January 25, 2010
I have been asked to speak to a group of training volunteers at the Life Choices Center[1] in Binghamton on February 8th, 2010 about my story. They have gathered a few women who have had experience in certain areas dealing with pregnancy. My area is adoption.
I won’t get into the specifics, because that is not what I want this article to be about… my adoption story. However, I have had a long time to think about what I a m going to say at this meeting and about the question that were forwarded to me that will be asked about my experience.
However, I have come to one conclusion- that no matter what choice is made, it will always affect you. Once there is a pregnancy, the moment a child is conceived, there will be affects that are life changing. Whether you keep the baby, adopt out the baby, make the choice to abort the baby or even have a miscarriage, there is never any denying that you were pregnant at one point. And there is no way that the pregnancy will not affect you.
Pregnancy is a life changing event that now, in 2010 seems to be epidemic. For instance, The Pregnancy Pact, a Lifetime movie that premiered on January 23, 2010. It is a story of young girls in high school who made a secret pact to get pregnant and have babies together. However, I think the movie was more of that story intertwined with the story of the video blog reporter who too had a baby when she was 16 years old.
No matter what the plot line of the movie was, we can gather that they didn’t make this movie just because it was an idea that was brainstormed. There is a real issue with teen pregnancy, real issue with how to deal with it and a real issue on how to help the girls. Then again, the girls aren’t the only ones that need help. The boys need it to. That however, is beside the point. A really good question and a debate that I am sure will not end anytime soon, is: Should public and perhaps even private schools hand out contraceptives? Should we all get involved in helping our community rather than just our own kids?
I guess that question is a two way street. There is never a really straight forward answer because no one is ever really going to agree on one answer.
But there is one thing we can do- we can make it clear to all the kids that pregnancy should not be played with. It shouldn’t be a game, a contest or a pact. Pregnancy is a gift no matter what, it always will be. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t stop telling our kids that it is the best idea to wait for this gift. That getting your life on track and having a set plan is the best idea for you before a child comes into play. No matter how much it is said, it will always be true… pregnancy and sex is best saved for when you are married. Once you have sex, there is a chance of pregnancy no matter how many ways you try to protect yourself from it. The best way is to practice absence before marriage, because once you get pregnant, your life is changed.
[1] The Life Choices Center is located at 93 Oak St. Binghamton, NY and provide free services to those who are pregnant that include but are not limited to: Free pregnancy tests with immediate result, One-on-one mentoring, Accurate information on your pregnancy options, Referrals for prenatal care, WIC and PCAP services, Maternity clothing and baby items, Pregnancy and fetal development information and a 24-hour helpline: 1-800-395-HELP(4357). They also have a website where all their information is posted including their hours. www.lifechoicescenter.org
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