Facing an unwanted pregnancy?
By Dr Mark Houghton
If you’ve just found out that you’re pregnant and you didn’t expect to be, you might be wondering:
What are my options with an unplanned pregnancy?
How safe is abortion?
What else can I do?
These questions can be confusing, even scary. The time to make decisions feels short so you might feel pressure to make a decision fast.
You deserve the best tools for decision making, with reliable medical information, in a format that is easy to digest.
The best way for you to make a decision — is one informed by facts.
Everyone involved
At least one in 3 women in England and the United States has an abortion before the age of 45 [1].
An unwanted pregnancy can affect, not only the woman who is pregnant, but also her partner, parents and friends.
People of faith might think that this doesn't affect them, however evidence suggests unwanted pregnancy and abortion affects Christians as much as others [2].
So, everyone is part of the “choices community” – along with healthcare professionals and the counsellors who help end or continue pregnancies.
We are passionate about better and safer care for women who are pregnant and considering abortion.
Serving your safety
This blog is a source of information overseen by medical professionals to explore all your options when facing an unexpected pregnancy.
Please read our medical disclaimer at the bottom. Every effort is made to be accurate and verified corrections will be published.
Every decision in pregnancy involves 3 sets of people if it is to be informed and safe:
Pregnant women – first and foremost, we’re here to serve pregnant women with resources and guidance for the decisions you face.
Partners of pregnant women – including family and friends who may be involved in supporting you. Our resources help you support your loved one.
Professional health care providers - the doctors, nurses and counsellors who support women through pregnancy or abortion. We share, easy to access information with sources and statistics to improve quality of care.
Safe decision-making only works when these three groups work together to create a plan that’s right for you.
Values matter
We are here to support everyone and our values promote well-being.
We value kindness, empathy, gentleness, patience, peacefulness, friendship, unconditional acceptance, evidence based medicine and factual truth.
Successful modern healthcare arose from centuries of Judaeo-Christian values — the bedrock of our community resources – so you can make informed consent and health-giving decisions.
In our experience many also want to involve the spiritual and moral aspects surrounding pregnancy and abortion. So your questions and solutions in this area will be part of the discussion at times.
Informed decisions
Any pregnant woman may face the possibility of an abortion, with questions like:
Is it true that abortion is the ‘simple, safe solution to my problem?’
What are the long term effects on my emotions and spiritual beliefs?
How will an abortion affect my relationships now and later?
Many of us are almost deafened by the noise in the media. Instead we offer a middle ground for for pregnant women, their partners and their healthcare professionals a source of calm, reason and reliable facts .
Keep in touch
Our updated resource Pregnancy and Abortion: A Practical Guide to Decision Making comes out soon, a comprehensive guide to help you, your loved ones or clients. Its all based on Pregnancy and Abortion Your Choice appreciated by pregnant women and professionals wherever we offered it on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.
We are a growing team of writers who want to help you —
so please share your questions and contributions.
We aim to reply to all emails and in urgent cases may refer you locally for help.
In this area of strong feelings posted responses will be moderated to reduce offence or personal distress to anyone.
[1] Ensor, J. 2003. Colorado, USA. Answering the call. Focus on the Family, p21.
[2] Jeffes, J. 2013. Chichester, UK. Abortion: breaking the silence in the church. Lean Press Limited, p11.