MY EVENING WITH CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER
Time to Stop Judging Women and Start Loving Them
I was honored to spend an evening at a Dinner Fundraiser with Crisis Pregnancy Center and I definitely took a lot away from the evening. First of all, it was just an amazing evening with a great dinner and an easy-going feel, second of all, it was very informative which was great because even though I have read a lot about the pregnancy center I had no idea all the remarkable things they are doing in regards to the pro-life movement, and helping moms in general. But the greatest part about the evening, hearing the personal real stories that women have gone through from having abortions, to healing, to having children now. Their stories are sad, heart-wrenching and yet hopeful and something I was thinking there," Stephen Harper should be here!"
I believe Prime Minister Stephen Harper has distanced himself from the REAL personal stories AND women, I think he is a Prime Minister, political, has a lot on his plate no doubt and trying to please everyone, but in the meantime he is ignoring a HUGE epidemic in our country and world.
Abortion does not just affect a women for one day, one week or even one month, in fact, it does not just affect the woman considering or having an abortion, there are potential uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces, grandparents and so much more. The women that told their stories of aborting their child and children, it is no less painful today as the day she went through the traumatic experience of aborting her baby, and the tears are still flowing. It does not matter how much time passes, this is a decision (a "choice") that can NEVER be taken back, and it is life-altering and devastating for everyone involved.
The argument that we hear includes, "I (or she) could not financially support this baby so it's better off", "why would you have a baby into poverty and subject it to that kind of horrible life?", "it will probably grow up to be a homeless drug addict, or be abused by foster parents", and the reasons (aka excuses) go on and on. And yet, whatever the reason may be for the abortion...it is NOT "just like taking your tonsils out" (that is a direct quote from several abortion clinics advertising their services) and it is not OUR decision to decide who should get a chance at life or not.
What I realized that night was that as pro-life advocates we march, we protest, we show images and articles, we are fighting to make a difference and most importantly, fighting to save these babies! BUT...then what? These women (some girls) make the decision to HAVE the baby, and then what? The problems don't go away, the fear does not disappear, and the problems certainly do not disappear. THIS is where we need to step up in a HUGE way, and THIS is where Crisis Pregnancy Center steps in and gives these women the greatest gift... LOVE. They love them, cherish them, give them hope and support, help them with counseling, adoption information, medical assistance, doctor information, ultrasounds and the list goes on and on. These women feel judged and alone, they obviously did not PLAN on getting pregnant since they were considering ending the pregnancy...so now they are facing an unplanned pregnancy and the worst thing that we do as pro-life advocates is JUDGE the women put into these situations, whatever their situation is.
The most amazing bit of information I took away from this evening, was that we need to not only fight for the rights of these babies and fight to make a difference, but put our arms around these women that have made a VERY difficult decision, help them and most importantly, love them.
One small way that a friend of mine and I are trying to do this is create small care packages for new mommies with essentials that we take for granted (diapers, diaper creams, wipes, soothers, bottles, washcloths, etc.) and wrap it up as a gift for them as a new mommy and their upcoming baby. There are many ways to get involved but there are also small things that we can do to show these brave women that we are not just going to yell at them to not murder their child, and then when they decide to make the right decision, we walk away.
Love these brave women, help them as they are taking a huge challenge (keeping the baby OR adopting) and encourage Prime Minister Stephen Minister by email (pm@pm.gc.ca) to not only save these babies but to also help our Canadian women by SAVING them from a lifetime of regret and sadness over their loss.
And of course visit www.pregnancy.ca for more information on Crisis Pregnancy Center!
