Serbia

Pregnancy Care Center: A Place for Me

The mission of our Pregnancy Care Center is to affirm LIFE by providing confidential and non-judgmental assistance in a caring and supportive environment to all who are facing unexpected pregnancies.

To prevent abortions, child abandonment, and separation of children from their families in 2015 through our program The NEST we started to offer accommodation for pregnant women and moms with babies who do not have the needed support of their families or partner.

The NEST Maternity Home's mission is to minister Christ’s love and grace and provide different opportunities for pregnant women and their children in a safe and stable home environment, to empower them and educate them in many areas to help eliminate generational cycles of broken relationships, unplanned pregnancies, poverty and the need for community social services.

The NEST Maternity Home Building Project

Help us build a home for vulnerable moms and babies

The cost of the building project will be USD 450,000.00.

Thanks to our partners – individuals, and churches – USD 290,000.00 has been already raised!

We appreciate every donation!

Please join our adventure by donating now or by helping us in fundraising for the NEST Maternity Home building project in your church, organization, or company. We can send a more detailed building proposal at your request to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

All financial gifts received designated for our approved “alliance” affiliates will be forwarded to them in a reasonable timeframe (usually upon exceeding $250US). Heartbeat International deducts $30 plus 3% from the transfer, to help defray internal cost for money transfers, currency conversion, clerical costs, bank fees and any processing fees that might be charged. Should any funds be unable to be forwarded – primarily related to the recipient - they may be re-allocated for similar international work.

Warning: Hobby Lobby SCOTUS Ruling May Not Apply to Your PHC

In dramatic fashion, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) waited until the very last day of the session to release one of the most anticipated rulings, its decision in Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., et al. The 5-4 majority found the central argument involved the religious liberty of closely held for-profit corporations, Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp in particular.

Warning: a pregnancy help organization (PHO) is not a “closely held for profit corporation.” No, indeed, it is not. However, if it does not have the one thing that will help connect it to this ruling, namely, solid footing that it is intended to be and acts, at least in part, like a religious organization, then the finding today will likely not serve as protection in future government encroachment.

The court noted in its ruling that “[T]he Hahns and Greens have a sincere religious belief that life begins at conception.  They therefore object on religious grounds to providing health insurance covering methods of birth control that, as HHS acknowledges may result in the destruction of an embryo.  By requiring the Hahns and Greens and their companies to arrange for such coverage, the HHS mandate demands they engage in conduct that seriously violates their religious beliefs.”

A pregnancy help organization staffed by Christians motivated by biblical faith is likely not enough evidence of being a “religious organization.” So what can a PHO do to position itself appropriately as a “religious organization”? The best evidence must be found entrenched in its own governing documents.

Alliance Defending Freedom, one of the same organizations that championed the Hobby Lobby case to victory at the Supreme Court level, provides insights into how PHOs can best protect themselves. Just two years ago, Joseph Infranco, Senior Counsel at ADF, wrote “To Be or Not to Be a Religious Non-Profit: The Question for all PRCs.” In his article (which is reprinted in full in this issue of Capitol Matters) , Mr. Infranco references LeBoon v. Lancaster Jewish Community Center Ass'n, 503 F.3d 217 (3d Cir.2007) in which the Third Circuit articulated a nine-part test which included #3 “whether the entity's articles of incorporation or other pertinent documents state a religious purpose.”

Do your articles of incorporation, bylaws, and policy and procedure clearly identify your religious nature? If not, making the case you should be afforded “religious liberty” is difficult at best.

The question could be asked, “If your organization were on trial for being religious, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” In order to appropriate the benefit of the First Amendment and the religious liberty flowing from it, we should intentionally plant the evidence of our religious nature. We need to wisely assert the Christian values motivating and informing our missional efforts. Mr. Infranco’s full article tells us why and how it is important.

We are grateful for Hobby Lobby and the Alliance Defending Freedom team for bringing this battle before the Supreme Court. Let’s do our part to position ourselves for future ones!

Click here to view Heartbeat International's Annual Report 2014

God is faithful!

