ST. LOUIS—Here at the Thrive Mobile Medical Center, where babies are being saved through ultrasounds, the culture of life is often quite personal and practical for Nurse Manager Diane Vaughan.
“Some of these babies are literally auditioning for their very life,” she said.
Parked across the way from a Planned Parenthood clinic where abortions are performed, the mobile unit is an advocate for the kingdom of Christ on the streets of St. Louis. When a pregnant woman arrives for free medical services Tuesday through Friday, Vaughan is there with a machine that can change a mindset.
“You don’t have to say a lot,” she said. “The image speaks for itself. The life that you see, that beating heart, that fetal movement, it speaks very loudly and very clearly.”
Thrive is an organization that stands in direct contrast to Planned Parenthood. Its goal is to match every service that Planned Parenthood offers women with the intent of surpassing the abortion giant in excellence. The mobile unit along Forest Park Avenue is perhaps the most visible part of Thrive’s strategy.
The medical service is always done under the supervision of a medical director and involves report writing by Vaughan, who is a registered nurse.
“We end up having to get like seven different images for the doctor,” she said. “We do a lot of client education as far as her needs as a pregnant woman. We want to make sure we get them into prenatal care.”
For nurses like Vaughan who are working in places like Thrive all over the country, the wonder of modern technology and its impact on the pregnant women who come through the doors is what makes their time so special.
“The most rewarding thing I would say would be when a woman sees that image of her baby, and sees that it is that very thing, a baby,” Vaughan said. “It’s not tissue. They see a heartbeat. They see a baby. If they came in abortion-minded, the ultrasound makes a huge difference, and they choose life.”