Groundbreaking initiative, started in 2009, hits milestone as local Knights continue to support women in unplanned pregnancies
OXFORD — Since 2009, the Michigan Knights of Columbus have been raising money and donating ultrasound machines to pregnancy centers across Michigan, helping expecting mothers in unplanned pregnancies to see the life growing inside them.
In late February 2025, the Michigan Knights reached a milestone in this critical initiative, dedicating their 100th ultrasound unit as the Knights continue to support life-saving ministries and nonprofits.
On Feb. 26, the Michigan Knights of Columbus along with the Fr. Thomas R. Carey Council 4764 in Lake Orion donated a new ultrasound unit to the Oxford Pregnancy Center in downtown Oxford.
“This all stemmed from an initiative from our national council to underwrite the purchase of ultrasound machines around the country, and our first machine (donated in Michigan) was in Jackson County in July of 2009,” said Thomas Wegener, past state deputy and former supreme director of the Michigan Knights.
At that time, the Michigan unit in Jackson was the third in the country to be donated by the Knights. Wegener was present at the first dedication as well as the 100th in Oxford last month.
“Michigan jumped real quick into the program,” Wegener recalled. “These 10 state deputies (of the Knights) since 2009 have kept this program alive. It’s an idea that is central and integral to the Knights of Columbus, and it’s a pleasure to see it work in this state.”
Jeanne Tuski, executive director of the Oxford Pregnancy Center, said the newly donated machine, with its updated technology, will help the center as it continues to provide information and assistance to women in crisis pregnancies.
She noted offering an ultrasound to women who are considering an abortion is critical as it not only shows the development of the baby but also typically reveals the heartbeat.
“The new machine technology allows us to see the heartbeat at five weeks, three days,” Tuski added. “There is no denying that it is a baby. It is not a clump of cells or a clot.”
The new machine, nicknamed "Gabriel," is the second unit donated to the center. The first one is now 10 years old and can no longer be serviced, but will be donated to a pregnancy center in a poor area in Louisiana.
“Most women come in thinking they are looking for an abortion,” Tuski said. “What we tell them in our initial conversation is very critical. We say, ‘What we can offer you is options.’ Then we give them a medical-grade pregnancy test and a free ultrasound.”
Local Knights of Columbus councils are charged with the task of raising half the amount for a new machine, and then the Knights' Supreme Council helps match the funding.
Jim Roback, past Grand Knight and chairman of the ultrasound initiative in Oxford, said the local council took on the responsibility to raise funds for a new machine after he learned of the need at the pregnancy center.
“To save a life is the most important thing,” Roback said. “We need every resource possible.”
The Fr. Thomas Carey Council in Lake Orion raised close to $23,000 for the machine and the center. Several other local councils supported the project, as well as the Livingston County Ultrasound Initiative.
Barry Borsenik, current Knights of Columbus state deputy, said raising money for the machines is a grassroots effort.
“It is just a significant milestone to show the enormity of the great work these machines do and the great need for it across the state,” Borsenik said. “It shows a lot of collaboration for the local councils and agencies that work in our communities.”
The results of local initiatives and projects help support individual and local pregnancy centers.
“It’s all about making the services available where they are needed,” Borsenik said.
Wegener agreed.
“(The Knights of Columbus) are donating ultrasounds to protect life,” Wegener said. “And that continues with the ASAP (Aid and Support After Pregnancy) program aimed to protect mothers not only with pregnancy but with the care after birth, and sometimes that is the result of our ultrasound machines.”
Wegener said the program is both saving lives and protecting lives as they enter the world.
“We give that window of opportunity, which makes you feel great,” he added. “Now, after 16 years and 100 machines, we are duplicating that all over the state of Michigan.”
