This is my first post. But I could hardly contain myself this Saturday as I was invited to a baby shower held at my local pregnancy center. Now, do not get excited. I attended because the shower was for my cousin (my favorite cousin) and it was hosted at the place her father owns and runs-the pregnancy center. My cousin is a smart, level-headed, moderate woman. Unfortunately her father has drunk the kool-aid, hell, he is mixing up new batches every chance he gets.
So as I arrive I am asked if I want the tour. Who am I to decline. So we begin walking through the newly constructed building, every room more ornately decorated than the last. I am shown two exam rooms, filled with goodies for mom and four "counseling" rooms where women are "informed" about their pregnancy. According to the center director women are told about their choices and of course they do not steer them in any one direction but they "pray" that they will make the "choice" to keep the baby. To help them make that choice the women are shown the "Touch of Life" fetal models. These perfectly formed minature babies highlight just how a fetus looks at 7, 8, 9 and 10 weeks. Of course, you can see perfectly formed fingers and toes, eyes and ears. So disturbing and sure to help you make a clear choice about your future and the future of your fetus. If the counseling and fetus models don't work, you can see a video of an abortion-computer generated of course, not a real abortion. Although, it seems that if I asked I could see the real video, if I wasn't already convinced. According to the director "these women" are treated with respect and care, because most have not experienced that in their life. The center is expecting it's sonogram machine soon as well. "This machine will save lives" according to the director.
The final stop on the tour was the birthing center. The three bed, state of the art birthing center was a show piece. Matching curtains and bed spreads, flat screen TV's, birthing tubs and private lanai's. Each room annointed with oil and blessed. This birthing center is open to the public and to the women who "choose life" for their fetus'.
You might be asking by now-so did you fight the good fight and give this director guy a piece of your mind? Well, no I did not. Not because I did not want to but because it would not have changed anything. What I will do is share the truth about this center with everyone I know. I am extremely frustrated that I did not say anthing and that is why I am writing this now. It might have been the perfect opportunity to inform him and question him about his real motives. But ultimately I do think women have the right to choose and most importantly to be informed. So, I believe that my time is better spent informing women about these centers, not telling these centers how to do business.
The truth that women need to know is that these center's want to "save lives" at the expense of our right to chose. Their moral code tells those in crisis what they can and cannot do. It is insulting. What is also so repulsive is that these center pray on low-income women who may have no other place to go for help.
This center that I visited was in our local paper for participating in a local career day. The career day was for middle school children. They brought the "touch of life" babies with them. None of the organizers realized what this organization did until they saw them in action. When asked why they attended the director told the paper that they hire nurses and maybe some of the kids aspired to work in a birthing center.
So now you know just what these "pregnancy centers" are all about-from the inside out. Make no mistake about it-there are no choices being offered inside, only one option.
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Yes, informing pregnant women abort the facts of fetal development is truly horrifying.
More seriously, it isn't difficult to see why pro-choicers would feel threatened by a center such as this that presents women with graphic, tactile information about the developing lives they are carrying inside themselves. The entire pro-abortion strategy depends upon vague rhetoric about "choice" that meticulously avoids any actual examination of what is being chosen.
"facts of fetal development"? I've seen pictures of those little models - they don't look anything like real embryos or fetuses (they look more like cute baby dolls). They are merely part of the coercive techniques (including the kind offers of prayer and the unsolicited ultrasounds) used by these centers to further their own agenda.
RM, enjoy the kool-aid.
PLEASE! we pro-choicers don't feel threatened by these centers, nor by so-called 'tactile' information of what is inside our bodies in early pregnancy. what we feel threatened by is religious zealots who insist on forcing their beliefs on all women.
once again, yet another anti-choicer assuming women aren't intelligent enough to comprehend pregnancy, zygotes, and fetuses. another anti-choicer who assumes women aren't capable of deciding what is best for their own lives and bodies.
I agree with RM. And...shocking(!)...I happen to be an intelligent female capable of deciding what is best for my own life and body.
No one is forcing women to go to these centers--these (horrifying!) PREGNANCY centers that actually talk about PREGNANCY and offer care to women who are PREGNANT.
When I thought I was pregnant as a teenager and went to Planned Parenthood for a pregnancy test(which was positive), I don't recall being counseled on all of my "choices." I was even asked to sign a form that would indicate my support for continued government funding of the center (which I refused, for which I was given the stinkeye and a jawdrop of disbelief). Before everyone jumps on me for that, I paid for the services myself, with money I earned at my part-time job (so you can squash the "privilege" argument you're chomping at the bit to hurl at me); and I could have gone anywhere--it's just that I wanted to know right then rather than the next day. But patience certainly wouldn't have killed me.
