The Center for Pregnancy Choices held its annual Walk for Life on Saturday to fund raise for its program and encourage alternatives to abortions.

In addition to the walk, the attendees also released balloons into the air to represent the number of abortions performed in Jackson to residents of Vicksburg and the surrounding areas, and featured a bouncy house for the kids and refreshments for the walkers.

“So what we do is we try to make sure every woman who is pregnant in Vicksburg has all the resources she could need, and knows all of her options,” Executive Director Priscilla Black said.

“We are a pro life organization, but we don’t push that on people that come to use our services. Rather, we try to use education and the truth about abortion, that there are risks, that there are other options, that there are resources if you feel like you don’t have enough money or you don’t have enough knowledge or you don’t have enough support,” Black continued.

Vicksburg resident Jonathan Storey attended the walk because he is pro-life and because he feels the CPC is a quality organization.

“I think the CPC has done great work here in Vicksburg and throughout the state being able to provide that type of care,” Storey said. “I’m here to support them, both in person and also monetarily.”

The CPC offers education programs on prenatal care, parenting, life skills like finance, early childcare and a first trimester class. Donations made at the walk funded the their programs and the staff who work there.

One of the most important services they offer is limited ultrasounds.

“Something a lot of people don’t know is women who rely on Medicaid for pregnancy insurance, they don’t usually see a doctor until like 14 or 15 weeks into their pregnancy because there’s a 45 day waiting period to get your Medicaid submitted and approved,” Black explained. “So that means they’re not even getting a first trimester scan.”

These scans can be very important in the case of ectopic pregnancies, which is when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, and can be damaging and even life threatening if not tended to.

“If they have an ectopic pregnancy, it can burst before they even find it,” Black said. “So we’re making sure they don’t have ectopic pregnancies, those are really dangerous for a woman going to get a medical abortion as well.”