Welcome!
Thank you for your interest in the John Paul II Center for Women and Gianna Healthcare for Women.
We are a Catholic organization, collaborating with the Archdiocese of New York, to create an authentically pro-life healthcare center for women in Manhattan.
The John Paul II Center for Women was founded in September 2008 by Anne Mielnik, MD, a NaProTechnology Medical Consultant and Joan Nolan, a Creighton Model FertilityCare Practitioner, in response to the pleas of Catholic women for access to reproductive healthcare and family planning options which affirm their dignity as women and conform to the Catholic Church's teachings regarding human sexuality and medical ethics.
As Catholic and other pro-life women shared with us their stories of being ridiculed or rejected by their physicians, we came to recognize that these women represent a uniquely "underserved" population in American healthcare. At the same time, we fully agree with our late Holy Father, John Paul II, that the “contraceptive mentality forms the root of the culture of death and that the culture of death is ultimately harming women, couples and families in our society.
The solution to these two intimately-related problems?... An authentically pro-life healthcare center for women, with outreach to Catholic and non-Catholic women alike.
Such a center, if it is to truly counter the "contraceptive mentality" and "culture of death", must necessarily have a multifaceted approach to the provision of healthcare for women.
Most fundamentally, it must provide authentically pro-life healthcare, offering primary care and reproductive health services (including NaProTechnology for conditions such as infertility and recurrent miscarriage) which are completely in line with Catholic Church teaching as directed by documents such as the Ethical and Religious Directives for Healthcare Providers, Humanae Vitae, Donum Vitae, Evangelium Vitae, and Dignitas Personae.
It must, however, also offer education in the various methods of natural family planning, must seek to educate Catholic and non-Catholic women about their dignity as women as described beautifully by John Paul II in his writings on women, and it must offer its services to all women, regardless of ability to pay.
Our mission is, therefore, threefold:
- Authentically Pro-life Healthcare for Women
- Natural Family Planning Education
- Outreach, Education, and Promotion of the Dignity of Women
At this stage, we have moved forward with the Outreach/Education component of our mission by founding the John Paul II Center for Women, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation with the mission of promoting the Catholic Church's teachings regarding the dignity of women, the meaning of human sexuality and human relationships, the beauty of natural family planning alternatives, the need for authentically Catholic reproductive healthcare options, and the importance of Catholic medical ethics.
In addition, thanks to initial funding from several generous benefactors, we are also moving forward with our plans to open our authentically pro-life healthcare center, Gianna Healthcare for Women, in Manhattan in July 2009, offering comprehensive primary and gynecological healthcare for women, including NaProTechnology alternatives for the treatment of infertility and recurrent miscarriage.
Our mission, short and long-term goals, and current needs are available for review on this website.
If you would like to receive updates about our progress, please join our Google Group via the link in the sidebar, or check out our Blog.
Finally, for information about how you can get involved, please check out our Support Page or Contact us.
Thank you for your prayers and support.
Sincerely In Him,
Anne Mielnik, MD
Executive Director
John Paul II Center for Women