A YOUNG Hawick woman is currently undertaking potentially life saving work, in New York City, working in areas like the Bronx and Queens as part of a frontline pregnancy advice organisation.

Twenty-one-year-old Vanessa Reith is taking part in a two month internship counselling women in crisis on the alternatives to abortion.

Vanessa, who has just graduated from Edinburgh University with an honours degree in medical biology is a former president of the Student Pro Life Society in Edinburgh.

After reading about the Internship online Vanessa and a friend from Coatbridge, Laura Seggie, applied and were accepted to the two-month posting in New York.

Vanessa and Laura have both worked as volunteers in the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Centre in Glasgow over the last three years during holidays, gaining valuable experience and knowledge in helping vulnerable women in pregnancy.

The job requires the interns to work inside various New York clinics as well as street counselling. The aim being to take the crisis out of an unplanned pregnancy and offer real alternatives to having an abortion. The Expectant Mother Care (EMC) organisation, with whom both girls are working, are now in their 30th year of operation and have counselled some 42,000 mothers to an alternative to abortion.

As well as practical advice, the EMC offer free ultrasounds to pregnant women from a full-time, mobile clinic.

Parents Stephanie and Cameron Reith, said: “Although the interns get the opportunity for mini breaks they generally work six days a week in very challenging circumstances. We are extremely proud of what both Vanessa and Laura are doing.” Vanessa­ and Laura will return to the UK in September. If you would like to follow the intern’s blog you can do so by visiting: http://bronxlifehouse.blogspot.co.uk/ You can visit the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Centre online: http://cardinalwinningprolifeinitiative.wordpress.com/