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Sav-A-Life in Lanett received a new ultrasound machine recently, which was donated as part of a grant from the Psalm 139 project with the Alabama Baptist Convention. 

The nonprofit organization decided to celebrate the donation, which coincides with the one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v. Wade with an open house and dedication. 

“Now, with abortion bans in our state and highly restricted in neighboring states, we know that help and support for women who are facing unplanned pregnancies is more important now than it has ever been,” said Sav-A-Life Executive Director Machelle Hall.

Since the overturning of the 1973 Roe v. Wade case, Hall said the women’s center has seen an increase in the number of women seeking aid for crisis pregnancies. When the center’s ultrasound machine broke, they applied for the Psalm 139 project to replace it. 

Hall said ultrasounds often discourage women from having abortions. 

“We know how important an ultrasound scan is in the decision-making process when a mother is undecided about the future of her pregnancy,” Hall said. “An ultrasound machine opens up a window to the womb for a mother so that she can see her baby, and she can see its beating heart.”

Sav-A-Life provides ultrasounds only from 8 to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

With the higher demand, the center plans to expand its facility to include a medical wing. 

The organization operates under the medical license of Dr. Kim Owens, offering pregnancy testing, educational resources on women’s options and limited first-trimester ultrasound services. 

Earn While You Learn is a relationship-based mentoring program that teaches women about pregnancy, parenting and life skills. The center’s new program is a Men’s Ministry, which educates fathers on parenting.

“This allows women to continue to come in to receive support and ongoing education and still be able to receive the items that they need for their baby,” Hall said. 

The organization does not perform or refer for abortions. 

“But what we do offer is practical help to these women, and we provide non-judgmental emotional support for these women and medically accurate information on all of the options,” Hall said. “And we do this so that she will then be able to make an informed choice about the future of her pregnancy.”

The nonprofit organization has worked with more than 23,000 people since its inception in 1985.