29:09):
have walked through my chemical abortion experience here in my
bathroom alone. I have tried to flush my baby down
the toilet three times, but he's too big. So I
scooped him out of the toilet. And now I'm walking
around my house with him for the last couple hours.
(29:30):
What do I do? The Lord has not created us
to process that weight. That is not he. And so
now the trauma that we are seeing, because when we
say people now are alone in the restroom walking through
their chemical abortion experience, that is even a very sanitized
way to say the reality of the trauma that's taking
place for individuals alone in their restroom when they have
(29:53):
to deal with the aftermath. And the aftermath is exactly that.
It's the fact that there is all of this now.
They see, depending on how far along they are with
the gestational period. They see their child in the toilet.
They now have to clean up. And in this case
we are seeing flushing down the toilet, down the sinks,
down the bathtubs and all the issues associated with that.
(30:16):
That's why we see heightened levels of PTSD, heightened levels
of sadness, heightened levels of anger and rage. And by
the way, the anger and rage is aimed at the
abortion clinic. Or were they ordered the chemical abortion pills
because they see for the first time that their experience
is not matching the promise that they were given? They
were told it would not be like that.
S1 (30:35):
Yes.
S3 (30:36):
And now they're walking through significant trauma and they will
need help. And everything is amplified and ramped up.
S1 (30:43):
Okay, so here's another sidebar to all of that. That's
the main part of this. But then you have what
is it? Water pollution issues.
S3 (30:51):
Yeah. Two two major issues not being talked about too
much relative to chemical abortion is exactly what we were
just talking about. Two things. One, the waterways and water
systems are being polluted like never before because of all
of the fetal remains, medical waste and the active chemicals
in the abortion pill, drugs which are mifepristone and misoprostol,
(31:16):
being being in our waterways. And they don't dilute over time.
And they're not they don't test for this. And so
our waterways, with the exponential growth of chemical abortion, our
waterways are being polluted and with other with chemical abortion,
traffickers and abusers are now ordering chemical abortion pills to
further abuse their victims without taking them to a location
where our teams have been trained to recognize symptoms of
(31:37):
human trafficking that's been eliminated now.
S2 (31:41):
Yeah. It's evil.
S1 (31:42):
Untold story right there. Kate, were you aware of this?
S2 (31:46):
These nuances. I never even thought about those. Those two things, but. Yeah. Yeah.
I have thought being a woman of being alone, doing that,
that would. I can't even imagine that. You know, haunting
is what I think of. It would haunt you because
you're all alone. This is an experience only. And who
can relate to it? We really need to get groups
of these women to be able to talk to each other. Yeah,
(32:08):
that was like mine. Or this happened to me because
they're just it's I can't even imagine how hard that
would be.
S1 (32:15):
We have a very special guest who's joining us as well.
Sonia Garcia, of course.
S9 (32:21):
I appreciate that. You can hear my story. So, you know,
if I hear about ChatGPT. Yes, it's the app that
you can ask whatever you want and they give you
a lot of information. So I just ask GPT. And
last night I cried like, oh my goodness, what I
do in that moment in ChatGPT. He sent me information
about women's place and they told me like, hey. ChatGPT
(32:45):
told me, like a lot of information is for location,
but now the location from vanilla was closed because the
moment was for the hurricane. All right. So I said,
let me go there. Let me go at the Tampa.
So that's the moment when me Alicia and was amazing
because at that moment I feel like so alone. I
(33:07):
love that I don't know what to do. Sure. You know,
sometimes when we receive, like, you know, that you're pregnant,
it's not easy, you know? Right. And more for if
you don't have, like, family. So it's like difficult moment.
But I really appreciate this place because it help me
feel more comfortable. It's not just information about how can
(33:29):
I be everything. It's just emotional support. It's a lot.
It's a lot. So it's like my second family.
S2 (33:36):
Oh, good.
S1 (33:37):
And we were talking about all the smiles around here. Yeah.
And Sonia has a big smile, too. Beautiful. Just like Alicia.
So you guys connecting? And Alicia, you actually shared your
story with us earlier in the broadcast here this morning. But, um,
the special connection you have with each one of the
ladies and and actually the the guys come in, too,
(33:57):
but the connection you have. But I can tell you
guys have something maybe extra special, you know, in terms
of your, your connection. Tell us more about that and,
and walk with us through. Because what we're doing here
is we're really sharing a story of what it looks like. Um,
you know, almost in real time. So share with us
how how you worked with Sonia, how that played out
(34:19):
and where you guys are today.
S8 (34:21):
Yeah. So, um, when we met, um, in our town
and country clinic. So I just sat down with her,
had a conversation just to kind of figure out where
she was, and kind of decide how we were able
to move forward and, you know, assist her. So after we,
you know, went through our whole process of finding out
what's going on with her, um, we got a schedule
(34:42):
to return for an ultrasound. Um, so she came back and.
