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The lives of unborn children were the focus of Monday night’s annual Sav-A-Life banquet where supporters of the cause filled the Kiwanis Community Center to celebrate the mission’s successes over the past year.

During the event, local representatives of Sav-A-Life shared its successes over the past year. Statistics for 2023 show that Sav-A-Life’s Family Hope Center in downtown Andalusia received 514 client visits, 140 of those being new clients. The center administered 325 pregnancy tests and 162 ultrasounds. Two of the visitors were listed as “abortion vulnerable” with two listed as “changed minds.”

Year-to-date statistics for 2024, January through August, show the center had 363 client visits with 99 of those being new clients. A total of 228 pregnancy tests were administered as well as 118 ultrasounds. Of the visitors so far in 2024, six were categorized as abortion vulnerable with four of those listed as “changed mind.”

“We stand here tonight to celebrate a culture of life,” said retired district judge Trippy McGuire, who served as emcee for the event. “We are here because we know that all children — born and unborn — are created by God. We are here to celebrate and support life.”

Board member Jan White provided an update on Sav-A-Life activities and recognized other members of the board, staff members, and client advocates. Executive Director Christy Watts shared a testimonial from one of the organization’s clients.

“We took a home pregnancy test and found out we were expecting our child,” Watts said, reading from the client’s letter. “We went looking on the internet for a free healthcare client to confirm the pregnancy and help us with the next steps. When we arrived at Sav-A-Life, we were greeted by smiling faces of the staff and volunteers who were eager to help us. We were bogged down with the stress of not being financially stable to raise a child. We were reassured that everything would be OK and that our child was a blessing.”

The testimonial praised Sav-A-Life and its staff for helping the parents find their way through parenting classes, accumulating points that can be used in Sav-A-Life’s store for purchasing diapers, clothing, formula and other supplies.

“Sav-A-Life is still a blessing to this day,” the testimonial concluded.

The guest speaker for the event was former Dist. 2 U.S. Representative Martha Roby of Montgomery who shared her personal experiences as an advocate for unborn children.

“This organization is sharing Jesus to save lives. Every life is a gift from God and every life is beautiful, both born and unborn” Roby said.

Roby said her first experience as a pro-life advocate came in her teen-aged years as a volunteer with her church.

“I was prepared to hand out literature to pregnant women that were passing by on their way to visit an abortion clinic. Not only did I learn what a termination of pregnancy was, but I was disappointed in a way that is hard to put into words. I asked others if they ever saw the owners of the abortion clinic and how did they react to people standing out, within legal distance, to hand out literature that would affect their bottom line. All the sudden, a car comes around the corner and the pastor’s wife says, ‘there she is.’ I could not catch my breath because I knew that woman. I had been in her car before. The context of how I knew this woman, you would have never thought in a million years that she is profiting off the termination of pregnancy. As a young and impressionable girl, I just had an adult let me down in a major way.”

Roby also spoke about the pro-life mission after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that reversed Roe vs. Wade, which had made abortion legal nationwide for almost 50 years.

“Our actions should reflect our speech. Is what we do a reflection of what we say? It takes enormous resources to run an organization like Sav-A-Life, to provide services for free so that a woman doesn’t have to be terrified as to whether her healthcare will cover the costs. It also takes enormous resources to run adoption agencies, children’s homes, and meaningful and safe foster care programs. If collectively we are going to put out there that we are pro-life at every stage, it is incumbent upon each of us to demonstrate that we support life at every stage. Making resources available to support life at every stage should be something we talk about, including in conversations we have with those who represent us and serve as our voice,” Roby said.

Sav-A-Life of Covington County has an eight-member board that includes: Leroy Cole, chairman; Don Herring, vice-chairman; Lori Stanfield, secretary; Greg White, treasurer; Sharon Grimes; Pat Northrop; Laura Weaver; and Jan White. Emeritus board members are Tom Rider, Elain Walton and Ferrell Walton.

Others participating in the banquet included a musical performance by Mark Rudd, invocation by John McMath of Zion Hill Baptist Church, and the benediction was provided by Nathaniel Belcher of Faith Deliverance Apostolic Church.

Medical director for the facility is Dr. James Norman.

Staff members include Watts as executive director, nurse Sarah Martha Miller, and administrative assistant Dianne Gray.

Client advocate volunteers include: Cathy Bozeman, Nancy Darnell, Linda Finlin, Amy Henderson, Karen Kay, Carla Mooney, Renea Nichols, Susan Short, Stanna Taver, and Ann Whisnant.

The Sav-A-Life of Covington County’s Family Hope Center is located at 116 Crescent St. in downtown Andalusia. The organization can be contacted at 334-222-0644.