Thank you for reading on –
I heard this quote during the talk on current Pro-Life policy given by Jamie Dangers, Director of Federal Affairs at Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (sbaprolife.org) while in attendance at the AAPLOG Conference downtown a few weeks ago and it stayed with me.
As you may recall from my previous post, AAPLOG stands for American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. A group of medical professionals who truly believe in the sanctity of life and putting their patients, born and unborn, first.  

Jamie’s talk touched on something called the “Shield Law” which, at the time, I was somewhat familiar with but had not really thought about. In researching more about it I learned that it was originally formed for the purposes of protecting journalists from being compelled to reveal their confidential sources and has been in place since 1935!
In the 1970s the Shield Laws were also used to protect rape victims from public exposure and other aspects of their privacy. 
In theory that reasoning is, well, reasonable.

Fast forward to 2023.

In the aftermath of the reversal of Roe some states decided to hijack and use “Shield Laws” for the protection of abortion providers, among others, involved in the procedure.
In effect, this created ‘safeguards’ for abortion providers to continue to give access to abortions for women who lived in states where new laws and protections against abortion were now in place. 

So states, such as Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, among others, where abortion is either completely illegal or nearly so still have to contend with their citizens obtaining the abortion pill via the mail and telehealth services and there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. 

You would not be surprised to learn that states such as California, New York, Massachusetts, and, of course, home sweet home, Washington are the ones shipping these drugs that end a developing life into those states whose residents voted against the legal murder of the unborn. 

I think what struck me the most was the blatant twisting of a law that came about in protection of victims and those who sought to expose the perpetrators of abuses and injustice.
And now, 90 years later, the “Shield Law” is a refuge for those who exploit others and cause life-altering harm. 

Going back to the quote by President George Washington, which is an exact excerpt from a letter written by him to Benedict Arnold on September 14, 1775, I am struck by the blatant disregard of one state’s leadership over another and their labor to block the consciences of those in office, and by extension and legal vote, their Constituents, to further their own ends – their ends being unfettered access to terminating the unborn with impunity. 

If you know your American history then you know who and what Benedict Arnold was. It is not lost on me at all that Washington felt the need to remind Arnold about respecting freedom of conscience.
And yet here we are…..

In Lynnwood, just outside of Seattle, offering, free of charge, early pregnancy care, compassionate guidance, and a heart in service of and for women and girls in our community. ~ Heather M Vasquez

Thank you for your unfailing advocacy of our pro-life mission. 

P.S. Save the Date!
The Next Step Gala is on Saturday September 19th! We welcome
Evie West as our Keynote. More info coming!

P.P.S. Have a green thumb?
Spring cleanup to beautify the clinic and welcome families with Spring planting is just around the corner. We’re also in search of monthly landscape and parking lot maintenance.
Contact heather@nextstepnw.com for more information.

“Truly, it is in darkness that one finds the light,
so when we are in sorrow, then this light is nearest of all to us.”

– Meister Eckhart

It was actually snowing a little this morning as I write this. Very gently and almost invisible unless seen in the slanting of the sunlight. And just the other day, for those of us who are Catholic, we began another Lenten season. Which will lead us into Spring and Easter!

I wanted to share with you about a new project Next Step has taken on and its already felt impact on our daily work and on how we speak to those reaching out.
Back before Christmas even I came across an article about how pregnancy clinics, like Next Step, may be “missing exactly who we are hoping to invite” just because those women and girls simply do not know we are here. I wondered if we fell into the category of
“well intentioned ministry but not truly actively seeking to change the culture from death into life.” 

I decided to reach out to the original poster and learn more. And boy, did I ever. The person I met is the CEO of a “pro-life marketing agency” called Life Advancement Group and they specialize in connecting abortion-minded and determined women to local pro-life pregnancy clinics, like us. We set up a call and I was very impressed with what they had to offer. 

Thus we began the arduous process of creating targeted google ads and landing pages, of learning how to use what’s called the “Life Lead App” which is a one-stop shop for communicating with women and girls searching terms on google like: Abortion near me, Abortion Lynnwood, Abortion Pill Lynnwood, and more. Because of the Google Ad words chosen we popped up, sometimes first, despite the clear disclosure stating that Next Step “Does not perform abortions.”

