Archives for August 2026

Hello, friends,
Excerpt from our Nurse Manager Barb’s follow-up notes, edited for client confidentiality:
“Today we saw a client return with her now-fiancé for their initial ultrasound. I first met her a little over four years ago when she came here at 17—scared and unsure. But at 20 weeks gestation, there was no mistaking the reality growing inside her. She says she fell in love with her daughter during that first ultrasound and loves being a mother to Luna, who is now 3. Both she and her soon-to-be husband are overjoyed to be expecting again. It was wonderful to see the support surrounding this family and how this couple has stayed together to make life work.”

If ever there were a reason to continue your support, advocacy, and prayers for YOUR local pregnancy clinic, Next Step Pregnancy Services, this is it.
This small moment in Barb’s day—our day—is not uncommon. And it is, in no small part, because of you that Luna, her mother, her father, and now her new little sister or brother are flourishing.

No, things are not perfect. We continue to pray that marriage, a beautiful sacrament, is in this couple’s future. But today we can rejoice that this mother chose life for her child—both of her children—and that this father has also made a choice: to stay, to provide, to protect, and to embrace his role as a loving dad. This is a story worth celebrating.

No matter the circumstances, there is always a choice. And while Next Step plays a small role in that decision, your faithful support makes that role possible. Through your generosity, prayers, and encouragement, you share in every life touched and every family strengthened. Thank you.

As you may be aware, there is currently a court case in California that is now entering its third year. It was brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who alleges that Heartbeat International, a national pro-life organization, and RealOptions, a pregnancy resource center (PRC) much like Next Step, violated California’s False Advertising Law and Unfair Competition Law by making false or misleading claims about Abortion Pill Reversal (APR), a service that Next Step also offers.

In other words, the State is seeking to prevent Heartbeat International, RealOptions, and other pregnancy resource centers from offering or promoting Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) as an intervention for women who have begun a medication abortion and wish to continue their pregnancy.

I won’t go into the court case in depth, though I will include a link and encourage you to learn more about it. Instead, I wanted to highlight one recent development. So far, one mother who received the APR protocol has testified, with two additional mothers scheduled to take the stand in the coming weeks.

“Erika Carrillo—a mother of three from San Mateo—testified about the intense pressure she faced to abort her child, her immediate regret after taking the first abortion pill, and her late-night search for a way to save her baby’s life.” This is from a press release published by the Thomas More Society.

What Carrillo did is exactly what countless other women have done, including those who searched online and found Next Step Pregnancy Services.

We began offering APR in August 2023 under the direction of our Medical Director, Dr. Stoke, and our Nurse Manager, Barbara. It is truly a 24/7 service. 

As you can see from Carrillo’s story, there are women desperately searching in the middle of the night for a way to turn back the clock on their decision to take the first abortion pill. I placed “decision” in quotation marks because, when you hear these stories, it becomes clear that the choice is not always made freely or solely by the woman. Dr. Stoke and Barb are literally on call – at a moment’s notice – typically at night – and historically on or around the weekend. 

The widespread use of chemical abortion pills in our state is staggering. As a result, the need for immediate intervention is significant, and Next Step stands ready to respond. This is why court cases like the one being fought in California are so important. Whatever the outcome, it could directly affect the work we do here at Next Step.

Carrillo told the court she chose to share her story because “every woman should be able to advocate for themselves” and because she believes women in similar situations—pressured, isolated, and without support—deserve to know that APR “is an option for them.” According to the Thomas More Society, on cross-examination, her account was not materially challenged.

The Thomas More Society also stated, “These success stories of courageous mothers who chose life could cease to exist if California prevails in suppressing the speech of Heartbeat International and RealOptions.” The outcome of this case could also have implications for organizations like Next Step Pregnancy Services.

Here is a link to the court case details – definitely a must read for all of us in this battle. https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/case/apr

Please keep Next Step, as well as those fighting this case in California, in your prayers.