By Rocio Granados - La Voz Catolica
Photographer: Courtesy Luz Alba
Luz Alba and her husband, Ivanovich, pose for a selfie with the sonogram of their daughter Genesis, now 5. The Albas considered having an abortion because Luz had just come out of cancer treatments and lost a previous pregnancy at seven months.
MIAMI | Luz Alba had just arrived from Colombia six years ago when she became pregnant. She already had a 4-year-old son and was coming out of cancer treatment — surgery and radiation.
The pregnancy "was such a scare because I was told it was not good in my situation, and that I could relapse. It was joy, but also fear," Alba said. She had lost a seven-month pregnancy six months earlier, "and I still had not gone through that mourning." In addition, her situation at the time was difficult, with no job, no car, no health insurance.
An acquaintance told her he had seen a place that promised "absolute confidentiality," and when he saw the silhouette of a pregnant woman he thought it might be an abortion clinic.
Photographer: Courtesy Luz Alba
Luz Alba, at the time pregnant with her daughter, Genesis, is seen here surrounded by baby items after she became a volunteer with the Respect Life ministry in Broward.
Photographer: Courtesy Luz Alba
At the time pregnant with her daughter, Genesis, Luz Alba and her husband Ivanovich Alba made several event presentations for the Respect Life ministry in different archdiocesan parishes. They are pictured with Evalina Van Lengen, former administrator of the now-closed North Broward Pregnancy Help Center, and their son Angel Alba.
Both Alba and her husband did not want to lose the baby, "but we thought it was a solution" and went to the center with that intention.
When they arrived, she explained her "problem," and the receptionist told her they were in the right place. But Alba thought God was sending her a message, since the center had an image of the Infant Jesus of Prague, to whom she is devoted, along with baby clothes and other items.
The employees approached her and began to pray, then informed her that it was not an abortion clinic, but a center for life. It was the North Broward Pregnancy Help Center in Margate — now merged with the Central Broward Pregnancy Help Center in Fort Lauderdale — part of the Respect Life ministry of the Archdiocese of Miami. The sign that said "Respect Life" was on the outside but very difficult for people to read.
"I started to cry. I was thinking, 'I've already messed up,' but I also thought, 'I've come to a good place,'" Alba recalled.
She and her husband were then brought to the ultrasound room. "When I saw that little fetus prancing around in there, and that heart at full tilt, I said 'Oh my God, what a blessing I have,'" Alba said.
The staff assured her that they could help her if she opted for life. And so she did. They referred her to a gynecologist specializing in oncology for a free consultation, and the doctor told them the baby was healthy, and so was she.
"The doctor gave us reassurance," said Alba, and the Respect Life Office gave her what she needed at the time, "that companionship that gets you on the right track."
Alba became a volunteer with the Respect Life ministry, vowing to help other moms so they would not be tempted to have an abortion. "We had faith but were not hopeful. When you have hope with faith, things really happen," she said.
She and her husband have spoken at various Respect Life ministry events, and the staff and volunteers at the center became their family. Together they chose Genesis, or new life, as the name for the baby she was expecting.
"She is a healthy 5-year-old girl," Alba said, adding that she herself is in good health and has achieved economic independence with her own organic produce company.
Photographer: ROCIO GRANADOS | LVC
Marcela Villegas, a coordinator of special programs for the archdiocese’s Respect Life ministry, with a volunteer organizes the myriad items, for babies up to two years old, that are available for women in crisis pregnancies at the Central Broward Pregnancy Help Center in Fort Lauderdale.
Photographer: ROCIO GRANADOS | LVC
Belkis Rodriguez, Miami's Respect Life ministry assistant director, shows on her cell phone some of the signs used by volunteers on sidewalks where they pray to end abortion.
OPTION FOR LIFE
"When we have a mom who is considering an abortion for whatever reason, we do everything we can to bring her to the center for an ultrasound, without misleading her," said Cristina Criado, coordinator of the Central Broward Pregnancy Help Center. "We want them to definitely hear the heartbeat because it's a trigger. It's the miracle. Many of them really do change their minds.”
According to ministry statistics, most of the women they serve are over the age of 30, already have at least two children, and don't want to have another one.
