Alternatives to Abortion When Facing an Unplanned Pregnancy
If you’re facing an unplanned pregnancy, you’re not alone. Although abortion may seem like your only resolution, there are many options available to you. Read on to learn more about the available abortion alternatives.
DISCLAIMER: The information on this website is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Seek emergency care if you experience any of the following:
- Heavy bleeding — soaking two or more pads an hour for two hours.
- Severe abdominal or back pain.
- Fever lasting more than 24 hours.
- Foul-smelling vaginal discharge.1
There is No Easy Option
No matter your circumstances, you have alternative options to abortion if you’re experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. Almost half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned, so you are in good company if your pregnancy took you by surprise!2 Before you make any decisions, take a deep breath and remember that many women have been in your shoes and successfully navigated their way to a choice that worked for them.
Review the Facts
Sometimes, abortion seems like an easy option. An at-home abortion may seem to be “just like getting your period.” Or “just like a miscarriage.” But, any abortion procedure carries with it physical and emotional side effects that should be significantly researched and understood.
Before you make a decision, you need to review all of the facts carefully. If you have any questions, make sure you get answers. Review this website carefully and jot down any questions you have. Then, contact Option Line. They can answer all of your questions and give you a referral for a local organization that can help you.
Parenting
Almost half of women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy choose to raise their children themselves.3 It is possible to experience an unforeseen pregnancy and still attend school and college, get and keep a job, and maintain friendships and a full life. Challenges will certainly come, but whether a woman chooses to marry the child’s father or not, outside help is available to make the situation easier.
Organizations such as churches and pregnancy help organizations (both secular and religious) are available to help women who choose the abortion alternative of parenting their babies. As of 2017, there were 2,752 pregnancy help centers across the country!4 Be aware of clinics that offer abortion and profit if you decide to abort; you may find the best encouragement for continuing your pregnancy by seeking a true pregnancy medical center.5 If you need information or directions to a center near you, you can contact us or visit Option Line. We are here to help.
Adoption
If you decide to place your child for adoption with a loving family, know that you as a birth mother can decide what kind of adoption would be best for you and your baby, making this a favorable abortion alternative. Every year, roughly 14,000 women in the United States make the decision to create an adoption plan for their child, and each woman is given the opportunity to choose how involved she wants to be with both the adoption process and the child to whom she has given birth.6
Some birth mothers choose an open adoption, in which they are able to communicate with their babies and the adoptive families.7 There are many kinds of open adoptions available, from those with just minimal contact to those in which the birth mother plays a major role in the life of the child she has placed. So you can choose not only whether to have a closed or open adoption, but also what level of openness you feel is best. To learn more about available options, please feel free to contact us, nightlight.org, or lifetimeadoption.com.