Knights of Columbus donate ultrasound machine to help save unborn lives in Utah

IC photo/Linda Petersen

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Bishop Oscar A. Solis blesses the new Pro-Life Utah mobile clinic which contains an ultrasound machine donated by the Knights of Columbus.

SALT LAKE City — Those who support the rights of unborn children in Utah have a new tool to help them in their mission: an ultrasound machine donated by the Knights of Columbus to the new Pro-Life Utah mobile clinic.

This is the fourth donation of an ultrasound machine in Utah by the charitable order of Catholic men. The other three are installed at pregnancy resource centers in various cities. For each machine, Utah Knights councils raised half of the $31,000 cost and the national Supreme Council donated the rest.

For the Pro-Life Utah mobile clinic, the Utah Knights also raised $6,000 for additional start-up costs. Council 9849 at St. James the Just Parish donated 49 percent of the amount put in by Utah Knights. Several Knights from the Salt Lake area plan to act as drivers for the van, which will be parked outside Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics.

On May 12, the day the ultrasound was donated, Bishop Oscar A. Solis blessed both the machine and the van in the plaza at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.  Before doing so, he thanked Pro-Life Utah, the Utah Knights of Columbus and representatives from the Supreme Council, the Diocese of Salt Lake City Respect Life Commission Chair Catherine Stokes and Office of Family Life Director Crystal Painter for their partnership “in order to promote the culture of life” in Utah, he said. “The use of these ultrasounds has saved many lives here in our city. Life begins right there; life is holy, sacred, and we have to protect and nourish it.”

Although the past year has been difficult for the Knights’ fundraising efforts due to the pandemic, the organization made this project a priority.

“It’s about being pro-life like our faith is, and so the Knights are very pro-life, and this is a way for us to give back,” Utah Knights State Deputy Nielsen said. “We do a lot of things, but this is a priority to us mainly from the standpoint of statistics that show nationally that 80 percent of women that see the ultrasound of their baby choose not to abort it. Locally, at the Pregnancy Resource Center where there is one of the other machines we have placed, they have a little higher statistic: 90 to 92 percent of people choose not to have an abortion once they see their baby. That’s why it is so important because this is saving lives.”

Pro-Life Utah founder Mary Taylor expressed her appreciation for the Knights of Columbus and their donation.

“You guys are my heroes,” she said as she thanked them and the Diocese of Salt Lake City for its sup-port. “Since the inception of Pro-Life Utah we have enjoyed a close friendship and partnership with Utah Catholics, and I value that relationship so much,” she said. “We are tied at the heart, and we are united in our mission to save unborn babies.”