St. Anthony High School Students Observe Window to the Womb
April 22, 2026
HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital and the Family Life Center recently partnered with St. Anthony High School on their annual “Window to the Womb” event, which allows high school students to observe life in the womb in real time.
Held at the Family Life Center with ultrasound technologists from the center and HSHS St. Anthony’s, each student is in the room with a volunteer mother as an ultrasound is done of her baby. The ultrasound technologist points out various body structures, tissues and organs on the ultrasound screen and shows the baby's beating heart. The students also see and hold fetal models to illustrate development in the womb.
Afterward, students reflected on the experience. Ava Miller shared, “It was so neat to be able to see a live ultrasound and to see the baby’s heartbeat, see it move around in the womb and open its mouth, and to just live.”
In addition, the students were given the opportunity to tour the Family Life Center and hear a presentation from Mary Hovis, Executive Director of the Family Life Center, a not-for-profit ministry in Effingham. Hovis shared how the Family Life Center provides services to women, men and families experiencing pregnancy, parenting and related issues to live healthy, productive lives.
Hovis spoke to the students about their potential role as “first responders” to someone experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, as many young people will first share with a friend rather than a parent or other trusted adult. An unexpected pregnancy can feel overwhelming, causing a woman to make a decision based out of stress or fear. Studies reveal that a major reason a woman goes through with her abortion plan is because no one told her she had other options or encouraged her not to.
Students also learned that some women experience regret after taking the abortion pill and that there may be an opportunity to attempt to reverse its effects. One student, Gabe Looman, said this stood out to him, sharing, “I learned you could reverse the effects of an abortion pill.” Abortion pill reversal can offer hope and, in some cases, give a baby a second chance at life.
One student, Evie Sayne, expressed, “It made me grateful that women in our community had somewhere they could go to get the care that they deserve.” Sayne continued by saying, “I learned that men/fathers can also go there to take classes on how to be a good father.”
All the high school students are part of the junior religion classes at St. Anthony High School, which have recently been studying morality, especially issues of respect for the dignity of human life.
“The reality of a human life in the womb is obvious through study, which can be done in a textbook, but it’s very impactful when we can connect that fact to a real experience,” said Greg Fearday, St. Anthony High School Principal. “It’s very generous of the Family Life Center and HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital to provide this experience for our students.”
For more information about the services Family Life Center provides, visit empowerflc.org.
Photo Caption: Some of the participants in the “Window to the Womb” project included (left to right) St. Anthony High School students with their teacher: Max Gillenwater, Teacher Thomas Schniers, Marcus Geen, Will Vonderheide, Gabe Huebner, Cole Adams, Juluis Ramos and Alex Mayer; along with Jill Pankau, Family Life Center Ultrasonographer; Mary Walk, volunteer mom, and her 20-week preborn baby on the ultrasound screen; Allison Runyon, Family Life Center Nurse Manager; and Maureen Habing, HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital Ultrasonographer.
Held at the Family Life Center with ultrasound technologists from the center and HSHS St. Anthony’s, each student is in the room with a volunteer mother as an ultrasound is done of her baby. The ultrasound technologist points out various body structures, tissues and organs on the ultrasound screen and shows the baby's beating heart. The students also see and hold fetal models to illustrate development in the womb.
Afterward, students reflected on the experience. Ava Miller shared, “It was so neat to be able to see a live ultrasound and to see the baby’s heartbeat, see it move around in the womb and open its mouth, and to just live.”
In addition, the students were given the opportunity to tour the Family Life Center and hear a presentation from Mary Hovis, Executive Director of the Family Life Center, a not-for-profit ministry in Effingham. Hovis shared how the Family Life Center provides services to women, men and families experiencing pregnancy, parenting and related issues to live healthy, productive lives.
Hovis spoke to the students about their potential role as “first responders” to someone experiencing an unexpected pregnancy, as many young people will first share with a friend rather than a parent or other trusted adult. An unexpected pregnancy can feel overwhelming, causing a woman to make a decision based out of stress or fear. Studies reveal that a major reason a woman goes through with her abortion plan is because no one told her she had other options or encouraged her not to.
Students also learned that some women experience regret after taking the abortion pill and that there may be an opportunity to attempt to reverse its effects. One student, Gabe Looman, said this stood out to him, sharing, “I learned you could reverse the effects of an abortion pill.” Abortion pill reversal can offer hope and, in some cases, give a baby a second chance at life.
One student, Evie Sayne, expressed, “It made me grateful that women in our community had somewhere they could go to get the care that they deserve.” Sayne continued by saying, “I learned that men/fathers can also go there to take classes on how to be a good father.”
All the high school students are part of the junior religion classes at St. Anthony High School, which have recently been studying morality, especially issues of respect for the dignity of human life.
“The reality of a human life in the womb is obvious through study, which can be done in a textbook, but it’s very impactful when we can connect that fact to a real experience,” said Greg Fearday, St. Anthony High School Principal. “It’s very generous of the Family Life Center and HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital to provide this experience for our students.”
For more information about the services Family Life Center provides, visit empowerflc.org.
Photo Caption: Some of the participants in the “Window to the Womb” project included (left to right) St. Anthony High School students with their teacher: Max Gillenwater, Teacher Thomas Schniers, Marcus Geen, Will Vonderheide, Gabe Huebner, Cole Adams, Juluis Ramos and Alex Mayer; along with Jill Pankau, Family Life Center Ultrasonographer; Mary Walk, volunteer mom, and her 20-week preborn baby on the ultrasound screen; Allison Runyon, Family Life Center Nurse Manager; and Maureen Habing, HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital Ultrasonographer.
Media Contact
Vicki Macklin
Communications & Public Relations Specialist