and our pro-life allies face a very difficult struggle in the coming weeks, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and majorities of each House of the State Legislature are intent on passing abortion expansion legislation.

To be blunt, our odds of success are quite low. Nevertheless, we will continue to stand for life and leave the ultimate outcome to the Lord.

The proposed Reproductive Health Act would:

1. Eliminate the requirement that abortions be performed only by licensed physicians;
2. Take abortion-related crimes off the books in cases where pregnant women miscarry after being assaulted;
3. Unambiguously establish a state-law right to abortion after more than 24 weeks’ gestation when the abortion is “necessary to protect the patient’s life or health” (which, based on court decisions, would allow late-term abortion for any reason at all); and
4. Repeal existing protections for viable babies born alive following late-term abortions.

Every follower of Christ in the State of New York should be actively involved in opposing abortion expansion. To do this, Christians need two things: Moral clarity and moral courage. Moral clarity simply requires a Christian to understand that abortion is something the Lord hates.

Murder is the intentional taking of an innocent human life, and an unborn baby is an innocent human life (a baby has its own heartbeat within the first month of pregnancy, and has its own distinct DNA at conception). The Bible makes it clear that the Lord hates murder (Exodus 20:13) and that He is intimately involved in fetal development (Psalm 139:13-16).

Moral courage requires that a Christian be willing to advocate for the unborn, remembering that the Lord calls upon His people to protect the defenseless (Proverbs 24:11-12).

Friends, if you have the moral clarity and moral courage to oppose abortion expansion, please write your state legislators today and urge them to vote against this disturbing proposal. Please pray against the passage of this bill, and please stay turned for further actions we can take together as we stand for life in Albany.

In January 1984, former President Ronald Reagan began a solemn tradition in our country – Sanctity of Human Life Day.

Each year on the Sunday closest to January 22, we have the opportunity to collectively mourn the tens of millions of lives that have been lost since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. This year, Sanctity of Human Life Sunday will be held on January 21, and we have the opportunity to come before God as the body of Christ to mourn and cry out to God.

Taking time to stop, mourn and pray has long been a spiritual practice and discipline. We see many examples in Scripture in the Old and New Testaments of lament, and our participation can be powerful. One definition of the word lament is “When we hurt physically, we cry out in pain; when we hurt religiously, we cry out in lament.” Lamentation can be described as a loud, religious ‘Ouch!’

Currently, four in ten women who have had an abortion are actively attending a church. Therefore, the abortion issue directly affects each of our churches. Our lament should be loud! This is a way that our hearts are able to be formed and brought into God’s heart – to feel what God feels.

Please join Embracing Options and the many Rochester-area churches as we bring awareness of the moral evil of abortion and the multiplied impact it has on the lives of those affected by it. Let us learn to lament together. In doing so, we will find something important: God’s love and mercy can lead to forgiveness and healing from the deep wounds caused by abortion!

by Crystal Cutting

Click here or on the banner above to read the our January newsletter.

This year we have a great program for our fall Harvest for Life Celebration at Brighton Presbyterian Church!

Join us for an evening of music, elegant desserts, fellowship, and a Quilt Auction with homemade quilts on display!

It’s going to be a warm, encouraging evening of sharing about the ministry of Embracing Options that you don’t want to miss. Invite your friends and family and come out to be with us!

Click here for a PDF poster you can print and share.

A 35 year old woman came in on the last day of July for a pregnancy test. She has 3 children and is going through a divorce but still trying to make her marriage work.

She has suffered a lot of tragedy and loss in her life. Her brother was murdered years ago. Her father was a drug dealer and was murdered. Her husband was shot in the head and survived. She herself had multiple abortions in her past. So much loss!

The upside of all this tragedy is that she knows the Lord and said she could not have gotten through all of this without him.

These kinds of stories may be shocking to us, but they are not unusual. Many of our clients have family members who were murdered. We need to be an oasis – a place where our clients can come for refreshing truth and love.

Click here to read this month’s full report to the His Branches Board of Directors.

Thank you to all of the participating churches (listed below) and congregants of those churches who participated in the 2017 Baby Bottle Fund Raiser! We have raised $18,769.56 and our goal is $20K.

