They Type Of Competiton Planned Parenthood Will Definitely HATE, A Crisis Pregnancy Center

Back in September of 2008, I mentioned this PP site in Sioux City as the 1st 1 in Iowa to be offering Telemed abortions. (Planned Parenthood Again Shows It Cares More About Money Than the Health of Its Victims*) At the time the term telemed abortions had yet to be coined. They were RU-486 abortions or as Iowa Right to Life labeled them when they 1st discovered what was going on, webcam abortions. At that time the Sioux City site was operated by Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. After a merger with another PP they are now known as Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.

You can be sure that PPH is NOT happy to see this place open. The statement from the DM HQ shows that. Naturally they claim 97% of their services don't focus on abortion without mentioning that abortion provides most of their business As for those other services let's look at 1 example, pregnancy testing. They count it as a tyotally seperate service rather than as a requirement before performing the abortion.

But you will also noticed the veiled hint that they see their new neighbors as potentially violent. & for PP to imply they will break the law when PP have been doing telemed abortions in defience of Iowa law & has broken way too many other laws here & across the nation. PP that has NO respect for life, no respect for families or the law should not be lecturing on how other people behave, esp when they know it is their side, not the Pro-life side that is violent, disrespectful & lawbreakers.

Keep praying the the Iowa Board of Medicine WILL do the right thing & stop telemed abortions rather than give their PP buddies a pass & refuse to enforce the law as they should.

In the meantime this should definitely cut into their business of murdering helpless unborn babies.

(PS Something tells me the press is subtly twisting what Bishop Nickless said to make it sound lkike he is distancing himself from the center. What I suspect is that he was asked about the extent of Diocesan involvement. & they ran with it. There were 2 articles in the Globe, the diocesan paper, that talked about it as well, Rally revs up Siouxland pro-lifers, Sioux City to open pregnancy crisis center. Neither of those articles mentions any concern about people thinking the Sioux City Diocese is running it.

If you would like more information about Mary’s Choice, you can contact Mike Skaggs at (712) 253-6749 or mskaggs7@gmail.com.

Donations can be sent to

Mary’s Choice

PO Box 657

Sioux City, IA 51102.

Pro-life center slated to be built next to Planned Parenthood

SIOUX CITY – A multidenominational group working to open a crisis pregnancy counseling center next door to Planned Parenthood’s Sioux City location expects to have a facility ready to receive clients sometime in January. It will be called Mary’s Choice.
Mike Skaggs, executive director of the planned center, said that after months of prayer and planning, fundraising began in earnest in March and is continuing with visits to churches throughout Sioux City and beyond, asking for prayers and financial support.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, of which the Sioux City clinic is a part, declined a request for an interview about plans for Mary’s Choice. Instead, it released a statement from its Des Moines office, which said it provides health care services to thousands of women and men and that 97 percent of its services focus on prevention and education.
Of its anticipated new neighbor, it said, “Our hope and expectation is to have good neighbors who are law abiding and respectful.”
Support for mothers
Mary’s Choice will offer free pregnancy testing, some ultrasound tests, counseling, educational opportunities and support for mothers and their babies during pregnancy and after giving birth. That could be anything from providing diapers and baby clothes to referrals for adoption services.
Skaggs said it is not the intent of Mary’s Choice to duplicate services already available and that the center will refer women to other agencies and programs as appropriate. “Hopefully we’ll be able to complement and support the other ministries in town,” he said.
Bishop R. Walker Nickless, of the Diocese of Sioux City, said he knows Skaggs and supports his work. But he also wanted to be sure people know that Mary’s Choice is not a program of the diocese.
Skaggs emphasized that, too. “It’s open to anyone who wants to come or to donate,” he said.
Why there?
Locating right beside the Planned Parenthood facility gives girls and women in a crisis pregnancy a “visual alternative,” according to Jean Plourde, the founder and board president of Gabriel’s Corner, a similar facility in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on which Mary’s Choice is modeled.
He said Gabriel’s Corner used that strategy more than four years ago when it opened across the street from Planned Parenthood there.
Skaggs acknowledged that the location beside Planned Parenthood would provide opportunities for “sidewalk counseling” but said he didn’t think it would cause any problems. He said sidewalk counseling has been going on quite awhile and that those who do it are familiar with relevant laws and follow them.
State and federal law prohibit harassment of people entering and leaving health-care facilities and bar protesters and sidewalk counselors from private property.
Skaggs said that during a visit to Gabriel’s Corner, he expressed anxiety about what Mary’s Choice might be like in four years.
“They said you can’t worry about four years down the road. Get it going and the rest will come,” Skaggs recounted.
“That’s our model now,” he said. “Some days, it’s been rough. But things are going well and we’re on track to have things ready to go in January 2011.”

At a glance
What: Mary's Choice is a crisis pregnancy counseling center being planned by a multidenominational group. It will offer services such as free pregnancy testing, ultrasound screening, educational materials and various emotional, educational and material supports and referrals for women wanting to give birth to their babies.
Where: In the 4400 block of Stone Avenue, next to the Planned Parenthood facility.
When: Plans call for a January opening.