Abortion — Choice or Coercion?
- from Newsletter Nativity 2004 -Martha & Mary House is here to provide an alternative to abortion for pregnant women in crisis who want to choose life for their unborn child. Each year approximately 25% of all pregnancies in the country are terminated before birth as 1.3 million women apparently “choose” abortion. And a fierce political battle is waged to protect a woman’s “right to choose.” It is presumed that this choice is made freely, and that there is more than one option available.
Conventional wisdom has it that abortion is a woman’s free choice and her “constitutional right.” But a special 21-page report on “Forced Abortion in America,” published this year by the Elliot Institute, makes the disturbing claim that up to 60% of abortions in America are coerced. Women report pressure from parents (including boyfriend’s parents), husbands, boyfriends, employers, doctors, counselors, pastors, and others. Eight of ten postabortive women surveyed would have given birth if given support. Over 70% believed that abortion is morally wrong. (Elliot Institute, www.afterabortion.org)
A study conducted by the Alan Guttmacher Institute (Planned Parenthood) of 10,000 women obtaining abortions in 2000–2001 in the U.S. showed some surprising trends: a majority of women (78%) having abortions reported a religious affiliation. And, while the overall abortion rate decreased by 11% from 1994 to 2000, the largest decline (35%) was among women with no religious affiliation.
Abortion is legal in the U.S. throughout all nine months of pregnancy.Most abortions are done before the twelfth week, but one percent (16,450 a year) are performed after the twentieth week (five months or later).
Perhaps not surprisingly, less than one percent of abortions occur because of rape or incest, and only six percent because of potential health problems for either the mother or child. The fact is that 93% of abortions are done for “social reasons” (i.e. financial reasons, or because the child is unwanted or inconvenient). (Abortion Statistics, Alan Guttmacher Institute www.agi-usa.org)
The catch-all “social reasons” listed in Planned Parenthood’s survey is likely to cover the overwhelming pressures to “choose” abortion reported by women in the Elliot Institute survey. Pressure from their families and friends, the media and society in general, even from doctors, counselors and pastors. As Zoe for Life notes, “It is disturbing that most of the Orthodox women who are in trouble do not turn to their church for guidance; perhaps because there are so few places to turn to within the Orthodox community.” Martha & Mary House is the first Orthodox maternity home they can turn to, and we hope there will be many more.
Please join us in prayer for pregnant mothers in crisis who may be considering abortion as their only available choice. As an Orthodox Christian Maternity Home, we are deeply concerned that women in the Christian community are in the majority of those who choose to or are coerced (persuaded) to have abortions. Some may feel that abortion is their only option to hide an illegitimate pregnancy.
Fifty years ago, women who found themselves pregnant out of wedlock could go away to a maternity home in another city, give birth, and place the child for adoption, thus keeping the pregnancy secret. I was one of those who gave birth in a maternity home in a city far from home, keeping my pregnancy a secret from my family and intending to place for adoption. After the legalization of abortion in 1973, maternity homes emptied and closed down. Today, there are only a few left— and many women who find themselves in a difficult situation feel forced by circumstances to make a choice they know in their heart is wrong.
But today you do have another choice. You can choose life—and still protect your privacy and keep your pregnancy confidential. That is why Martha & Mary House is here: to offer a safe, private, and confidential place for those who are pregnant with no place to go. If you are looking for a way to continue your pregnancy, give your child life, and make the best choice for your own future as well, we are here for you.We believe that both you and your child are unique and precious, created in the image of God and loved by Him.We pray that in seeking His will, you will discover your God-given personal resources and how to develop them.We are here to help you.
