To the Editor:

“We’re going to have a baby!”

In an ideal scenario, the happy couple’s announcement will most likely be received with surprised smiles and then a round of ecstatic congratulations. The happy couple, for the next nine months, has the support of family and friends; all the mother and child’s needs will be met, but this is, after all, an ideal scenario. For women with unexpected pregnancies and in crisis situations, the scenario unfolds differently. The announcement “I’m going to have a baby!”–may be received less enthusiastically and followed by her own personal questions of how she will manage to support her child.

Pregnancy should be a joyous period–not nine months of worry, doubt, and possibly regret. On April 15, 2007, Students for Life will be hosting a baby shower for 18 expectant mothers who currently live at Our Lady’s Inn. Located right down the road on South Compton, Our Lady’s Inn has provided 25 years of maternity home and emergency shelter to pregnant women in crisis situations. In addition, it has been a safe refuge for women to learn to care for themselves and their unborn baby. Women staying at Our Lady’s Inn work to accomplish three goals: delivering a healthy baby, obtaining employment, and securing permanent housing.

Students for Life will be collecting new and gently used baby items (clothes, food, diapers, wipes, lotion, pacifiers, bottles, and toys to name a few), as well as monetary donations. Donation bins will be located in the lobbies of residence halls and also in Campus Ministry. Monetary gifts can be turned in to a campus minister or sent to Students for Life, MSC 11. Your support can make all the difference; in providing a mother and her child with basic necessities, you also provide these families with joy and hope.

Kathleen Neuner
Maria Teresa Val
Students for Life
[email protected]