If you want to donate and you still have a baby bottle, it’s not too late! Just fill it up with coins, bills, or checks and bring it to Embracing Options at 342 Arnett Blvd. or in Webster at 35 Curtice Park. No baby bottle? You can donate on-line by going to the Embracing Options Facebook Page. Just click DONATE.

We appreciate your support anytime. Just give us a call at 235-0690 and we will be happy to get you started in supporting Embracing Options through our Baby Bottle Fund Drive.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US REACH OUR GOAL!

• Bible Baptist Temple
• Blessed Hope Community Church
• Brighton Presbyterian Church
• Calvary Chapel of Greece
• Calvary Chapel of Rochester
• Calvary Chapel Southside
• Edgewood Free Methodist Church
• Elim Gospel Church
• Fairport Christian Fellowship
• Glad Tidings Church
• Glory to Glory Christian Fellowship
• Heart Cry Christian Fellowship
• Lakeshore Community Church
• Living Water Christian Fellowship
• Oasis Christian Fellowship
• Open Door Baptist Church
• Park Ridge Free Methodist Church
• St. Joseph’s Church
• The Well
• United Methodist Church of Webster
• Webster Bible Church

THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR LIFE!

Family Movie Night

Friday, January 20, 7-9 pm

Hosted by

Glad Tidings Church

1980 Culver Road, Rochester, NY

Teens, parents, and concerned adults

Invite your friends and come out for an evening together!

For more info contact Crystal Cutting at (585) 545-4690.

Click here to download a poster you can distribute.

Thank you for supporting us through your gift of prayer! We couldn’t do what we do without YOU! To better steward our finances, we plan to begin sending out Embracing Options’ quarterly newsletter electronically this year. We hope that you are blessed to receive these updates and look forward to keeping you informed with what is happening at EO!

Click here or on our logo below to download our January Issue of Embracing Options News.

Your Servant in Christ,
Diane

After they were eventually shamed into covering the Kermit Gosnell trial ­ many in the media admitted they should have covered it earlier and more vigorously. Some of the more honest journalists and outlets also admitted they had not reported on it because of their biases and reluctance to write about a story that shines a negative spotlight on abortion.

But that was then and this is now, they said. We will do better next time, they promised.

Well the next time has arrived and passed and the media has again completely ignored a truly shocking story about abortion. The Senate Judiciary committee last week published a 500-­page report on the practice of abortion clinics profiteering from selling body parts of aborted fetuses.

The committee makes it very clear that although they were prompted to act by the CMP’s famous undercover Planned Parenthood videos, their investigation was completely separate. They relied almost exclusively on documents acquired under subpoena from Planned Parenthood and the businesses doing the actual buying and selling.

And they were doing a lot of buying and selling…

Click here to read the full article in Townhall by Phelim McAleer.

Embracing Options is hosting their Third Annual HARVEST FOR LIFE event at Brighton Presbyterian Church (1775 East Avenue in Rochester) on Friday, November 18 at 7:00 pm! This is a free event and all are welcome! Come and enjoy music and listen to a powerful client testimony while enjoying coffee and desserts. Guests will have an opportunity to learn more about Embracing Options and make a financial contribution. Please help us get the word out and pray that this event would reach many – both existing and new supporters!

Pray that we would build awareness in our community and be blessed financially through this exciting event. Click here for a PDF flyer that you can open and print if you would like to help us get the word out! Thank you for your support.

Hope to see YOU there!

Diane and all of us at EO

to the following local churches and people who contributed to the GoFundMe account in supporting us with our Baby Bottle Fund Drive.

With your generous help we raised $18,533.28! Due to your support we continue to reach the culture of today with positive life affirming choices relating to pregnancy and sexual activity.

• Bible Baptist Temple
• Blessed Hope Community Church
• Brighton Presbyterian Church
• Calvary Chapel(s) of Greece, Rochester, and Southside
• Center Point Church
• Edgewood Free Methodist Church
• Elim Gospel Church
• Fairport Christian Fellowship
• Glad Tidings Church
• Glory to Glory Christian Fellowship
• GoFundMe Contributors
• Heart Cry Christian Fellowship
• Henrietta Vineyard Church
• Life Tree Fellowship
• Living Water Christian Fellowship
• Oasis Christian Fellowship
• Open Door Baptist Church
• Park Ridge Free Methodist Church
• St. Joseph’s Church
• United Methodist Church of Webster
• Webster Bible Church