Mark your calendars for an enjoyable evening of friends, food, drinks, desserts, and all the good news from your local pregnancy care clinic!

Join us on Saturday September 20that Holy Rosary’s Pastoral Center in Edmonds! Doors open at 5:30pm for our silent auction followed by drinks, an elegant plated dinner, our famous Dessert Auction, stories from small but mighty clinic and a charismatic and inspirational
keynote speaker Rebecca Kiessling! 

Invites and registration coming in July!

The woman’s soul is fashioned as a shelter in which other souls
may unfold. – Edith Stein

Wow. That is a powerful statement and a strong testament to the gift God has conferred upon women. The gift of motherhood is unlike any other. He allowed us to be His co-creators in life! 

How fundamental is the role of a mother in not only the life and character of her children but in the family unit as a whole. 

When we proclaim our championship of the unborn we need not forget his mother and her singular uniqueness and grace. God chose her to be a vessel for life. That’s no small thing. 

This leads me to a brief comment on a Bill in Texas that has, as of April 22nd, been withdrawn from Texas’ current legislative session. You can read about HB 2197 Here

Essentially the bill was about criminalizing women who want to abort their children with the death penalty as a possible repercussion. (!!) To be honest I am not certain where I stand on this. Abortion is a crime against humanity and murder, no question. And yet…

But given what I see each day I do have in inkling of where my heart lies. I do know that here at Next Step we have many women seeking information about all options. It is very rare that we see a woman who is determined to abort. Not unheard of but not common.

Our nurses have had over 250 medical appointments this year so far and of those 105 were ultrasounds. There were 123 pregnancy tests performed this year so far with 104 of those being positive. And of those pregnancies 24 of them were determined as “Abortion Vulnerable” which simply put means that they are not decided on their plan for the pregnancy yet. Maybe they are unmarried. Maybe they are alone. Maybe its lack of finances. Maybe they are in school. Maybe they are very young. Maybe they are being pressured. Maybe they are simply afraid and uncertain. The reasons for their hesitancy go on. 

But I do know this – women with unplanned pregnancies undecided about abortion deserve information about compassionate alternatives offered at hundreds of pregnancy centers (like Next Step), maternity homes, adoption centers, and church-based ministries. Not the threat of prison time and more. That, in fact, may keep them from seeking any help for themselves and their unborn child. 

I do not know the answers on this but I do believe that it says in Proverbs 38:8 “Speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable”.

I believe that relates to those facing an unplanned pregnancy who are insecure and are the very vulnerable people we serve. We are called to be compassionate, not called to cast stones. 

Make motherhood great again!

I read the following by @turnedwife on X about motherhood and believe, not that it goes without saying, but that it needs to and should be said. 

“In every civilization, the status of mothers determines the status of children. When motherhood is honored, children are seen as blessings, worthy of care, protection, and sacrifice. 

When motherhood is degraded, children inevitably become burdens, trophies, or commodities. Modern culture’s contempt for motherhood, portraying it as a waste of potential, a life half-lived – has not liberated women. It has dehumanized the next generation. Abortion, broken families, surrogate markets, and declining birth rates are not isolated phenomena. 

They are the inevitable fruit of a society that scoffs at the sacredness of mothers. To honor mothers is to defend the future. To dishonor them is to invite civilizational death.”

I want to leave you with this on this Mother’s Day weekend, “labor may render every woman a novice but pregnancy renders every woman a child.” (The Frozen River, Ariel Lawhon, page 303).

Have a blessed Mother’s Day to all mothers, grandmothers, moms-to-be, adoptive and foster mothers, and those who are loved and called, “mom”. 
Especially to my own mommy – Patricia.
Love you. ~ Heather M Vasquez

“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.”― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

The desire to suppress ovulation because it is believed to hinder potential and the ability to do so equals sovereignty over one’s body is nothing short of a lie. But it’s a lie that many young women believe. In fact 25% of women aged 15-29 use some form of birth control. When I researched some reasons for this I found a very similar theme throughout. Aside from pregnancy prevention and relief from period pain and irregularity the common thread was jurisdiction over readiness to start a family and the desire to be unencumbered. 

