When Gary first felt called to support the pro-life movement, his focus was clear and common among many generous donors. He wanted to see lives saved. For him, that meant something very practical: how many dollars could be given, and how those dollars could translate into babies rescued. The mission felt measurable. Tangible. Worthwhile.
But incomplete.
More Than a Means to an End
Looking back, Gary is honest about something that many might hesitate to admit:
“I did not view the mamas as persons, but rather as the support system for the babies.”
It wasn’t indifference. It was perspective. A framework that centered entirely on the child, unintentionally reducing the mother to a role instead of recognizing her as a person. And yet, that’s where many begin. Because when the urgency is saving a life, it’s easy to focus only on the smallest, most vulnerable one. But God rarely leaves our perspective untouched.
A Quiet Shift
For Gary, there wasn’t a single defining moment. No dramatic turning point. Just a slow, steady awakening that began after he joined LaVie’s Board. He started to see something he hadn’t fully considered before:
Every woman walking through LaVie’s doors bears the image of God—with dignity, value, and a story that matters. And as he paid closer attention, a deeper reality came into focus. He noticed patterns. Women driving older, unreliable cars. Women carrying the weight of parenting alone. Women navigating abandonment, instability, and fear. It raised a haunting question:
What kind of culture leaves women here?
Gary began to wrestle with the broader story surrounding unplanned pregnancy: the ways women are often used, unsupported, and left to carry consequences alone. What once felt like isolated decisions began to look more like the fallout of a broken system.
“I began to see women as victims… abandoned by men, sometimes by family… maybe even feeling abandoned by God.”
And suddenly, the conversation about “choice” didn’t feel so simple anymore.
A New Understanding of What Saves a Life
That’s when something shifted at the core of Gary’s thinking:
“If we really want the pregnancy to be saved, we have to first care for and reach the mom.”
Because what if many women don’t actually want abortion? What if, instead, they feel backed into it? Alone. Afraid. Unsupported. Without a better option.
Gary puts it this way:
“Their circumstances drive them to believe abortion is a ‘good’ idea.”
And if that’s true, then the solution isn’t just intervention, it’s presence. It’s creating a place where a woman is seen, supported, and reminded that she is not alone. Because when her world begins to change, her choices often do too.
Seeing Through the Eyes of Jesus
As Gary’s perspective expanded, so did his understanding of the heart of Christ. Not abstractly, but personally.
“I think Jesus changed my mind by placing me in their shoes.”
Scriptures he had known for years began to take on new meaning:
The woman at the well.
The woman caught in adultery.
The widow of Nain.
Mary at the foot of the cross.
Tamar’s story.
Over and over again, he saw a pattern:
Jesus never reduced women to their circumstances.
He met them with dignity, compassion, and restoration.
And if that’s how Jesus sees them… then that’s how we must too.
The Work of LaVie, Reimagined
This shift didn’t just change Gary’s perspective, it deepened his appreciation for the work happening every day at LaVie.
“I see each person on staff as total empaths… They understand the despair our patients experience and reach out in ways I never could.”
Because LaVie doesn’t just intervene in a moment. They step into a story. They meet women in crisis not as problems to solve, but as people to love. And in doing so, they offer something radically different from the culture surrounding these women:
Hope.
Support.
A real alternative.
A Word to Fellow Donors
Gary’s message to others who feel passionate about protecting life is both simple and challenging:
“The woman in this story is more than a life support system for the baby.”
If we stop there, if we only see the child, we miss the fullness of what it means to be pro-life. Because to truly protect life is to care about both.To recognize that loving the baby requires loving the mother. To believe that when a woman is supported, heard, and valued, she is far more likely to choose life.
The Invitation
This work, this mission is, in Gary’s words:
“True, Good, and Beautiful. It is God’s work done God’s way.”
And maybe the invitation for all of us is this:
To step out of “us vs. them.”
To lay down assumptions.
To see people the way Jesus does.
With compassion.
With forgiveness.
With dignity.
Because sometimes, the most powerful way to save a life…
is to love the one carrying it.
