You have Options

If you are pregnant and planning an abortion, it's important to evaluate why you are making this decision as well as the consequences to your choice. Many initially believe that abortion is the only realistic option. But that isn’t the case. We are here to help you make a positive pregnancy decision. Below are some of the most common reasons women choose abortion with a response to consider.

My parents will kill me if they find out.
Yes, your parents may be upset and disappointed, but most parents are more understanding and forgiving than their children expect them to be. After the initial shock, parents of pregnant young women usually come to terms with the situation, later becoming an invaluable source of support. If you are afraid to tell your parents, a volunteer advocate from the Care Net Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Amarillo can work with you to determine the best way to break the news. If you decide not to tell your parents, our experience has been that the parents usually find out anyway. In these situations, parents are saddened that they weren't given the opportunity to support their daughter when she most needed it

My parents are forcing me to have an abortion.
Legally, no one can force you to have an abortion. In fact, forcing a minor to have an abortion is child abuse. If you tell the doctor that someone else is forcing you into this decision, he or she will not perform the abortion.

My boyfriend will leave me if I have this baby.
Your boyfriend is just as responsible for the pregnancy as you are. It takes two to make a baby, so his responsibility does not end just because he doesn't want to deal with the situation anymore. If he is going to leave you just because you want to give your unborn child a chance at life, it's questionable whether he loved you at all. He is treating you as no more than an object for his sexual needs, rather than a woman who is rightfully concerned about the effects of abortion on herself and her child. You may be better off without someone like that in your life right now. Either way, he is still legally required to pay child support after the baby is born. More on a Father's Rights & Duties.

I'm so embarrassed! What will everyone think?
If you are unmarried, you may fear that others will judge you for having a child out of wedlock. But there are many single parents today, some divorced and some never married. Years ago this was a real concern, but today the stigma attached to single parenthood is far reduced.

I've got my whole life ahead of me. A baby doesn't fit into my plans.
If you are ever planning on having children, one thing you will come to understand is that there is usually never an ideal time to have a baby. No matter when you decide to have a child there will be trade-offs and sacrifices to make. It's impossible to predict the future. Many couples wait a very long time to start their families, only to find later that their circumstances never became ideal.

I'm not ready to be a mother.
It is true that parenthood requires more responsibility than single life, but if you are pregnant you are already a mother. You are being responsible for the child inside of you by the way you treat your body now. The real question is, "How do I treat this child that I have already participated in creating?"

What's the big deal? It's not a baby yet.
Although the unborn child does not have legal rights under the law, the fetus is very alive. By the sixth week of pregnancy the heart has started beating. By eight weeks brain waves can be measured. By twelve weeks the child can and does cry, though silently. By sixteen weeks the baby's movements can be felt by the mother. Many women bond with their unborn children long before they are born and feel a great sense of loss after an abortion. More about the development of the unborn child.

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