S1 (34:46):
Okay, let's talk about the ultrasound. Sonia, how was that?
S10 (34:49):
Oh, my God.
S9 (34:51):
That was amazing. Of course I cried in that moment.
S10 (34:55):
Oh, yes. Of course.
S9 (34:56):
It was amazing. You don't hide that. Hear me? I
love for that. Changed my life. That changed my life.
And that's the reason that I'm here for sure. Because we.
I don't know how can I express this emotion? Because
in that moment, I just. Of course. Did you see
the ultrasound? You can see the little boy and that's it. Yeah.
(35:19):
But when the doctor, he. She told me. Oh, you
want to hear the her baby.
S10 (35:25):
The heartbeat, the heartbeat.
S1 (35:27):
Yeah.
S9 (35:28):
That was like.
S10 (35:29):
What? I had a little human inside me. Yes. It's true.
S9 (35:34):
So that changed my life. And I chose to say,
you know what? I want to get this baby with me.
I want to be mom. I don't know how because
I was afraid for the hurricane. And in that moment,
I don't have nothing. Like literally nothing. In that moment,
I say, I don't know how figure out this situation,
but I want to do it. In that moment, Alicia
give me a lot of support. Like, hey, every woman
(35:58):
have different story, but you can do this sometimes. And
we need we need that. We need, we need you sometimes.
You know you can do it. Yeah. And she told
me that. And I just I say, you know what? Yes,
I can do this. And, well, I just, I now
I just come every Tuesday here and I read a
couple things for my baby and that made me feel
(36:18):
so happy, like, oh, you know what? It's it's good,
it's good. It's a lot of people, they, they want to,
you know, help other people. It's not just, oh, they
should not just working with me like, hey, no, this
is your part and this is my. No. She literally. Hey,
how are you feeling today? Yeah. Yes.
S1 (36:36):
And listening.
S10 (36:36):
Right. Listening.
S1 (36:37):
It's not just say, well, how are you doing today?
And then. Okay, I'm doing fine. No. It's like, no, no,
they're paying attention. No. How are you really doing today?
S9 (36:45):
Yeah. Well. I'm nervous.
S10 (36:47):
Yeah. Yeah. They are nervous.
S1 (36:50):
I never would have.
S10 (36:50):
Known.
S1 (36:51):
That. I wouldn't know.
S10 (36:52):
That. Yeah, I know. As cool as a cucumber, man.
S9 (36:55):
Yeah, I'm nervous, but I feel so blessed for this opportunity.
I want to share my story just because I want
every woman the world. Not just here in this country
and the world, they. They needed to know. There is
a lot of good persons and in every part. And
sometimes we don't hide the about the organization like church,
(37:18):
like a lot of things in the world. So we
have to looking for sometimes we focus on the bad
situation and we don't looking for the opportunities. And this
is the opportunity for me, for grow, for learn, for
every Tuesday that come here and learn about About something.
How can I be like the second trimester? Like third trimester?
(37:39):
And now I have, like, 18 weeks, and it's like, oh,
and yesterday. And you know what? That's really good. Every
time I come here, every Tuesday is something special happened
to me.
S10 (37:51):
Oh, seriously?
S9 (37:52):
And because they.
S10 (37:53):
They.
S9 (37:54):
They pray for me. And I said yes, please. It's
the best part. It's the.
S10 (37:57):
Best part. Because that's not the only thing.
S8 (37:58):
Sonya's actually doing Bible study with us as well.
S1 (38:01):
I was going to ask you about your walk with Jesus.
S8 (38:03):
Um, so. And she's plugged in? Well, not. She started
attending countryside church up in Cleveland. Oh, yes.
S1 (38:10):
Oh, nice up there. That's great.
S10 (38:13):
Yeah.
S9 (38:13):
And I just, you know, sometime in that moment, I
feel like lost, like, alone. But. And now I believe
that God is working the perfect time for everything. For everything.
It's like I don't have any idea about, like, if
you told me one year ago. Hey, how are you doing?
(38:34):
How how do you think you're going to be? I
say like, I don't know. I don't hide them. Maybe professionally.
And now I'm a mom and I'm feel so blessed
from God because he showed me how he loved me.
S10 (38:48):
Mhm.
S9 (38:49):
And I never experienced something like this in my life.
Like now like support and I choose. Interesting. And you
know what I want to learn more about God because
of course there is in my he he working with me.
He's providing a lot of things. So it's just I
say thank you. Thank you.
S10 (39:08):
God.
S11 (39:09):
Round of applause. Yay! God!
S10 (39:10):
Yay!
S2 (39:17):
Thanks for listening to Kurt and Kate Mornings podcast. Please
take a minute to follow, subscribe and review us. And
no matter where in the world you are, you can
listen to us live from 6 to 9 a.m. weekdays
on the Moody Radio app.
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