'Why We Created the Choices Community

Dr Mark Houghton MB BS (London), MRCGP

I was talking on BBC Radio Sheffield when a man phoned in, "Why did you write this guidebook on abortion choices ; it should have been written by a woman."

My mind flashed back to the years as a family doctor meeting women thinking of ending their pregnancy. "I wish it had been a woman," I said. The only other book I found was unsafe for the woman.

However, it's embarrassing to admit, but I was in my 50s before I realised the gap in my knowledge about the risks of abortion. And I found my colleagues and gynae doctors (OBGYNs) had the same gap ... hence this blog. 

Filling the gap 

On the London Underground, you often read "mind the gap" when the carriage doors open at a platform on a bend. People have fallen under the wheels through the gap. So, how could pregnant women get safer information? 

And what, I wondered, about the pro-life woman who is the victim of rape? Or what if she has a medical condition suggesting the abortion choice? Anyone – pro-life or pro-choice – facing abortion needs help to grasp the risk-benefit equation, as well as the moral aspect.

So I gathered the best female counsellors and doctors like Dr Esther Lüthy. We fill the facts gap with a safe guidebook. There is so much a woman must weigh up – so this is an all-in-one-place guide.

How abortion affects the community 

I also began looking beyond the individual in front of me. I saw that our community is affected by every abortion choice: our family, our street, our primary school and our worshipping community.

When one in three is missing in our locality, it changes a lot. And I was hearing time and again that many of the women carried guilt feelings. These can be helped, but it's hard. Prevention is easier than cure.

So we call it THE CHOICES COMMUNITY – because that's where we all live.

Questions and answers in one place 

Searching online for safe and sound medical advice takes ages. Its scattered. I know because I've just done it before seeing a surgeon myself. So we simplified life and put the info in one place — well two working together: website and guidebook. Start with the choices community . Then go to the the guidebook

Abortion Decision-Making.

Most of us do not have a handy roadmap called "HOW TO MAKE DIFFICULT DECISIONS." So the guide includes a road tested step-by-step route on about 20 pages. Have a look on page 29 of the guidebook on abortion choices. 

Our ethics 

  • We aim at the highest standards of medical care for the woman, the unborn, the father and their family.

  • Facts: We research evidence comparing abortion and birth.

  • Men matter: because they are valuable and sensitive in pregnancy and abortion choices.

  • Most of the writers are Christians led by the example and teaching of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not come to condemn but to rescue (John 3:17) – and so do we.

  • Many abortions follow on from acting in ignorance leaving many with bitter regrets. Often we see the benefits of turning to Jesus so such acts may be wiped away and times of refreshment bring hope again.

Imitating Christ, we show respect to every faith background and every gender. He defended a woman with five partners and a woman caught in adultery – and so would we. He protected infants and children – and so do we. 

   

So that's why we made the Choices Community – a place to help you. 

Are you equipped to help a pregnant teenager or woman in a panic or problem?

If not, buy the Abortion Guide

Mark HoughtonComment