Your recent editorial states that the Centre Region Crisis Pregnancy Center provides its aid to women based on creed, repeating the United Way fiction that the CRCPC placed "creedal requirements to obtaining services." This is a false allegation.

The CRCPC will provide up to one-half of prenatal and delivery costs to women with demonstrable needs. Last year alone a total of $2,000 from the Center's Bethesda Fund (funded entirely by the gifts of concerned individuals and churches) was granted to four women in financial need to enable them to obtain proper prenatal care. No one who was able to certify a financial need was denied assistance. Almost all of the financial assistance was provided to women who are not citizens of the United States of America and who therefore are unable to obtain a medical card. As it so happened, all of these women given financial aid were of some religion other than "Christian," this is in accord with the policy of the Center from its inception seven years ago to offer its services to all persons regardless of race, religion, creed or country of origin.

Also, in 1991 the CRCPC provided at no charge to needy mothers 39 layettes, each of which includes baby blankets, crib sheets, sleepers, onesie-type T-shirts and one outfit. The CRCPC also gave away 33 sets of maternity clothes, four cribs, three changing tables, two playpens, two strollers, one high chair, three infant seats, four bassinets, one infant bathtub, one case of formula and three diaper bags.

Several clients a month request clothing, cribs, etc. which we do not have available at that particular time as we depend on donations. It was our hope that the United Way funding would permit these needy women and babies to have their needs met.

To again emphasize our policy (found to be literally unbelievable by members of the United Way Board of Directors) these were all provided to clients regardless of their personal religious beliefs. When clients request any of these maternity or newborn items they simply are not asked about religious beliefs at all. These supplies are obviously provided to those women who have already made the decision to carry their baby to term.

No other social service in the Centre region provides these services to needy women and their babies.