Choice is a term you hear a lot around the topic of unexpected pregnancies and there is a rumor that pregnancy centers like JMJ are “anit-choice” and nothing could be further from the truth. Each of us is endowed with free will, the ability to choose, and no entity or person can take that from you.
Free will is a powerful gift and we all know from superheros that with great power comes great responsibility. So with the power of free will comes the responsibility of making good choices. Sometimes that is easy, do I want to eat donuts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It may be yummy, but we all know it is a bad choice. Choices can be small and some can change our lives completely.
Let’s say I have a demanding boss that is requiring me to work late Friday night, even though I have Katy Perry concert tickets. I have a choice to make. I may decide that my job is important to me and they pay me well, so I will stay and do the work. I may decide that this job is not worth the trouble and quit. I can decide to have a conversation with my boss and see if I can go to the concert and work on Saturday instead. Or I can take my paperweight and murder my boss for making such a request. I am sure you can identify good and bad choices here. Obviously the last scenario is a BAD choice and it would have had horrible consequences on the rest of my life (think prison sentence). But the fact is with free will, we can make choices, good and bad.
When you face an unexpected pregnancy, you have choices as well. And the choice each person makes will depend on the situation they are in, since every one’s situation is different. This situation is life changing, no matter what the choice is. But in order to make a good choice, you have to know the facts about each choice, consider the consequences and go into your choice knowing you are making the right choice.
You can choose to parent the baby, in which case you need to figure out a support system. Will the baby’s father be involved in parenting, what about your parents or do you have siblings, friends or a local church that you can rely on? Those things need to be looked at when making the choice to parent.
You can choose to put the baby up for adoption. These days there are so many options for adoption. Did you know that more than one million couples want to adopt a baby? Yet, there are only about 50,000 babies placed for adoption each year (source: National Council for Adoption). This means there are so many loving families that would love to help you and you get to pick the best one.
You can choose abortion, yes I said it, no one here is trying to hide that choice from you. As I said, it is your choice. The thing we want to impress upon you is that abortion is not an undo button, there is no being “unpregnant”. Science has proven that your baby’s life began at the moment of conception (when the egg and sperm met). And your baby is already alive and kicking, thinking and dreaming. So while it is your choice, don’t accept the lies and propaganda that tell you your baby is a lump of tissue or that there are no issues after abortions. Not knowing the facts about abortion and being rushed into it has ruined many woman’s lives. We do not want that for you.
Come and talk to us about your options, we will not lie or hold back information. We will help you clear your head and work out a plan that is best for your unique situation. The thing we want you to remember is that you are not alone and we are here to help you.
I would venture to guess that there have been MORE unplanned pregnancies in the span of time than planned ones. Our society is so obsessed with our personal plans that we forget that we are defined by how we handle the things we do not expect. There are many surprises in life, good and bad. Meeting your soul mate is typically an unplanned event, I know meeting mine was completely unexpected, but it was the best thing that ever happened to me.