Loose change in a baby bottle helps pro-life effort

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BOUNTIFUL — This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Baby Bottles 4 Ultrasounds campaign at Saint Olaf Parish in Bountiful.

The campaign, an ongoing effort by the Knights of Columbus to purchase ultrasound machines for local pregnancy centers, was begun by Bill Bradwich, said Joe Nesi, Grand Knight of the parish’s Council 5502.

“He got us all involved,” Nesi said of his fellow Knight.

National statistics have shown that 1 in 3 women will not have an abortion if they see their baby on an ultrasound.

In 2008, the national Knights of Columbus Board of Directors began an effort to place ultrasound machines in pregnancy resource centers so that “every child would have a chance at life,” said John Wainscott, who at that time was the Utah Knights of Columbus International Supreme director; he also is a past chairman of the Knights’ Pro-Life and Family committee.

In the 10 years since this effort began, about 10,000 ultrasound machines have been bought, Nesi said.

“In Utah the ultrasounds machines have saved 290 babies,” said Nesi.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, in 2017, 2,990 abortions were provided in Utah, though not all these were provided to state residents. The state’s abortion rate declined by 4 percent between 2014 and 2017, from 4.6 to 4.4 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Abortions in Utah represent 0.3 percent of all abortions in the United States.

To continue encouraging women to carry their babies to term, the Baby Bottles 4 Ultrasound project distributes bottles to members of the St. Olaf community. A written statement of purpose accompanies each bottle.

Parishioners fill the baby bottles with coins and bills. The accumulated loose change can be a significant amount, Nesi said.

This year the members of Council 5502 have handed out 100 baby bottles after the parish Masses.

“So far we have got back 40 baby bottles and we are around $1,000,” said Nesi, adding that last year the campaign collected about $1,300 from the parish.

An ultrasound machine costs about $18,000.

Once local Knights raise 50 percent of the cost of an ultrasound machine, the Supreme Council provides the other 50 percent to complete funding for the purchase. If a local council raises 100 percent of the cost for a vehicle to serve as a mobile medical unit for a pregnancy center, the Supreme Council will pay for an ultrasound machine to be used in that vehicle.

All life is sacred, and the Baby Bottles 4 Ultrasound program is part of the Knights’ overall pro-life efforts, Nesi said.

“It is not our option as human beings, as children of Our Lord, to take the lives of our unborn children. … God loves all and each one of us, even those in the wombs. He loves all of us,” he said.

To learn more about the Baby Bottles 4 Ultrasounds project, contact Knights of Columbus Council 5502 at kofc5502@gmail.com.