Wow! What an amazing week! 

As the dust settles from our largest Conference to date, we are amazed at all God did last week!

Over 900 gathered in Charleston, SC to be trained, equipped, and inspired as we celebrated the fact that "Love is Our Language" in the pregnancy help movement all around the world. 

None of this would have been possible without YOUR generous support! You have been a blessing to our frontline lifesavers and we thank you for your obedience to God! 

We offered 13 dynamic workshop tracks to educate and train our participants.

We were blessed by amazing keynote speakers such as Dr. Ravi Zacharias,  Fr. Agustino Torres, Kirk Walden, Terri Green, and  many more!

We were also honored to host 32 international guests from 17 countries, representing all six inhabited continents! 

We want to share a special thank you video from them to you! (Click the image to play).

You can see pictures and highlights from the Conference by following us on Facebook today! 

Thank you again for all you do for LIFE! 

On one hand, it’s encouraging to see the international community’s outrage over the weekend at what can only be described as the euthanasia of a perfectly healthy, yet—tragically “unwanted”—resident of Copenhagen, Denmark named Marius.

On the other hand, the fact that Marius was an 11-foot-tall giraffe puts things into perspective.

Marius, a giraffe born in captivity, found himself in the lethal position of “unwantedness” by possessing what Animal Rights Sweden called, not “interesting enough,” genes, and his very existence posed the potential threat of inbreeding, which if you’re running a zoo, is apparently problematic.

Despite attempts to spare Marius’ life that included lucrative offers by individuals and at least one European wildlife park, along with “Save Marius” petition that garnered 27,000 signatures, “Marius was fed some rye bread at 9.15am and was killed shortly after by a shot in the head with a bolt gun,” to quote The Guardian of London.

But the kind of civility shown in these rescue efforts—and reflected in the kind of sentence in one of the world’s most respected newspapers that indirectly humanizes a giraffe—was also matched by multiple death threats against zoo officials, one of which threatened the children of two zoo administrators.

It appears the world isn’t buying into the whole idea of “unwanted” after all. At least not where giraffes are concerned.

Two and half years ago, 56 exotic animals broke loose from a private citizen’s backyard in Zanesville, Ohio, leading to what has become known as the “Zanesville Animal Massacre,” which included the killing of 18 rare Bengal tigers.

I was working at a restaurant with a friend of mine that night, and I remember being floored, not so much by the news, but by her reaction. It was the kind of reaction a person and a society tends to have at pivotal moments in history: the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the assassination of President Kennedy, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

Might I remind you, Marius and the Zanesville Animal Massacre are both stories about animals.

Is there no corresponding outrage when it comes to human beings?

Worldwide unrest occurs overnight when a zoo takes “unwanted” life. Society shudders at the thought of “massacring” animals that, now on the loose, pose a lethal and immediate threat to human life. Death threats against children are made in the name of the protection of animals.

And yet, the value we set on a human life rests solely on her mother’s decision. “Is my child wanted?”

We don’t allow ourselves the personal and societal outrage that this “choice” by a mother (and often by influences other than the mother herself) leads to the death of over 3,000 human beings every day in the United States alone, but we do allow ourselves outrage when it comes to giraffes and Bengal tigers.

Let me add the caveat here that I love animals. At one point in my life, I proudly subscribed to Cat Fancy, and I’m about 10 times more excited than my 3-year-old daughter every time we visit the Columbus Zoo—where we have an annual pass. I hope she and her baby sister will learn to see every window into God’s glory that giraffes, Bengal tigers, and whitetail deer have to offer. I hope they learn that from me.

Deeper than that, as a believer, I’m convinced by Scripture that my treatment of animals has plenty to say about my heart. I’m thinking here about Proverbs 12:10, which says, “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

But I am bound and determined to make the most of opportunities like Marius’ afford us, to expose the fact that the emperor isn’t wearing any clothes. The elephant is in the room, whether you want him there or not.

Wantedness didn’t change the fact that Marius was a giraffe. Wantedness didn’t determine Marius’ inherent giraffeness. Unwantedness didn’t un-giraffe him, it led to his execution.

