Being pro-life is much more than being anti-abortion -per se; it means taking a stand against all powers, persons, and institutions militating against human dignity and the sanctity of all life. In their latest book, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?, Drs. Schaeffer and Koop are clear on this point: "Churches and other groups opposed to abortion must be prepared to extend practical help to...the unmarried woman who is pregnant....Merely to say...'You must not have an abortion' without being ready to involve ourselves in the problem is another way of being inhuman." This is where the work of a Crisis Pregnancy Center is crucial to a pro-life stance.
A pregnant woman (married or unmarried) with an unexpected pregnancy is in a tumultuous state and needs a clear point of reference from which to make decisions. Often she is pressured into the false belief that abortion is a safe and easy solution to her problem. She is not informed of the medical and psychological risks she takes or any positive alternatives to destroying her child. Emotions come upon her in a staccato fire: disbelief; fear as she realizes a living, growing being is within her; resentment of the bother and responsibility; and, finally, anger--she's not ready for a baby.
If a pregnant woman is already living under pressure she will tend to focus on her pregnancy as her major problem. In fear of judgment and rejection she hesitates to inform those closest to her. Aggravating the entire crisis are the rapid physiological adjustments of early pregnancy. Bouts of depression, high-strung nerves, and demoralizing morning sickness are not uncommon. A Crisis Pregnancy Center seeks to help women find the point of reference they need during this time of early pregnancy.
A Crisis Pregnancy Center is an outreach by Christians to women with stress pregnancies in any community. It offers compassionate concern and action, and provides whatever support is necessary for a woman to carry her child to term and plan constructively for the future. A Crisis Pregnancy Center presents a community of faith with a marvelous opportunity to reach out in Christ's name, whether as a direct ministry of a local church or the joint work of several congregations. The most important service a center can offer a woman in distress is friendship and loving concern. At the other end of the phone, or in the center's office, she will be able to share the peculiar stresses of a crisis pregnancy with someone who cares enough to give time and compassion. Services are free of charge and may include pregnancy testing, help with housing and job-hunting, access to social services and legal assistance, clothing and household items, childbirth classes, and support for adoption procedures if that seems the best option for the woman and her child.
Most women with crisis pregnancies do not want to be pregnant. Many become so in attempting to fill another void: the lack of love or self-esteem, a stumbling marriage, or a need for comfort and security. An abortion cannot change this. The adverse situation that led to an abortion will still be present afterwards. Abortion is not an "instant fix." Conversely, women often experience an unexpected psychological reaction to it--guilt or regret, sleeplessness, loss of appetite for food and sex, and even severe depression. There is, however, no follow-up after an abortion no care, no comfort--and the same bad choices, environment, relationships, or lifestyle that led to a stress pregnancy can cause another one just as easily. A Crisis Pregnancy Center ministry seeks ultimately to make people healthy and whole, responsible and free, at peace with themselves and reconciled to Christ.
Peggy was a doctoral student at Johns Hopkins University when this article appeared. Norman was the director of communications for the Christian Action Council and worked with its Crisis Pregnancy Center ministry when this article appeared.
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