Plains resident encourages pregnancy awareness
<p><strong>Terrie Woods holds a sign reminding people about the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v Wade, Friday morning. The March of Life was also held in Thompson Falls.</strong></p>
PLAINS — With the anniversary of the Supereme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, on Friday, many groups have taken to the streets to protest it and fight for the law’s overturn. However, Terrie Woods, founder of Blessings from Above, always takes her sign out just to spread awareness of what services are available to help expecting parents.
Woods adamantly said she does not hold her sign out of protest for Roe v. Wade. It is something she does to help inform the community and remind them that there are options available for help. She helps expecting mothers who may need assistance filling out forms medical services; she also helps them find things they may need, such as cribs and other baby furniture, clothes or supplies. They can also help get people to appointments if they do not have their own transportation available.
“That is not what I do,” Woods said of protesting. “I am here to offer help. My sign’s a sign”
Woods grew up in Plains and wants to help the next generation any way she can. She said she understands what goes on in a young, expecting parent’s life and mind and hopes to alleviate some of those concerns with a guiding hand.
“[I’m] Just offering someone who can relate,” she said.
Woods feels it is important to help the community and sow the seeds of good will among the residents. Helping the people of her home town is something she feels very strongly about.
“It just touches my heart so much, that I just want to be there for them,” she said. “It’s not Roe versus Wade; it’s ‘you need someone to talk to, you need someone to help fill out paperwork,’ things like that. Just be there.”
She wants to be a support service more than taking any side in the abortion debate. She recalled people had asked her to join the March for Life, a pro-life march which ran last week in Thompson Falls, but she has always declined; she prefers to keep herself approachable and not push away anyone who may have need of her services, but different views. Her goal is to offer help and give information or references to people; a non-juding ‘what can we do to help’ atmosphere.
“It’s not a pro-life or pro-choice thing for me,” she said. “It’s about those children and moms that maybe don’t have a support system.”
Other people have occasionally joined Woods when she is out with her sign, joining her in helping spread awareness of the services available. However, she stressed that she does not go asking for anyone to join her and they have mostly been people choosing to join in on their own.