The first day we went “live”, we took several “calls and texts” from women and girls saying things like: “I need an abortion” and “I think I am pregnant and want the pill”, “My mom said to call Planned Parenthood to get more birth control.” and this one: “I don’t want to be pregnant. If I am, I want to abort my child. Asap.” My child…

I think out of all of us on the team I was the most shocked. And to be fair I do not spend near as much time with our clients as our nurses, and even our front desk folks, do. 
 Most, not all, of our clients had been women and girls who were vulnerable but unsure. Accepting abortion as an option but not ready to take the final step, hesitant but open to the possibility of life.

How could we have been missing all of these women and girls, scared, determined, impatient, and yes, sometimes seemingly indifferent. It really knocked me backwards a bit.

But that was last week. This week we are rocks. We are immovable from our mission of care and compassion – before and during pregnancy in these cases – no matter the circumstances. 

Out of all of the calls and texts only a few have made an appointment to come in, knowing up front we do not perform or refer for abortions nor prescribe the abortion or morning after pill.
I pray they do come to speak to our nurses. Confirm pregnancy (or not) and accept the ultrasound.
No matter the outcome they paused in their relentless pursuit of self preservation at all costs. They paused.

In all this darkness, that is the light. And we need to keep it burning. 
Please continue to pray for our team! In gratitude – Heather

P.S. Are you being called to step into  meaningful pro-life service?
Next Step is hiring for a paid, part time RN to train on early ultrasound and more. Reach out to:  heather@nextstepnw.com

P.P.S. Save the Date! The Next Step Gala is on Saturday September 19th!! Details to follow.

P.P.P.S. Not a RN but still want to be a part of the Next Step team?
Our governing board may be the right place for you! Email me! heather@nextstepnw.com

“We cannot allow the anthropology of the medical profession to slide from a sacred human one to a merely technical one
dominated by machine-like physicians.” 
~ Christopher O. Tollefsen

Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the AAPLOG Conference in downtown Seattle. AAPLOG stands for the “American Association of Pro-Life AAPLOG” and the organization was founded in April 1973.
“The reason AAPLOG exists is to encourage and equip its members and other concerned medical practitioners to provide an evidence-based rationale for defending the lives of both the pregnant mother and her pre-born child.”   (https://aaplog.org/)

The weekend was transformative, for me, as a non-medical person. Such a large gathering of intelligence, expertise, and education all united under one incredible creed.That every human life is sacred- from conception to natural end – and that no one has the right to intentionally end life.
There was such an air of purpose and “Courage is contagious,” as political philosopher and legal scholar Mr. Robert P. George, a guest speaker, stated.

Between the many young medical students in their 2nd and 3rd year rotations telling me about their plans and hopes to practice ethical and sacred medicine and the many speaking topics on subjects like “A Review of the latest Embryonic Biotechnologies” to “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Maternal Mortality” to “A Pro-Life Policy Update” from SBAPro-Life and “Conscience under Pressure: Legal Protections for Pro-Life Medical Professionals”- it was truly awe-inspiring and incredibly encouraging. 

I too felt courageous. And humbled to be counted among such an incredible group of deeply committed individuals.

Over the next few weeks or so I will share more about the experience but for now know that the future of medicine and its landscape is shifting.
The truth about abortion and its effects on the physical, mental, social, moral, and spiritual health of all of us is rapidly becoming too colossal to ignore. 

Please continue to keep Next Step in your prayers as we work, in our own small way, in our own small medical clinic, on changing the culture from death into life.  ~ Heather M Vasquez

P.S. Save the Date!
The Next Step Gala is on Saturday September 19th! 

P.P.S.
We are Hiring! Next Step Pregnancy Services is seeking a compassionate, mission-driven part-time Registered Nurse for our clinic. email heather@nextstepnw.com for more info

“Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter.” – Proverbs 24:11

---

What is an abortion abolitionist? 

The term abortion abolitionist is not a new one. In fact, the movement dates back to the sixties and seventies. But to be honest, up until very recently, I had not heard the expression. 

