Renowned Bishop Named as Founding Member of Birth Choice Health Clinics National Advisory Board

ALISO VIEJO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 28, 2014) - Bishop Kevin Vann, JCD, DD, a high-profile voice in the pro-life movement and the fourth Bishop of Orange, recently became the first member of Birth Choice Health Clinics' National Advisory Board. His relationship with Birth Choice Health Clinics -- a California-based network of medically licensed, life-affirming health clinics offering free community health care and patient education programs -- first began when he endorsed the organization's 2013 grant submission to the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), a subcommittee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Birth Choice was later awarded $500,000 per year, over five consecutive years, by the CCHD to be used in support of its expansion efforts.

"Bishop Kevin Vann is a great ally in our mission to provide free, high quality care to young women who are facing a crisis pregnancy and to both young men and women making difficult decisions regarding their sexual health," says Kathleen Eaton Bravo, founder and CEO of Birth Choice Health Clinics. "Birth Choice is honored that Bishop Vann has agreed to spearhead our National Advisory Board's launch. His leadership, support and input is incredibly valuable as we seek to expand with a cohesive industry voice and unified life-affirming medical model."

With massive and rapid changes looming ahead for healthcare, especially with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate, gone are the days of singular pro-life centers operating independently as they have for the last 40 years.

"I am truly blessed to join the National Advisory Board of Birth Choice as its founding member. I am inspired by the work of this organization in addressing the social, economic and healthcare access issues that have contributed to a culture and environment where the sanctity of human life is often not cherished," says Bishop Vann. "The great respect-life ministry of Birth Choice also helps our young people to make healthy and virtuous choices in their lives while surrounded by often confusing and misleading messages. As Catholics we believe that each and every human life is of unequaled value and is deserving of our love and reverence. Though I have been very supportive of Birth Choice's work in the past, I am pleased to more formally join their faithful efforts to build a society where women and their children are loved and nurtured and the gift of life is celebrated."

With its expansion, Birth Choice hopes to spread its proven, long-term business model for providing healthcare and community outreach throughout the state, fully saturating its own backyard -- which happens to be the number-one state for abortion, hitting 181,730 abortions in 2011 -- before taking the model national. Currently, Birth Choice has five locations, including a travelling mobile clinic, and the organization is working tirelessly to grow its number of health clinics and establish a unified voice that upholds the value of all human life.

For more information on Birth Choice services and clinic locations, please visit www.birthchoice.com. To learn more about Birth Choice Health Clinics' expansion initiative, visit www.bchcdonor.org/help; and for information regarding supporting the cause via financial donations, visit www.bchcdonor.org.

ABOUT BIRTH CHOICE HEALTH CLINICS: Founded in 1981, and headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., Birth Choice Health Clinics (BCHC) -- a 501(c)(3) non-profit, fully-licensed community health care clinic -- offers free pregnancy-related medical services and STD testing in Long Beach, Mission Viejo, Orange, Santa Ana and a mobile unit, with current plans to grow by opening 20 new clinics throughout California. BCHC's services include pregnancy care, pre-natal care, STD testing/treatment, ultrasound, well-woman care, breast and cervical cancer screening, PAP smear testing, HIV/AIDS testing, primary care through its partnership clinics and referrals to community resources and health education to low-income and underserved individuals in the community. These services are provided in a compassionate and non-judgmental manner to all women and men in need of high-quality care regardless of their ability to pay, creed, race, sexual orientation, national origin or age. Soon, the brand will unveil a collaborative medical model to grow its long-established, locally-based footprint, expand its reach and begin caring for those throughout California without access to life-affirming sexual health care. For more information, visit www.birthchoice.com and www.bchcdonor.org.