By Brian Blackwell, Baptist Message staff writer
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Toni McFadden, who chose to have an abortion as a teenager, shared with approximately 800 guests gathered at the CENLA Pregnancy Center’s Gift of Life banquet that Christ brought her on a path of healing and eventual restoration with her child’s father.
The sixth annual event, Sept. 17, was held in the Randolph Riverfront Center.
“If I could spare any woman from going through what I went through, it’s worth it for me to share because I want fewer stories like mine,” McFadden told the crowd. “I’m so thankful I have a beautiful ending only because of Jesus, but if I can spare women from having to go through that, this is why it’s worth it for me.”
McFadden, who authored “Redeemed: My Journey After Abortion,” shared how her boyfriend broke up with her after the abortion, only to come to her and apologize nine years later. Soon after, the two married and now have four children.
Even though she does not forget about her child who was aborted, she is grateful God has redeemed her through Christ.
“We’ve been married for 16 years, and on our wedding day, we were able to honor our unborn baby,” she said. “We let our guests know that we were lighting a candle to represent the life of our unborn child, because we believe every time we share our story, our child is no longer a statistic. God is using that life to impact others.”
McFadden was the keynote speaker for the largest fundraiser of the year for the pregnancy center. The event also featured the Highs and Lows, Alexandria Senior High School’s acappella choir; a preview of the center’s donor website that launched at the banquet; information on how businesses can receive a tax credit for supporting pregnancy centers in 2025; and how God led a woman to undergo abortion pill reversal that saved the life of her child.
SAVING LIVES
Since the Alexandria location was launched on the campus of the Louisiana Baptist Building in 2017, the CPC has added two locations and served 2,000 women, completing 8,000 client visits, 2,000 pregnancy tests and 1,500 ultrasounds (a vital service to the decision-making process for many pregnant women).
The centers are saving lives by offering such services as Options counseling (pregnancy decision coaching by trained advocates), free pregnancy tests, free ultrasounds, information about pregnancy options, referrals to mental health counselors and obstetrician-gynecologists, safe house and affordable housing recommendations, adoption support (referrals to assist expectant mothers with an adoption plan and limited financial assistance), post-decision support that includes parenting education and material assistance for up to two years into the child’s life, as well as post-abortion services.
Additionally, the center meets basic needs for mothers and their babies by distributing food, baby beds, diapers, women’s hygiene products, car seats, and clothing.
The ministry also offers abortion pill reversal services. The center is listed on a national hotline that connects CENLA Pregnancy Center staff with women seeking to reverse the effects of the first pill taken for a chemically induced abortion.
CENLA Pregnancy Center Executive Director Kim Lyons shared that the pregnancy center recently served its 2,000th client.
“So many of the women who come to us find themselves in a situation that’s filled with fear and anxiety around an unplanned pregnancy,” she said. “And we just are blessed to be able to help them find their way out of the darkness and out of the desert of the situation that they’re in. We are gifted with the opportunity to hold each woman’s hand to help navigate a challenging time.”
Lyons later had an on-stage conversation with Heidi Peavy, Avoyelles Pregnancy Center satellite director and CENLA Pregnancy Center client advocate, who took a call from a woman in need of abortion reversal. Despite being nervous, Peavy felt compelled to act, believed it was her calling to help preserve the future of the unborn child, and was equipped to initiate a reversal.
The woman opted for the abortion reversal pill and gave birth to a baby girl.
“These women who come to us need us,” she told supporters of the center. “And if it wouldn’t be for y’all, we wouldn’t be able to do it.”
Stewart Holloway, pastor with First Baptist Church, Pineville, gave thanks to God during the celebration.
“We’re grateful, Lord, for the 2,000 women whose lives have been impacted by the ministry of CENLA Pregnancy Center and the hundreds of babies impacted, many of them who have been given a chance for life that maybe they would not have had,” Holloway prayed. “And so, Lord, tonight we gather together to make sure that this ministry continues in a day when some battles are being won and other battles are still raging in terms of life. We want to make sure that we do our part to uphold your plan and to make sure children have every chance to fulfill the plans that you have to do.”
