For a long time I have not felt belonging to either the Pro Choice or Pro Life groups and recently came across ProGrace which sets politics aside to focus on aiding the woman and meeting her needs directly both during and after her pregnancy regardless as to how she decides to proceed. This got my attention and I have since taken their training course, listened to their podcast and started some of their recommended reading to further my understanding.
In full disclosure I am a white christian male in the southeastern USA who has experienced two unplanned pregnancies myself and after learning of how terribly the church has handled their support of women, especially around unplanned pregnancy, I am looking to work with my wife to educate those within our sphere of influence to address this.
However, as mentioned above, I am a male and so naturally my experience around the issue simply does not compare to the depth of emotion and trauma that a woman would experience and so I am hoping to learn from those here who are or have experienced an unplanned pregnancy to better understand what support is needed to bring women through the traumas associated, overcome the fear and shame around the issue, and just generally help in any way I can.
I know this is a sensitive topic and so I would not ask for sharing directly in the comments here. Rather I am hoping to chat directly whether via Signal, email, etc. or even a quick call for those comfortable with that (can use Jitsi, Signal or another private voice chat to avoid needing to share any personal details). I would like to simply listen to your experience; I will not debate, judge, etc. as my goal is entirely to learn.
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider.
A transportation service is a great idea, thank you for sharing
Yeah it’s all just got to be no-strings. No conversation necessary, no information collection beyond logistics-related information, no handing out pamphlets…the religious organization gets nothing at all out of the exchange beyond the knowledge that they’ve acted in accordance with the tenets Christ laid out so clearly. And I’m sure some extreme tax advantage that would practically make the fleet of cars free or whatever but that can’t be helped I guess, after all, this is America.
Also, I would also say maybe look within and ask yourself if you feel good about what you’re doing. “Tell me your pain” is quite a thing for a human being to ask of another. If you’re asking so you can better sell your god product to other women in the middle of that same pain, well, that’s kind of disingenuous if you really pray on it, isn’t it?
I’m guessing god and Christian community has probably been pretty transformational in your life, and that you want that for other people, too. I know that is a genuine desire. But it’s also a product you’re selling, and selling it to someone who is in a potentially super vulnerable position under the guise of trying to help them with their crisis is pretty bad.
The last thing I would ask you to consider, is the fact that abortion is not a difficult choice for many women. They discover they’re pregnant, they immediately know that continuing a pregnancy makes no sense and know without hesitation that they need to remove this matter (that does NOT feel like a baby to them at all) from their uterus as soon as possible.
When Christians seek to understand abortion so that they can be “more Christ like” in how they approach it, they often seem to want to hear stories of pain. Like maybe the fact that the woman was in so much pain, agonized over the decision, will never truly get over it, etc, somehow makes it more understandable. “She suffered so much, I can let go of the judgement on my heart” (a WILD sentiment in the context of Christianity, the sacrifice of Jesus, etc.)
But really, many women who have abortions feel about it the same way they would about removing a suspicious mole. It’s a health-related chore that needs taking care of. They’re not looking forward to it, but they WILL get it done and they will never regret it. Not even for a moment.
So, as you seek to understand, know that. Abortion is healthcare. That is the reality and many women don’t feel any other way about it. I think you will hear less stories like that from women because the type of women who answer your call for sharing abortion experiences will more likely be women who have had bad experiences or who feel guilt and want to share it to feel better/seek forgiveness and healing through sharing.
Women who do not regret their abortion will be vastly under-represented in the stories you collect, but I think are very important stories for you to know exist. It’s easier to empathize with pain, regret, loss. If you’re truly seeking to transform yourselves with empathy around this issue, you need to work to meet “Oh yeah, I didn’t want it so I got rid of it and feel no regret at all” with complete understanding.
When you can look a woman in the eye, and listen to her say “Yeah I got sloppy with birth control and got pregnant but I had a trip to Europe coming up that I’d been saving for for a while and it just wasn’t a good time for me to even think about a pregnancy or baby so I took a pill and it was gone and EUROPE WAS AMAZING!” and feel no judgement, just acceptance, or maybe even happiness for this woman that Europe was so lit…well. That’s when you know you’ve truly achieved your stated goal.