The address of 405 Biggs St. in Laurinburg will be the sight of a Vita Choices Pregnancy Center. The center will be the latest addition to nearly 100 independent pregnancy resource centers in North Carolina.
LAURINBURG — There is news on the horizon for pregnant women in the Scotland County community: the approaching opening of the nonprofit Vita Choices Pregnancy Center in Laurinburg.
Vita Choices is an anti-abortion organization that aims to meet the needs of women with unplanned or unwanted pregnancies by providing support and guidance on their choices moving forward and their ability or desire to continue the pregnancy, according to Dr. Paul Fuchs and Karen Harris of Vita Choices.
This support is expected not to end with the pregnancy and will extend to the mother and infant post-delivery. Vita Choices is collaborating with local agencies to support both mother and baby in the one to two years after birth.
Currently, Vita Choices is in the process of recruiting and training staff. Tentative plans are to open the center before the end of the year, potentially in early November. Vita Choices will be located at 405 Biggs St. near the intersection with Church Street in downtown Laurinburg.
The center will be the latest addition to nearly 100 independent pregnancy resource centers in North Carolina. The name “Vita Choices” was chosen to emphasize the center’s focus on life, as “Vita” is derived from the Latin word for life.
According to Vita Choices’ mission, the corporation aims to “counsel pregnant women in a compassionate, non-judgemental and loving manner on their possible paths forward in life. The center will encourage women to continue unplanned pregnancies by presenting facts and a positive perspective. The hope is to show them the good and beautiful side of having life growing within them.”
Abortions among women from Scotland County are not rare.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Center For Health Statistics, 12.69% of local pregnancies, just over 300, ended with an abortion in the five years from 2016-2020. A total of 86.75% of the pregnancies, or 2,160, ended in a live birth and 0.56%, or 14 pregnancies, ended in fetal deaths.
Based on these statistics for every seven live births, one pregnancy was terminated via abortion.
Counseling with trained staff will be offered at Vita Choices, as well as information about various aspects of local women’s pregnancies, such as lifestyle issues, development in the womb, nutrition, local resources, parenting, adoption, and abortion procedures and risks will be provided. The center will also offer nutritional supplies, clothing articles and other items for women and their newborns.
The center will not provide abortions (medical or surgical), abortion referrals, or birth control pills due to its foundational belief that life starts at conception.
Vita Choices is seeking support from other churches in Scotland County, civic organizations, businesses, and interested individuals. Although the pregnancy resource center is associated with LifeLink Carolina on the state level and Heartbeat International on the national level, Vita Choices is organized, staffed and run by local people for local women in Scotland County and surrounding areas.
Those interested in volunteering with Vita Choices can contact any of the following board members: John Clinton at 910-276-3901, Karen Harris at 812-568-1480, or Allison Barnes at 910-318-1975.
The clinic will provide the necessary training.