Options for Women bought the site of a former car dealership just south of the Lakeland Women’s Health Center at 4504 S. Florida Ave. The pregnancy center soon opened a “satellite clinic” at the property, operating out of a small, portable structure.
Standing under a white tent on Tuesday, Paul exulted as she shared plans for a permanent, 5,240-square-foot building that will eventually occupy the site.
“Oh, my goodness, this is the day that we’ve been ready for forever, right?” Paul said to an audience that included several elected officials and a contingent of prominent business leaders.
As Paul led a midday groundbreaking ceremony on a sizzling afternoon, the general mood remained ebullient, despite a continuous round of heckling from an abortion-rights advocate on the other side of the fence that separates the Options for Women property from that of the clinic.
Options for Women dates to 1998, when it opened in a former house on Hickory Street. The center now has three locations in Lakeland and one in Bartow, with the headquarters a short distance from the satellite clinic but not visible from South Florida Avenue.
A nonprofit, Options for Women is part of the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, an alliance of faith-based centers that provide basic pregnancy services but do not offer or refer for abortions. It is one of at least three pregnancy care entities in Polk County.
Options for Women offers pregnancy testing and ultrasounds, along with testing for sexually transmitted infections, all at no charge. The centers have registered nurses on staff, Paul said, and Dr. Peter Alvarez, an obstetrician-gynecologist, serves as medical director, signing off on all client charts.
Like other pregnancy centers, Options for Women does not provide medical services beyond an ultrasound early in a pregnancy. The center has counselors who talk to girls and women facing potential pregnancies, and Paul said they discuss all options, including abortion.
The Legislature also tucked $500,000 to support the Options for Women expansion into the budget it passed earlier this month, though that is subject to a potential line-item veto by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Paul said she is not counting on any public funding and had planned to go forward with the building long before the Legislature adopted the budget.
Construction is set to begin soon and will likely take nine to 12 months to complete. She estimated the cost at $2 million but said many contractors have offered to do their work at no charge. Whatever the figure, Paul expects to have it covered entirely by private donations. Options for Women paid $500,000 for the satellite property in 2019, according to county records.
The location will probably have a staff of eight to 10, along with volunteers, Paul said.