Don't Let All The Hype Fool You
This past year the overturning of Roe V. Wade was monumental. It was a celebration for the conservatives. But most of us understand that though abortion laws have been turned over to the states, Pennsylvania still allows it. After the November elections, it is pretty clear it will remain that way for some time.
The media has pushed the agenda that women are angry. Women want abortions and they know “all the facts.” Pregnancy centers are the enemy, so the politicians say. Centers like Crossroads supposedly give misleading information.
It’s not at all the case. I’ll tell you from experience. This year in January we started offering ultrasounds again in Mifflintown. Our new office has been a blessing in so many ways since it opened in August 2021. The medical aspect has been an amazing addition. I meet with our patients before they ever walk into the medical room. I do their intakes and explain what we are about here. We talk about their plans for their pregnancies.
I met with five women this year who were openly considering abortion. They were all very different women of different ages and ethnicities and backgrounds. They had two things in common:
They each already had children and could not fathom having one more.
Secondly, they did not fully understand what an abortion involves.
Each lady sat in front of me admittedly struggling with even discussing the word abortion. Two of them said something similar, noting, “it’s not the baby’s fault,” and said they felt bad about even considering it.
All these ladies were willing to listen to the alternatives and discuss how each option could impact her. Each woman thought the abortion pill was either only one pill or an easy process like a menstrual cycle.
I provided all of the information they needed to know. I sent them out the door with a folder of information on the impacts of abortion and the abortion pill reversal. (They had no idea a woman could take a counteracting pill after that first abortion pill if she changed her mind.)
The folder also contained information on open adoption, as well as, our Bridges program where they could earn points here at Crossroads for baby items.
Each woman met with our nurse for her ultrasound and was shown the heartbeat and given a gestational age for her baby with an approximate due date.
They were each given a printout of their babies’ first and possibly only photo.
Don’t be fooled.
The need for women and the unborn to be rescued still exists in a post-Roe world. It’s been overturned but it is not over.
Two of these women walked out of the Mifflintown office after telling us they had changed their minds and planned to give birth to these children. The others walked out still a bit uncertain, often grasping the folders I gave them and never returning the calls or texts of follow-up from our nurse.
I told each one of these women she can come back no matter what she chose to do after leaving here. I told her she would find support here if she was grieving.
This is not only the case in Mifflintown. I believe the other Client Services Managers at Crossroads have similar stories this year. I started writing for Pregnancy Help News in May of 2023, just in time for Roe. I have interviewed many staffers from pregnancy centers across the country and they are seeing a similar picture. Pregnancy centers are providing facts and support. Most women do not want an abortion. They want help.
Don’t be fooled. The need for women and the unborn to be rescued still exists in a post-Roe world. It’s been overturned but it is not over.
By Tabitha, Client Services Manager