If you, Planned Parenthood, or my congressman can explain to me how wantedness determines humanness, I’d like to hear it. Until then, let’s do everything we possibly can to protect life—starting with the humans.

About Heartbeat International

Heartbeat International is the first network of pro-life pregnancy help organizations founded in the U.S. (1971), and now the largest and most expansive network in the world. With 1,800 affiliated pregnancy help locations—including pregnancy help medical clinics (with ultrasound), resource centers, maternity homes, and adoption agencies—Heartbeat serves on all six inhabited continents to provide alternatives to abortion. For more information, see www.HeartbeatInternational.org.

www.Facebook.com/HeartbeatInternational

by Jay Hobbs, Communications Assistant

Did you hear the one about the lawyer who traveled overseas and taught a bunch of U.S. military families how to better serve women facing unexpected pregnancies?

Fair enough, there’s not much promise for a joke in that question, but you have to admit, the latest Heartbeat International international training does sound a bit peculiar when you first hear about it.

The story took place October 25, when Ellen Foell, Heartbeat’s legal counsel, taught a day-long session of The LOVE Approach™ to a group of 28 staff, volunteers, and potential volunteers at Heartbeat Crisis Pregnancy Center in Ramstein, Germany.

The center, under the direction of Carrie Beliles, primarily serves U.S. military personnel and their families stationed at Ramstein Air Base, home of the 86th Airlift Wing and headquarters of U.S. Air Forces Europe.

“It was the first time teaching this material, so I really didn’t quite know what to expect,” Foell, who has been with Heartbeat International since 2012, said. “God really put two things on my heart that I tried to express to the group: The first was to encourage them to embrace their unique, God-given giftedness, and the second was to allow themselves to be released to really exercise that giftedness as they sought to serve women coming to the center.”

“It really was great to watch this group wrestle through how to apply The LOVE Approach to the real situations involving real human beings they are dealing with every day.”

While the majority of attendees were Americans connected to the military community in Ramstein, one participant came from another part of Germany with the hope to launch a pregnancy help organization in another part of Germany.

According to Heartbeat International’s Worldwide Directory, there are currently 114 pregnancy help organizations in Germany, although Heartbeat Crisis Pregnancy Center is the only Heartbeat International affiliate.

“These servants learned how to handle a great tool, and that was encouraging to see,” Foell said. “I was really impressed by the cross-section of ages and generations, and thrilled to see the seeds of more pregnancy help organizations being planted in Germany.”

Foell was joined by Heartbeat International Vice President Jor-El Godsey, who keynoted the center’s annual banquet and facilitated a meeting with European pro-life leaders during a three-day span Oct. 24-26 in Ramstein.

God has been so good to me since the birth of my daughter. I cannot imagine my life without her. But, in all honesty, I didn’t always feel this way. When I found out I was pregnant I was devastated and felt like there was nothing I could do; my whole world was over- or so I thought.

When I arrived at Care Net Pregnancy Resource Centers I realized that all those thoughts running around in my head were fears. How am I going to tell my parents? Will my family desert me? Will I be able to provide for myself and my baby? Will I be able to succeed in life? Will I have a place to live? Will I ever be loved?

My peer counselor was so gracious to me, and prayed for me continually. I never once felt condemned me as she continued to reassure me that God would always provide for me and my child. They weren’t solely focused on just the baby but they were focused on me as a person. They helped me to realize that if I don’t recognize how valuable I am to the Lord then I would never be able to recognize the value of another person; let alone my unborn child. They encouraged me to have my own personal relationship with the Lord. My peer counselor was constantly reminding me that I need to be part of a church and look for opportunities to serve. They told me that you can always come back to the Lord. This helped me to pursue God and not be ashamed of my mistakes but to embrace new life and God’s second chances.

