EL CENTRO – The Imperial Valley Culture of Life group is looking for help to transform donated vehicles into mobile ultrasound units.
“(An ultrasound) gives parents an opportunity to meet their son or daughter, and once they see their son or daughter, our hope is that they choose life rather than assassinate their son or daughter,” said Father Ed Horning, pastor of the Catholic Communities of Brawley and Westmorland.
“(We want this) to save lives and to maybe try and help prevent our young people from making a decision that they would regret,” said Father Horning.
The group will hold an online event “to pray and motivate folks to commit themselves to the pro-life cause,” said Father Horning. It will be held online via Facebook at 3 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 24.
The group’s co-coordinator, Karla Lopez, said a mobile ultrasound unit could allow the organization to reach more of the Imperial Valley.
The Catholic Imperial Valley Culture of Life Ministry – the group’s public outreach arm – was unable to hold its Walk for Life, or “Jericho Walk,” in January and also cannot hold its annual “Dance for the Love of Life” fundraiser in February due the COVID-19 pandemic. A virtual fundraising campaign took place in December, however, and the group will continue to raise funds for the mobile ultrasound units, coordinators said.
The group has received a donated van and RV through the San Diego Knights of Columbus’ Light and Life Mobile Ultrasound, Inc., but has struggled to get them up and running due to lack of resources.
Since starting fundraisers in 2016 to get the vehicles retrofitted with medical equipment, the group has raised $80,000 towards their goal of getting “Team MUMU” (mobile ultrasound medical unit) rolling.
Still, group members have been on hold, not knowing what equipment to buy, where to buy it or where to get it installed, and lacking the necessary knowledge of California vehicle standards and equipment installation.
Father Horning said the group has “been in limbo for a couple of years” because it hasn’t been able to get professional assessments for the van and the RV that it has.
“We need someone who knows California law and something about refitting and assessing vehicles for medical use to get that rolling because we’re stuck,” said Father Horning.
The group has already had at least one doctor and a small team of nurses on standby for years now, coordinators said.
The group’s lead coordinator, Myriam Fletes, said the group hopes to hold another fundraiser in February to raise an additional $3,000 to $4,000.
“Anyone who is interested in abolishing the death penalty for unborn children is welcome to contribute,” said Father Horning. “You don’t have to be of any faith tradition, just someone who is a humanitarian.”
For more information, contact the Imperial Valley Culture of Life at (855) 482-4642 or by email at ivcultureoflife@hotmail.com. Donations are accepted online via paypal.me/IVCofLife or Venmo donations sent to username IVCulture-OfLife.
