Students at many Nebraska schools are getting an up-close view of the miracle of life, as a pro-life organization is revolutionizing human development education. The group, Heart of a Child Ministries, brings portable ultrasound machines to schools and performs the non-invasive procedure on real pregnant women to give the children a live look at babies in the womb.
Heart of a Child Ministries has been reaching both public and private schools since 2016. Their work teaches about the development of babies prior to birth, as well as touching upon the importance of adoption. Their director, Nikki Schaefer, told CNA in an interview:
“It’s an experience of the Lord speaking to a child, and then that child feeling compelled to come home and talk to his parents about it.”
Schaefer explained that they tailor their presentations to specific age groups, so that the children can get the most out of the encounter. The group has performed ultrasounds for kids from primary school through high school and they’ve even begun an adult program, in order to show parents what they will be learning.
The adult program is new, having arisen from parental concerns that their children might be exposed to graphic pictures of abortions, or be taught about the sexual aspects of reproduction too soon. Schaefer, however, makes it clear that their goal is not sex or abortion education, but rather to teach children to view unborn babies with human dignity.
Schaefer told CNA that the first question she asks students when the ultrasound is over is: “What did you see that tells you that that is a human being?”
She noted that the responses from the children are usually positive. One pregnant woman who sat for a class explained that she had decided to give the baby up for adoption. To her surprise, at the end of class a girl came up to her and thanked her for sharing. The girl, adopted herself, explained that it gave her great insight into her own birth mother’s decision to give her up.
Heart of a Child is performing an invaluable service in their work, which seems to be the first of its kind. Instilling a respect for human life at its most fragile state and providing them with a reference experience could very well change they way many of the students will view abortion as they mature into adults. There are currently no plans to take the project out of Nebraska, but with their successes, we expect to see similar programs arise across the nation.
And today we celebrate...