Churches can also make a huge difference to women facing a crisis pregnancy. But what does that look like? How can God’s people actually make a difference to people in these situations who might consider abortion as the way to solve their problem?
Supporting those known to the local church
Being pregnant is scary, and especially when there is no-one obvious committed to helping you cope. Women can feel lonely and/or afraid, and abortion can feel to some like it solves the problem with out much fuss. When someone in a “crisis pregnancy” is already known to a member of a church, we can find out what sort of help is needed and to try to provide it from within the church family. This often happens naturally, as pregnant women rightly attract sympathy and generosity. Baby equipment, meals, taking other children to give Mum a break, accompanying to ante-natal appointments, help in battling through the social security system or time spent chatting over a cup of tea all can help a woman feel she is not alone, and reduce the fear associated with childbirth and parenting. What once seemed impossible now feels hard but perhaps survivable. We sometimes take it for granted in the church family but for someone outside this sense of connectedness can be literally life-changing.
Supporting those unknown to the local church
The trickier people to reach are those women whose pregnancy the church never hears about but who go in their thousands every year to have an abortion. How can a church begin to care for those women and their children?
One idea, which by God’s grace has borne fruit in our church and in many others is a Crisis Pregnancy Centre. Trained counsellors offer time to listen and talk through all the options available to a woman in a crisis pregnancy. They give accurate information about what abortion involves, how it is done, and what the consequences might be. They discuss giving the baby for adoption, and keeping the baby long term. They listen to the factors bearing on a woman’s decision, and offer empathy and understanding. In some centres, the focus is on helping the woman explore her own feelings and instincts, while others provide clearer advice about how to proceed so as to protect the new life entrusted to her. Counsellors can help her think properly about the decision, and offer whatever help she may feel she needs in order to see continuing with the pregnancy as a viable option for her.
In all centres, clients can be anonymously prayed for, and there can sometimes be precious opportunities to share the Christian good news that is the most wonderful resource we can offer.
The centre is advertised as widely as possible – for example, to local GPs, abortion providers, family planning clinics, local radio and press, on hoardings and, of course, on the internet. Affiliation to a national network can provide a share of their internet presence and telephone contacts, as well as training, mentoring and support to get started and keep going. Nearly 200 centres already operate in the UK, many through affiliation with Care Confidential. Image in Manchester or Tyneside Pregnancy Advice Centre are other good points of contact.
Could your church start one? By God’s grace, ours did!
Andrew Nicholls is the pastor of Christ Church, Kingston. Before moving into full time ministry, he was a doctor.
