Angela Kupas, executive director at Life Choices, talks about the new ultrasound machine at the office in Butler on Thursday.

The Knights of Columbus recently bought a new $27,900 ultrasound machine for a Butler-based pregnancy center.

Life Choices is a nonprofit ministry group with four clinic locations, one of which is on South Church Street in Butler. The group brands its clinics as My Choice Medical Clinics.

Angela Kupas, Life Choices' executive director, said the group separates the two to dissociate the clinics from the ministry's image as an anti-abortion organization.

“We talk to our clients about all their options,” Kupas said. That includes, she said, adopting, aborting and finding help to keep one's baby.

The Knights of Columbus, a Catholic men's civic organization, bought the Butler clinic a new ultrasound machine using money raised throughout Western Pennsylvania. The group has a national campaign putting the machines in clinics similar to the ones run by Life Choices.

Jack Rosati, 60, said they seek out organizations like Life Choices as part of their own anti-abortion efforts. Rosati is co-chairman of the Knights of Columbus ultrasound program.

Regional Knights groups, Rosati said, raise money for the machines. Once they have half, the group's Supreme Council chips in the rest.

This is the 15th machine bought through Western Pennsylvania fundraising, Rosati said. Fundraisers like the group's annual baby bottle campaigns fund this program.

Kupas said this is the third ultrasound machine the Knights have given to the clinics.

“Our nurses love the level of quality the images produce,” Kupas said. “The image is so much clearer.”

The My Choice clinics offer free services for females over age 14. Kupas described them as a first-stop resource for women who think they're pregnant. From there, they refer clients to medical organizations.

The four clinics have five registered nurses, but no doctors on staff. Kupas said they have two remote medical directors who screen ultrasounds and flag anything troublesome looking, so that nurses can urge those clients to visit doctors quickly.

The nurses provide various services free of charge. These include testing for sexually transmitted infections, performing ultrasounds, and providing pregnancy tests. No medical diagnoses are issued at the center.

The 2016 nonprofit tax exemption documents for Life Choices label its purpose as “pregnancy referral services” and said it saw 406 clients that year.

Kupas said the Butler clinic today sees about 40 or 45 new clients per month.

Most of those clients are young, she said. The average client is between ages 17 and 24.

The new machine is a 2018-model Siemens machine and uses 3D and 4D imaging, Kupas said. It's replacing a machine from 2012. The older machine is being donated to a similar pregnancy center in Clarion.