"The number one reason for women resorting to abortion in our archdiocese and even across the country is socioeconomic," said Angela Curatalo, archdiocesan director of Respect Life. "We can help with that."
Curatalo noted that the Pregnancy Help Centers have "(baby) items, if that is the problem. If they are homeless, we do everything we can to connect them with places where they can obtain housing. If they need immigration assistance, we can send them to a number of places for help. There is a lot we can do. We really try to get to know their whole story, find out what areas of their life they need help with and refer them to the right places."
Many women who opt for abortion are unaware of the services offered by pregnancy help centers. These include: pregnancy and postpartum counseling, pregnancy testing, ultrasounds, referrals to community resources, material assistance, prenatal and parenting education classes, and post-abortion healing. All at no cost to people who do not have access to medical care. These efforts have helped save babies.
"When they come here and our wonderful staff shows them everything we can do for them, they feel empowered to have their children," said Curatalo.
"The important thing about the prenatal classes is not just watching videos and answering questions, it's the camaraderie that is established," Criado said, noting that some participants suffer from depression or have no one with whom to share their problems.
The centers see about 40 to 50 mothers a month, Monday through Saturday. Of their clients, 23% are Catholic; 25% are Christian and the rest are non-religious but spiritual.
The ministry is supported by donations from archdiocesan parishes, where respect life representatives coordinate fundraising drives such as Baby Bottle Drive and Baby Showers. Archdiocesan schools this year are hosting the Educational Baby Bottle Drive for the second time, from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15.
"We have private donors. But schools and parishes are our biggest donors and supporters," Curatalo said.
In 2021, the Pregnancy Help centers served 2,600 men and women, and 29 babies were saved.
OVERTURNING ABORTION
According to statistics from the Guttmacher Institute, nearly 80,000 abortions were performed in Florida in 2020; more than 25,000 of them were performed in the 24 abortion facilities within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami.
Those numbers are expected to decrease due to the ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy that went into effect in Florida on July 1, and with the June 24 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, which had legalized abortion nationwide since 1973.
Photographer: ROCIO GRANADOS | LVC
A Virgin Mary with Baby Jesus in her arms and a smaller Mary are both located at the Central Broward Pregnancy Help Center, in Fort Lauderdale.
"We have noticed changes. [Women] started calling because they needed to know how far along they were in their pregnancy to get an abortion," said Belkis Rodriguez, assistant director of the archdiocese's Respect Life ministry.
But this "has been a good opportunity for us to get (pregnant women) to come in so we can talk to them, and they have wanted to have the baby," Rodriguez added.
Although it is now up to the states to decide whether to ban abortion completely, or beyond a certain number of weeks, the Supreme Court ruling "is changing the minds of many people. It is changing decisions in states that are already sanctuaries for life. I think it is very important," Rodriguez said.
RAISING AWARENESS
Raising awareness about the harm of abortion is also part of the work of the Respect Life ministry, and October is Respect Life Month in the United States.
Respect Life works closely with Sidewalk Advocates for Life, people who stand on the streets with anti-abortion and pro-life signs.
"It's an organized effort," said Angela Curatalo, director of the ministry in the Archdiocese of Miami. She added that each parish has a respect life representative and some of them gather groups and pray every weekend across the street from abortion clinics. About 50 volunteers have been trained as sidewalk counselors.
Another outreach effort was to open the Central Broward Pregnancy Help Center in Fort Lauderdale, right next to an abortion clinic on East Commercial Blvd.
In September, the ministry launched "Entering Canaan" as part of its Project Rachel, post-abortion ministry.
"The program starts with a day of prayer and healing, followed by monthly meetings," said Marcela Villegas, special programs coordinator for Respect Life.
They began with women and will eventually offer it to men as well. Because men also suffer, "and they suffer a lot," Villegas stressed.
FIND OUT MORE
The archdiocese’s Respect Life Ministry has three Pregnancy Help Centers strategically located to serve all of South Florida:
- South Broward, 4747 Hollywood Blvd., Suite #101, Hollywood. 954-963-2229
- Central Broward, 2151 E. Commercial Blvd., Suite #301, Fort Lauderdale. 954-565-0229
- South Dade, 3410 S.W. 107 Ave., Miami. 305-273-8507
- For more information, visit https://respectlifemiami.org, email [email protected], or call 954-981-2922.