To be free to enjoy the act while being free of any potential consequences. Command over your future and your body. I need to add that, for some, the pain and stress that accompany a cycle is very real – but how about we address the underlying cause rather than throw a pill at it?

But does open access to birth control really correspond to freedom? Or is it simply an illusion? 

I recently found and started following a person on X that, in my estimation, has a brilliant grasp on the truths of women, feminism, and motherhood. I try not to spend much time ‘scrolling’ but wow, I could not get enough of this person’s words. They just brought so much clarity to so much of what I believe and what I see each day at Next Step Pregnancy Services. 

She’s called “The Feminist Turned Housewife” and can be found under @turnedwife

This was something I found recently and it really sparked my interest because of our foray into FEMM (Fertility Education and Medical Management). I am more than halfway through the course and preparing for the exam to become a Certified FEMM instructor. The experience has been many things. Eye-opening, challenging and impressive. 

Especially as a mother to two daughters the things I have learned about ovulation, about hormones, about ordo amoris – Latin for “order of love” or “rightly ordered loves” – and so much more! About the perfect structure of the female body and the precise and beautiful system He created to bring about new life. Not something to be suppressed, avoided, and dreaded. 

Here is what @turnedwife said about birth control and her words could not have been more fitting. 

Before birth control, women had more power. Modern culture calls it “liberation,” but the truth is more complicated. Birth control didn’t free women. It weakened their leverage. The irony? Before reliable contraception, women controlled access to sex by controlling the terms:

– Courtship

– Commitment

– Marriage

– Family

Men had to prove themselves worthy, financially, morally, socially, before being granted access. Women had bargaining power. The introduction of easy contraception changed everything. Now, sex could happen without marriage. Without promises. Without investment. And when sex became cheap, women became cheapened. Their primary social power, over reproduction, over family – collapsed. Look at the data:

– Marriage rates fell.

– Divorce rates skyrocketed.

– Out-of-wedlock births exploded.

– Men’s incentives to commit plummeted.

Why commit when intimacy became freely available, no strings attached? It’s no accident that “hookup culture” emerged alongside mass birth control use. The “freedom” promised wasn’t freedom to build something lasting. It was freedom to be used, and discarded. And women paid the highest price. Women were sold a lie: That they could live like men without consequences. But biologically, socially, emotionally – women are not men. And trying to live as if they are has only made them lonelier, more anxious, and more heartbroken. The irony?

Birth control didn’t “level the playing field.” It made the field brutal. It turned natural protectors into casual users. It turned natural nurturers into detached competitors. And it left everyone more miserable. If you want to empower women again, you don’t start by handing out more pills.

You start by rebuilding the structures – marriage, family, modesty, loyalty – that once gave women true dignity and leverage. That is real empowerment.

Our daughters deserve more. And above all they deserve to be honored, cherished, and celebrated for the beauty, resilience, and gifts they bring. That is and will always be something we believe and offer to the women and girls that visit us here at Next Step Pregnancy Services.

In Christ, Heather M Vasquez

P.S. Yes I am taking this quick opportunity to let you know that it’s that time again! Save the Dates will be in the mail soon for our annual celebration which will be held on Saturday September 20th at Holy Rosary in Edmonds. I truly hope you can join us. 

I’ve noticed something about people who make a difference in the world: They hold the unshakable conviction that individuals are extremely important, that every life matters. They get excited over one smile. They are willing to feed one stomach, educate one mind, and treat one wound. They aren’t determined to revolutionize the world all at once; they’re satisfied with small changes. Over time, though, the small changes add up. Sometimes they even transform cities and nations, and yes, the world.”

Beth Clark

Dame Laura Knight – The Flower, 1912.