ERLC Interim President Gary Hollingsworth, Psalm 139 Project Director Rachel Wiles and N.C. Baptist Executive Director Todd Unzicker partnered together to dedicate and place an ultrasound machine at The Mercy House Pregnancy Resource Center in Elizabethtown, N.C., on Friday, May. 8.

When Megan Knight started The Mercy House Pregnancy Resource Center in 2023, she always believed God would provide the ministry with an ultrasound machine.

Standing before supporters gathered in prayer and celebration, she watched that belief become reality on Friday (May 8) during a dedication ceremony for an ultrasound machine that was made possible through The Psalm 139 Project, a pro-life ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), in partnership with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

The dedication also marked the 100th ultrasound machine placement by the Psalm 139 Project since the ministry started in the early 2000s. It was also the fifth ultrasound placement for the project in 2026.

“To be chosen as part of this project is both humbling and inspiring, and we do not take it lightly,” Knight said during a special service for the new machine that also included a rededication and ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Mercy House. “This ultrasound machine means so much more than technology. It represents hope, opportunity and the chance for mothers and families to see the precious gift of life.

“We are deeply grateful to the ERLC, the Psalm 139 Project, to North Carolina Baptists and to everyone who helped make this possible.”

About 40 people attended the dedication, including representatives from the ERLC, the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, elected officials, pastors, community leaders and center volunteers. Attendees noted the significance of the 100th placement milestone as they shared remarks, read Scripture and prayed over the center, its staff, the new machine and those who would be ministered to in the days ahead.

“Hey, it’s 100,” Rachel Wiles, director of the Psalm 139 Project, said to those at the dedication event. “We’re going to make a big deal out of it.”

Wiles said it has been an honor to lead the work of the Psalm 139 Project and to participate in ultrasound dedications.

“Glory to God for this milestone moment in the history of the Psalm 139 Project,” Wiles said. “Ultrasound technology is powerful and literally saves lives. It has been an honor to lead this work, and I am deeply grateful for the heroic efforts of pregnancy care centers across the country who serve as the hands and feet of Christ, offering hope and life-saving care every day. May the Lord continue to bless the ministry of the Psalm 139 Project for years to come as we look forward to celebrating the next 100 placements.”

The Psalm 139 Project began in the early 2000s as a way to assist pregnancy resource centers by providing updated technology as they care for many women experiencing unplanned pregnancies. The initiative has provided ultrasound equipment and necessary training to pregnancy resource centers across the country. It does not receive Cooperative Program funds and is instead fully funded through donations, 100% of which go toward the ultrasound placements and subsequent training.

Since its inception, the Psalm 139 Project has placed machines across the country and two internationally.

N.C. Baptist leaders also celebrated the state convention’s partnership with the ERLC which made this placement possible.

“It’s a great privilege for N.C. Baptists to participate in this strategic placement that will save lives and take part in a monumental moment for the Psalm 139 Project,” said Todd Unzicker, executive director-treasurer of N.C. Baptists. “We believe every person is made in the image of God, and the images generated by this machine will reflect that eternal truth to the mothers and fathers served by Mercy House.”

N.C. Baptists have been longtime supporters of the Psalm 139 Project. Friday’s dedication marked the ninth ultrasound placement that has taken place in North Carolina overall and the second held in the state this year.

“We are so grateful to be a part of this,” Unzicker said. “North Carolina Baptists in the last several years have made a real, full-on commitment to see these ultrasounds in all of our communities, in some of the most rural places in North Carolina and to our inner cities. We just know that if people see the image that God has created, there’s a high likelihood that they are going to choose life.”

ERLC Interim President Gary Hollingsworth highlighted the importance of partnership at every level of Baptist life that helped make Friday’s placement possible.

“What a perfect picture of partnership this is — local community, local church, local association, state convention, national entity,” Hollingsworth said. “But the most important thing is that it helps us work and serve together to save lives, and that’s what this is all about. So it’s a real joy to be here to be a part of this little moment in history, but it’s big in the kingdom of God.”

Leigh Britt, nurse manager for Mercy House, said the new machine will allow the center to provide more comprehensive care for its clients.

“An ultrasound is a vital early step in pregnancy care, and now women in Bladen County can receive this service at no cost in a safe and supportive environment,” Britt said. “This is a testament to God’s faithfulness and the generosity of His people, allowing us to serve women and families in an even deeper and more meaningful way.”

Britt added that the prayer and support of local churches help make their work possible.

“As we expand our services with the ultrasounds, we are grateful to the community who makes this work possible,” Britt said. “Every prayer, every donation, every volunteer hour, every word of encouragement helps us reach more people with hope. Every ultrasound performed, every conversation held, every life touched is a reflection of the church being the hands and feet of Jesus.”

Knight said her prayer is that the new ultrasound machine will help women make a decision about life for them and their baby as the Mercy House staff walks alongside them in sharing the gospel and the hope found in Jesus Christ.

“Our prayer is that we will be able to help moms see their baby and bond with their baby,” Knight said. “We know that 60% to 80% of women who see their baby on an ultrasound will choose life. It’s just an extra step. We chat with them, and we talk with them about options and help them to see that life-affirming choices are good, but a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Recently, the Psalm 139 Project has started a new emphasis called “Across State Lines,” which focuses on providing ultrasound equipment and subsequent training to pregnancy resource centers in states where abortion is readily available. Women often travel to these states to seek the procedure.

Wiles recently chronicled the journey of the Psalm 139 Project and her personal experience as director in a first-person article.

“The advent of ultrasound technology and its advances over the years have changed the way the public views life,” Wiles said. “It’s nearly impossible to contend that a pregnancy is just a clump of cells when confronted with a beating heart and images of fingers and toes.

“This is precisely why the Psalm 139 Project began. Through Southern Baptist support of this initiative over the last two decades, many families have experienced a window into the womb firsthand. This type of ministry is happening all over the country as pregnancy centers minister to those in need.

“I get to connect with the staff of many pregnancy centers, who I quickly learned are the heroes of the pro-life movement. These clinic staff show up day in and day out to do ministry where life is messy. They boldly share about the physical life growing within the womb and the eternal life Christ offers.”

The Psalm 139 Project officially started collecting funds in the early 2000s and donated its first ultrasound machines in 2004. Since then, ultrasound machines were placed in pregnancy centers periodically throughout the years.

That was until 2021-2023, when the initiative pursued a bold goal of donating 50 ultrasound machines before the 50th anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case which legalized abortion nationwide in 1973.

Remarkably, Psalm 139 Project reached its goal of placing 50 ultrasound machines in these two years, and a monumental Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe in 2022, thus sending abortion regulation primarily back to the states.

The abortion landscape has completely changed since this decision, with some states passing near-full bans on abortion while others have doubled down and even welcomed “abortion tourism” in their states.

Abortion numbers have reportedly gone up since the overturning of Roe, due largely to the legality of medication abortions. The prescription and distribution of abortion pills remain a continual battle in the fight to protect preborn lives.

Despite this, Wiles said she is grateful for the massive impact the Psalm 139 Project is making both now and eternally.

“Looking back over the arc of the Psalm 139 Project, what’s the legacy of 100 machines?” she said. “We will never truly know this side of heaven, but I am confident that, because of this project, there are people walking around today who would not have been born. Beyond that, families have come to Christ, and generations beyond them will be forever changed through the power of the gospel.”

By Chad Austin, BR Managing Editor

EDITOR’S NOTE — Information from the ERLC and Baptist Press contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on brnow.org.