But it didn’t stop there. Once Sophia was born they offered me sexual integrity classes which taught me so much. I learned that sexual integrity goes beyond not having sex. I also learned that, from this point forward, I can leave a different legacy with my daughter. A legacy of a life marked with purity, holiness and worship unto God. I now have the tools to share with my daughter what sexual integrity means, why she should wait and value herself as God’s precious daughter who was set her apart for His good work.

Through the pregnancy center I also realized that although there are many things that are difficult in my life, the good certainly outweighs the bad. I am blessed beyond what I deserve. Care Net PRCs has blessed me tremendously, not only with all their resources such as bible studies, education on my pregnancy and materials for my child,  but as a safe place for me to be reminded that God has never left me nor forsaken me and that His love for me is unconditional.

I’ve been blessed with an extremely supportive family. Sophia’s father is more than involved in her life even though we are not together. My peer counselor always reminded me to keep my eyes on Jesus and what He’s doing, not on my circumstances.

I know that there may be some, or maybe you know someone, who didn’t choose life.  But what I have learned through this process is that we are ALL in need of God’s salvation, grace and healing. Care Net Pregnancy Resource Centers offers a safe and confidential place for men and women to receive God’s healing and restoration through our abortion recovery Bible Studies. God loves to gives us second chances.  He’s given me mine and I am so grateful.

The Bible says: God is faithful to work all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. I am a living testimony that this is true. I went from being a client at Care Net PRCS, into a renewed and strengthened relationship with the Lord, to a new mom with a precious daughter. And, this past Monday, God provided me with a new job. I am now a part of the Administrative staff at Care Net PRC’s. I can’t help but think that I would not have this job and so many amazing people in my life had it not been for Sophia. Being a mother is definitely challenging, many sleepless nights and feelings of inadequacy but God is always there. He continually makes His presence known and shows me that He always provides a way for me to be conformed to the image of His son in all circumstances.

Care Net Pregnancy Resource Centers is a place to be reassured that life is worth fighting for.

The moment I found out I was pregnant my whole world stopped, or at least it felt like it did. I did not know what to do… but one thing was for sure, I couldn’t tell anyone in my family until I did know.

I remember going onto Google and typing “pregnant and scared” into the search engine. As I looked over the results to my search I saw one that caught my attention immediately. It was CareNet Pregnancy Center of Rhode Island.  As I looked over CareNet’s website, I came across a telephone number for a hotline which was open 24 hours so I immediately dialed and spoke to someone about some of the emotions running through my mind and set up an appointment for the following week. At a time where everything is so new and so scary, making that call gave me such a feeling of guidance because I knew that soon I could express myself to someone and express how I felt about my unplanned pregnancy. The day of my appointment I was so nervous.

I went into CareNet knowing there were other options like an abortion and thinking that was my only way out. My thoughts of having a baby were overshadowed with unanswered questions and I felt like I had hit a dead end.

It was the greatest relief in the world to just talk to someone who made me feel so comfortable and gave me support and just get all the clutter in my head off my chest. I consider that day a blessing and because of that day I strongly believe I found the courage to continue with my pregnancy despite that it meant my life changing forever. At a time where my emotions were overwhelmed by my thoughts and I was not able to clearly think, the smallest of talks can make a big difference.

The amount of support I received was unbelievable. I had my first ultrasound at CareNet and the feeling I had that day from seeing my unborn child is indescribable. They helped me with many things from looking for a doctor to providing me with labor classes. It has been almost 4 years since my first time at CareNet but I can still remember that day clearly. I often think back to that day and all the wonderful staff and counselors at CareNet who helped me get through a nerve wracking time and helped me clear my mind.

It is so easy for your judgment to be over shadowed by thoughts. I sometimes wonder where I would be if I hadn’t reached out for help and acted on my emotions. I am extremely thankful there are no ‘what ifs’ and that I get to enjoy my son and all the joy he has brought me. It is sad and almost shocking to me to think about all the feelings I once felt and how vulnerable I was to thinking an abortion was my only solution. My plans and goals have not changed since I’ve had my son and I feel like they have only become more solid because I refuse to give up and when I feel like I want to give up all I have to do is take a look at my son. The moment I walked into CareNet, I walked out a different person.