I get it. You found out that you are pregnant and, for many reasons, you don’t want to be. Perhaps your first thought is to have an abortion so you can go back to your regular life and plans. You know what you want to do, so why would you go to Lifeline, a pro-life pregnancy center, of all places?
Do you have the information you need? Think about the best decisions you have every made – the ones that gave you peace and provided the best outcome for you. I don’t know for sure, but I would guess that you got all of the information you needed. I imagine that you also took time to think about all of your options, or maybe you even asked someone who cared and wouldn’t judge you to help you figure out your possibilities. Maybe you had a friend help you by asking you a lot of questions so you could think out loud about your own values and how each option might affect you now and in the long-term. Perhaps you prayed about it. And then, after all of that, did you search your heart?
That is precisely why you should make an appointment at Lifeline when you are thinking about abortion. You need some information. First, are you still pregnant? One in four pregnancies end in miscarriage . You may think that does not apply to you because you have a positive pregnancy test. However, a urine pregnancy test only detects hormones in the urine. It is quite possible that you were pregnant but have since miscarried. Why take medication you no longer need, especially when it may cause excessive bleeding and pain?
Second, it is important to know how far along you are. An abortion costs money and there are risks that vary from pain and excessive bleeding to anxiety and depression and even future infertility and death.² At Lifeline, a nurse or RDMS can provide an ultrasound that will confirm the pregnancy and let you know how far along you are. You may know when your last period was, but do you know when you last ovulated? Sometimes a lighter period can actually be “breakthrough bleeding.”³ This may mean that your pregnancy is further along than you realized. An ultrasound will provide that important information. The risks of abortion vary with gestational age – and so does the cost.
Third, you will find a staff member who listens to you, without judgement, and opens options for you and your baby. There is assistance for you whether you are a young mother of two who needs material services or a college student who is on an athletic scholarship. Your boyfriend may be telling you that he will abandon you if you do not abort this child. Are you sure he will be there for you if you do? Maybe you are worried that you will not finish college. There are many women who have done just that. Read about the single mom who graduated from Harvard Law school for inspiration. You are a woman who can overcome.
The decision is yours, and it is a hard one. I believe that you are worthy of taking the time to be sure that you make the best choice, knowing all of your options and all of the support available to you. Lifeline is the place that, with the love of God, can empower YOU to turn fear, anger, or shame into confidence.
1 Christine Greves, MD. “Pregnancy Loss: 1 in 4,” https://www.winniepalmerhospital.com/content-hub/pregnancy-
loss-1-in-4, October 30, 2018.
2 Real Alternatives, “Abortion’s Impact on the Women Who Had Them.” http://www.lovefacts.org/Abortion.html.
3 Jenna Fletcher, “Everything You Need to Know About Breakthrough Bleeding,” Medical News Today,
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321394#causes, November 5, 2018.