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12 DECEMBER 23, 2017-JANUARY 26, 2018 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese Gala Beacon 2018 Hope of MARISOL SERVICES 7th Annual Benet Dinner Saturday, January 27 4:00 - 9:00 pm Mass 4:00 pm Celebrant: Father Brian Larkin Gala Event 5:30 - 9:00 pm Beacon of Hope Award Recipients Jane & Mike Norton Defenders of Religious Freedoms Master of Ceremony Chris Stefanick Internationally-Acclaimed Author & Speaker Entertainment Matt Miller & e Lites with special guest Joia Farmer Support the Pro-Life Movement PLEASE JOIN US To buy tickets or for additional information visit: bohgala.org N early half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and about 4 in 10 of these are terminated by abortion, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion, the 2013 study shows. There were 8,333 abortions last year in Colorado, a decrease of nearly 18 percent from 2015, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Marisol Health, a network of medi- cal clinics run by Catholic Charities of Denver, aided that decrease by provid- ing life-a¯ rming medical care, counsel- ing and social services to women facing crisis pregnancies. Denisa Thomas, 28, is among the women Marisol Health helped to bring their unborn babies to birth. Thomas had already had three abortions and several miscarriages when she fi rst visited Marisol's Denver clinic, strate- gically located across the street from abortion provider Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains' headquarters. Adding to Thomas' distress: The father of her unborn child was incar- cerated, she had no health insurance and an 8-year-old son to care for. "Planned Parenthood was my favor- ite place to run to," Thomas said. "That's mostly the reason why I've done abor- tions in the past, out of fear of being a single mom and struggling." With her history, Thomas feared she couldn't have a healthy pregnancy. "I thought maybe I had messed my body up and I wanted to see … if the baby was OK," she said. At Marisol Health she heard the baby's heartbeat and saw her growing child via an ultrasound. "If God gave me one more chance to have this baby, I've got to have it," she decided. The compassionate sta‹ at Marisol Health helped her make a plan. They scheduled her appointments, gave her donated clothing and suggested resources to help during pregnancy, and after. She now takes classes at Commu- nity College of Aurora and worked part- time while awaiting the birth of her child. Thomas has reclaimed her dignity and, with it, confi dence. "I'm really proud of myself," she said. "I got over my fear." That's the goal of Marisol Health, said Jan McIntosh, Catholic Charities' Marisol clinics help abortion-vulnerable women BY ROXANNE KING editor_king@icloud.com @RoxanneIKing This wall of photos at Marisol Health highlights the many babies that were born because of the low- cost and compassionate care they oŽ ered women. PHOTO BY ANDREW WRIGHT Catholic Charities o ers health care, housing and human services to women with crisis pregnancies