Simply put –  Abortion Abolitionists believe that “the only truly pro-life position is to pass laws that recognize the crime of abortion is murder and that all who participate in abortion, including the mother, should face the criminal penalty for murder,” (https://www.texasallianceforlife.org/the-abolitionists-are-wrong)

To put that another way; abortion is the intentional murder of a living human being, in the womb, and all those who have a hand in that act, the provider, the nurses, the mother, bear guilt for the crime and therefore should be criminally punished. 

So what does Next Step believe? 

No one is immune to the consequences of abortion. I am a firm believer that moral neutrality is not an option.
You are either on the side of truth….or not. 

Do we believe that abortion is the intentional killing of
an innocent human being?
Yes. 

Do we believe the act of abortion is morally reprehensible
and should not be allowed? 
Yes. 

Do we believe that a mother who knowingly permits an abortion to be performed on her unborn child should be punished? 

Here is where lines that are drawn begin to distort. 

Every week our nurses see women who are pregnant. Some, I’ll say most, are happy to parent, planned or not. Some are not happy. They are scared, overwhelmed, confused, and more. They aren’t sure they want to parent but more than that they are not sure they can.
For a myriad of reasons. They are young, still in school, unmarried, perhaps not employed or if employed they have no health insurance, they have other children and can barely meet their needs, they are not in a safe relationship with the father of the baby
or not in a relationship at all! 

They may decide that abortion is their only option. There is nothing else and no one else to “Rescue them from being led away to death”.

Pregnancy Help Clinics like your local one – Next Step Pregnancy Services – are in a unique position to see the impact on women contemplating abortion and possibly, sadly,  choosing abortion.

Our nurses are in the thick of it. Deep in the reeds and heart of these stories. Sowing what might yet live. 

So, in their indecision they find Next Step Pregnancy Services.
Where are our nurses become a safe harbor for them. To be heard. To be encouraged. To be calmed. To be told the truth. 

So what does Next Step believe?
That we are called to love those who seek support and
let mercy guide our words. 

“Compassion, not punishment, is the path that leads women in unplanned pregnancies to healing, restoration, and life.”(pregnancyhelpnews.com, Heartbeat International, L. Bourne, 11/06/2025)

Pregnancy help clinics like Next Step, are where “that path begins, offering hope in place of fear, support in place of shame,
and life in place of death.”

Thank you for continuing to stand with us. ~ Heather M Vasquez
P.S. Save the Date! Our annual Gala is on Saturday September 19th, 2026!

“Get me! I’m givin’ out wings!” – Nick the bartender, It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946

It would not be Christmas, at least in my book, without watching ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. So we did, of course, on the big screen too – which was beautiful.  As I left the theatre I pondered a scene, a very early one, in fact, within the first five minutes of the film. I’ve seen this movie more times than I can count but for some reason this scene jumped out. The scene opens with “Joseph”, a senior angel, speaking with a fellow, unnamed angel, about whose turn it is to be sent to earth to answer prayers. It seems that the angel “at bat” is Clarence Oddbody, who the unnamed angel refers to as having the “IQ of a rabbit”, to which Joseph, the senior angel, replied, “Yes, but he’s got the faith of a child. Simple.”

The angel Clarence, is sent for. Joseph explains that there are a lot of people on earth praying for a man named George Bailey. “At exactly 10:45pm earth time that man will be thinking seriously of throwing away God’s greatest gift.” – says Joseph, to which Clarence, without hesitation,  replies, “Oh dear dear, his life!”

Clarence knew immediately what God’s greatest gift was and is. Life! 

I know this is most likely not news to any of you reading this but it is in fact a concept in question for some. In post-World War II the view of life was without question – precious. And today, as we are at the cusp of a new year once again, let’s be ever faithful to this certainty, as Clarence was, that life is God’s greatest gift. Next Step will enter into this new year defending those most vulnerable and celebrating new and changed lives. Thank you for helping us to prosper in 2025 and for keeping watch over Next Step and all those we will serve in the coming year.

Happy New Year ~ Heather Vasquez

P.S. Several years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Karolyn Grimes, who at the age of 6, played George Bailey’s youngest daughter Zuzu in the film. She had this to say about my favorite actor, Mr. Jimmy Stewart,  “He really was tall, six feet four inches tall. And he was so very kind.”
Then she autographed our Christmas ornament and sent us on our way with a hug.