And fine, that's their agenda. Everyone knows that ensuring access to abortion is one of Planned Parenthood's stated priorities. And I don't think it's a secret that crisis pregnancy centers want to promote carrying the baby to term and showing women that there are other choices and help for them if they need it. So what if they pray? I'd be encouraged if I knew there were a bunch of people out there praying for me. And these models of babies they use are perfectly reasonable. We always see diagrams/models of what a vagina looks like or what the female reproductive system looks like or what breasts look like that don't reflect all the variations of what these parts look like. That's why they are called "models." And if you really want to get into a debate about imagery or hiding some of the "yucky stuff", then I'd like to remind you how you get all bothered by pictures of what an aborted fetus looks like, or the process of abortion, or even a baby that (oops) survived an abortion and was left there to die because, in Barack's own words, it would be SUCH a burden to have to call a "second doctor" to help make an assessment if the baby is alive or if it came out "limp and dead."
I'm so tired of the hypocrisy. I'm so tired of the vitriol and hate on this site if one of my positions happens to differ from the party line. And YOU talk about "drinking the kool-aid."
Jennrain, it looks like you're only getting extreme comments here so I wanted to post something to back up why you felt so uneasy with this "pregnancy center."
The problem isn't that places exist where pregnancy can be discussed. Oh, no no no. The problem is that when regular women and girls look up in the phone book, online, or ask around where to go to get a pregnancy test and talk about their options, they could come across one of these wolf-in-sheep's-clothing "pregnancy centers."
Much like with the religious revolutions of centuries ago, the thing that will change the status quo on reproductive self-determination is KNOWLEDGE. And no one can get a straight and fair answer from someone who wouldn't perform a termination at gunpoint. Counseling is supposed to offer options. If the only option is giving birth, that's not a real counseling center.
It's a pity a joyful occasion like a baby shower was ruined by the creepy-vibe of such a place.
Scientia est potentia.
Bee,
YES women are being forced to go to these centers by the very fact that these centers falsely advertise and exploit the disenfranchised. They dont know where theyre going and then once inside they are mislead. Clearly by your ignorance you have just proven that you indeed are not an intelligent woman capable of making healthy decisions for herself. Do you think its your right to make decisions for others?Prayer has NO PLACE in medical protocols and should not be used by professinal doctors or during medical precedures. They would only use her religion to exploit over her. Being that youre an anti-choicer, what do you mean by 'not counseled on all of my choices?' This sounds very elusive and I'll bet you are probably lying to push your agenda that subsists on pur BS. If youre for being counseled on all choices, then why wouldnt you simply state that PP shouldve included more of them rather than support an exploitive scheme by a CPC? YOU have just shown that it is you that is the hypocrite.
Sorry gopher, I just don't buy that argument, unless you show me that CPC workers are forcing women at gunpoint to enter their centers, at least. It's insulting to me and probably a lot of other women to imply that women don't have the capacity or aren't smart enough to make that decision. Having been in a situation in which I have actually had to do the research, CPCs are usually listed in the phonebook under "Abortion Alternatives." That's not false advertising. The assumption that one has elected NOT to choose abortion is already there.
You have no basis for concluding that I am not an intelligent woman capable of making my own decisions. Seriously! Or are you also a member of MENSA and have a 3.92 college GPA? If so, maybe you can explain what "exploit over her" means.
I never said anything about anyone having a right to make decisions for anyone else, so calm down and stop putting words in my mouth. I don't believe that prayer was incorporated as a medical protocol. What, do you think these people say "I'll pray for you" instead of doing a pregnancy test or an OB/GYN exam?
You are being extremely presumptuous, implying that I'm lying about anything. I was not given any kind of counseling on what my options were if I decided to have my child, even though I told the counselor that's what I was going to do. No recommendations on government health insurance or phone numbers for social workers or anything. Just a not-so-subtle raise of the eyebrows and a know-it-all look. (And don't forget the lovely form they put in front of me that they assumed I would sign). And whatever, I'm perfectly capable of finding that information on my own. I'm no hypocrite--I think if PP is going to advertise as pro-choice, then counseling on choices should be comprehensive. No hypocrisy there.
All I'm saying is that both sides clearly have a specific agenda, and to call out a CPC and not mention PP in this context is disingenuous. Some women feel they have no choice BUT to have an abortion, and that's why CPCs are there--to help/show them that there are other ways.
And how about if we cool it with the personal attacks?