Handheld Ultrasound: A Peek at the Future
of the Pro-Life Movement?
New technology hailed as a stunning leap forward in modern health care
may be about to give pro-life advocates unheard-of power to save a life
- in the palm of their hand.
At the Web 2.0 summit in San Francisco this week, General Electric
unveiled the ultraportable and user-friendly Vscan, an ultrasound
machine about the size of a large flip phone. Dubbing it "the
stethoscope of the 21st century," the company offered various scenarios
in which the device could vastly advance the landscape of
diagnostics.
For pro-lifers on the front lines, the new gadget could hugely improve
abortion-bound women's access to ultrasounds, which have been found
highly effective in helping mothers choose life for their baby.
In the past, the sheer size of the devices has given pro-lifers a
perennial puzzle over how to bring the heavy medical equipment into the
paths of such women.
Thomas Peters of the American Papist blog was among the first to ponder
the new invention as a potential "revolution in sidewalk pro-life
counseling technology."
Chris Slattery, the founder and president of the New York pregnancy
resource center Expectant Mother Care, called the breakthrough
"absolutely awesome."
Slattery said that his own operation has been actively pursuing smaller
versions of the ultrasound - having just crammed his mobile ultrasound
into a 15-foot cargo van, a step up from the previous 20-foot mobile
home.
"Our movement is going more and more mobile with ultrasound," said
Slattery. Some pro-life organizers, he said, are so devoted to
the life-saving benefits of ultrasound that they have created "a whole
sub-segment of the movement" dedicated to providing mobile
ultrasound.
But while the vision of pro-life sidewalk counselors nationwide packing
a personal ultrasound in their back pocket may be an attractive one,
the new technology won't be available for general consumption.
Ultrasound sonography is tightly regulated by state law as well as
national medical guidelines issued by the American Institute in
Ultrasound Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists, and the American College of Radiology.
Still, with equipment and training provided by organizations such as
Option Ultrasound and National Institute of Family and Life Advocates
(NIFLA), more and more pregnancy resource centers today have been able
to open the technology to a life-saving venue. Major pregnancy
resource center groups now provide regular and ongoing sonography
training for medical clinic affiliates.
"[Ultrasound] is the most powerful tool in the movement," said
Slattery. "I've been looking for a new ultrasound machine - and I
want to find out more about this."
Contact: Kathleen Gilbert
Source: LifeSiteNews.com
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Date: October
23, 2009
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The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in
Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state
coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of
Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our
society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political
persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic
backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has
been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the
human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that
every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is
dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection
for the disabled and the elderly. Click here to learn more about the IFRL.