By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 6/24/04)

Hundreds of women sing praises to him. They are devoted to him and his mission. His office is a place where hugs are not uncommon, icons and images of Mary adorn nearly every wall, and everyone is greeted with a smile.

Dr. John Bruchalski has undoubtedly created the most unique obstetrics and gynecology practice in Northern Virginia, if not the country.

Focusing not only on the health of a woman, but on her entire well-being, Bruchalski’s patients cannot give him, or his fellow staff members, enough praise.

At a time when birth control is advertised in every magazine and on nearly every channel of television; tabloids and entertainment magazines follow celebrities from one sinful relationship to the next; and abortion is viewed by many as a "right," a choice women should freely and guiltlessly make; Bruchalski’s Tepeyac Family Center is an oasis and an anomaly for women trying to escape this culture of immorality and death.

The Tepeyac Center was created to fill a need unfilled by many practices. Instead of simply working to prevent or treat diseases and ailments, Tepeyac cares for the entire person. There, pregnancies and children are never considered "unplanned" or "accidents," they are blessings from God, and mothers and their children are treated with the dignity and respect that children of God should be afforded. The Tepeyac Center does not prescribe contraceptives, perform tubal ligations or hysterectomies, or assist with abortions.

According to Bruchalski, the mission of Tepeyac Family Center is to "serve women in crisis pregnancies, see the underserved in an environment of human dignity, see the face of Christ in all who suffer, support the institution of the family as the building block of society and put into medical practice the wisdom of John Paul’s ‘Theology of the Body’ and the teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church in the Gospel of Life."

"We can be assured, by sending (our clients) to Tepeyac, that they will not be coerced into having an abortion," said Maryanne Christensen, director of Project Rachel. "In fact for many, this becomes a time of conversion." Project Rachel, which helps women following an abortion, and Gabriel Project, helping mothers in at risk-pregnancies, have created close relationships with the health center for this reason.

Although the staff at Tepeyac come from different backgrounds, they all believe wholeheartedly in this mission to serve the less fortunate and to serve them from a Biblical approach. Bruchalski says that while the entire staff is not Catholic, "We are truly catholic with a small ‘c’ — universal. All of us respect the gift of human life from conception until our Father calls us home — natural death. None of us want to turn away from the mission, but it gets harder and harder.

Amidst a culture of death, "We’re trying to interface with all the world that isn’t on a mission and that’s hard," said Dr. Marie Anderson, a physician at Tepeyac. "I wish it didn’t take money to do this."

Malpractice insurance rates in Virginia have skyrocketed this year. In December, Tepeyac was informed that its rates would be raised from $43,000 to $93,000 per physician, an overall increase of 120 percent. The center had less than one month to raise the money to pay its 2004 insurance premium.

For a practice that refuses no one, that delivers babies for women who cannot afford to pay the medical costs, this news was detrimental.

Closing the practice was never an option for Bruchalski. He is doing God’s work and couldn’t turn his back on it. Central Tepeyac’s mission is providing medical care to the poor.

"Since our opening, we believed with all our being that serving the underserved is a requirement of working in His vineyard," Bruchalski said. "This ability to be a good Samaritan is not a quantitative nor qualitative endeavor, but one from the depths of our relationship with Him. We don’t turn folks away. The underserved are Christ to us.

When the community heard about Tepeyac’s financial situation, more than $120,000 was raised in two days through individual donations. Tepeyac was able to set up an installment plan to pay its malpractice insurance, so this $120,000 ensured they would remain open for at least three more months. The next payment is due at the end of the month.

The center has applied for non-profit status, hoping this will help it survive rising insurance rates. With non-profit status, benefactors of Tepeyac will receive tax benefits for their donations.

Because of the close relationship between Project Rachel and Tepeyac Center, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde and Project Rachel recently presented a check for $60,000 to the center.

Without Tepeyac, Bob Laird, director of the Family Life office said, "We would not have started Gabriel Project, and we would not be running Project Rachel like we are now because we wouldn’t have a doctor we could trust."

No matter what the individual situation might be, or what their status in life is, they want to help women remain healthy, and help them realize that they are worthy, dignified human beings who deserve better than abortion. "They care about you as a person and are deeply concerned about your welfare," Christensen said.

"I have found (Tepeyac) to be a unique medical clinic that applies the principles of the Gospel of Life day in and day out," Bishop Loverde said in a recent press release. "This explains why so many abortion-minded women who show up at the doorstep at Tepeyac end up experiencing the necessary love and compassion to choose life for their own unborn children — even in the most desperate situations. This donation is one small part that we can play in helping Tepeyac Family Center to continue its mission."

Tepeyac works with Project Rachel on this mission. "If we can keep them from having a second abortion, we’re doing well," Christensen said.

"We really appreciate the relationship we have with you," she told Bruchalski. "Who would I call if we didn’t have your office?"

"I can’t thank you enough," Bruchalski told Christensen and Laird when presented with the check. "Please, let’s continue to pray for each other. We continue to feel that prayer all the time."