Victoria (a pseudonym) came to Destiny for Women Health Clinic after taking the first abortion pill. The pregnancy help medical clinic’s sonographer confirmed through a scan that Victoria’s unborn child still had a heartbeat and was at about eight weeks gestation.
Victoria became the first Abortion Pill Reversal (APR) patient for Destiny for Women, located in Peoria, Ill. Others have followed, part of Destiny for Women’s hearty growth in services for women since opening its doors just three years ago.
Leaps and bounds in three years
Destiny for Women has seen meaningful growth in its three-year existence. In 2024, the clinic administered 515 pregnancy tests with 415 clients considered “at-risk’ for abortion, Smart said. The previous year, Destiny for Women served 382 clients, and in 2022, 175 women came through the doors.
“We have grown exponentially,” said Kate Smart, founder and executive director Smart.
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In addition to offering pregnancy testing and limited obstetrical ultrasound, Smart and her staff and volunteers provide STD testing and pre-natal care. Destiny for Women employs an RDMS (Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer), a nurse manager, a nurse practitioner, and two nurse midwives. The pre-natal care component began to help meet a great need the clinic saw.
“Many times, our patients weren’t getting seen [by an OB-GYN] until they were six months pregnant,” Smart said. “It’s such a great opportunity to walk with a woman and her partner – sometimes the boyfriend comes with [the patient] to these prenatal appointments.”
“So, we get to talk with the woman and the man, which I love!” she added.
There are bilingual staffers and Destiny for Women works closely with a local hospitalist who is an OB-GYN and has a team under him. These physicians deliver the babies of the pregnancy clinic’s clients, Smart said.
“All of these things have grown our clinic,” she said.
These leaps could not have been made without God bringing various organizations alongside the clinic, said Smart. That includes Spera Vita Institute, Focus on the Family, and Heartbeat International. Through resource materials, ultrasound donations, and pregnancy help conferences, she said God “made it easy” for her to launch and operate a pregnancy help medical clinic, which was her prayer before stepping into this pro-life arena.
“I told God, ‘I’ll do this, but you have to make it easy,’” Smart told Pregnancy Help News. “And He did. The first people I asked [to be part of the ministry] said ‘yes,’ and I think that’s a miracle! And I’ve met all these amazing people and organizations!”
She visited various pro-life pregnancy centers in different states, and through one, she learned about Heartbeat International, the largest network of pregnancy help organizations in the U.S. and the world.
Networking at her first Heartbeat International Annual Pregnancy Help Conference in 2021 got the ball rolling by bringing new people into Smart’s circle, organizations to help her interact with clients, train volunteers and staff, and procure an ultrasound machine, among so much more.
“I didn’t know how to answer the phone when a pregnant woman calls,” she said. “I didn’t know how to ask somebody to contribute. I was clueless about everything.”
“I couldn’t have done it if I hadn’t gone to the Conference,” Smart said.
She also watched several Heartbeat videos that year; workshop videos provided after the Conference and training videos that affiliates have access to through Heartbeat’s Academy.
Smart attended Heartbeat’s Conference this year, which took place in Birmingham, Ala. She plans to watch workshop videos from the 2025 event, she said.
“The trauma sessions were so insightful!” Smart said.
“We would not exist without these organizations,” she added. “It’s so beautiful to work with people who have the same heart.”
Destiny for Women Health Clinic ultrasound room/Destiny for Women Health Clinic
Tweet This: Pregnancy help medical clinic director credits Heartbeat International's Conference with equipping her.
Introducing clients to Christ
Illinois is considered an abortion destination state, with many women traveling from out of state to get an abortion there. In 2023, more than 72,000 unborn lives were taken by induced abortion in Illinois, a more than 20,000 increase from 2021 and nearly 30,000 from five years previous, according to statistics from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The Democrat governor continues to advocate for abortion, promoting it as ‘healthcare’ and ‘a right.’
Pro-life pregnancy centers and medical clinics like Destiny for Women rely upon God to combat the death and darkness agenda.
Not only did Victoria become Destiny’s first APR patient, but she also gave her testimony at the clinic’s banquet a week before delivering a healthy baby. She started going to church, and a year later, was baptized. Additionally, Victoria’s sister and a friend became Christians, and she’s become an evangelist, bringing at least 10 others to Christ, Smart said.
“She’s a beautiful soul,” Smart told Pregnancy Help News.
“We’ve had a lot of women say they want to dedicate their lives to Christ, and some women really transform their lives,” she said.
God conversations at the clinic are crucial, she said.
One client’s partner was shot and killed before she had the chance to tell him about the pregnancy, Smart said. More than 110,000 people live in Peoria, and the crime rate is typically higher than the national average.
“[The violence in the area] is just crazy,” she stated.
Destiny for Women's website tells visitors that the pregnancy help medical clinic is "Where History Doesn't Determine Destiny."
A Bible study is now being offering, and 10 women expressed interest in joining Smart for the program, which she is providing online. This program started in May, and the group will meet “whenever we can,” she said.
“Everyone’s schedules are different, and we are all busy people,” Smart said.
Entering the fourth year of Destiny for Women Health Clinic’s service to women, she views what has transpired in a humbling and awed way.
“The whole thing has just been a miracle,” Smart said. “It’s just been beautiful.”
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of two lawsuits brought by state AGs concerning sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal.
