{"id":14294,"date":"2019-06-03T13:31:29","date_gmt":"2019-06-03T19:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pregnancycarecanada.kfrnluyh-liquidwebsites.com\/?p=14294"},"modified":"2020-10-16T15:07:16","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T21:07:16","slug":"the-other-options-involved-in-reproductive-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manu004.supserv.cozmoslabs.com\/fr\/2019\/06\/03\/the-other-options-involved-in-reproductive-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"The other options involved in reproductive choice"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE OTHER<\/em> OPTIONS INVOLVED IN REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>
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June 3, 2019<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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by Laura Lewis MD, CCFP<\/p>\n

Reproductive choice is not simply access to abortion. Choice must also entail fully informed consent, alternatives to abortion, and respect for the validity of not\u00a0<\/em>choosing abortion. If we as a nation seek to uphold a woman\u2019s right to reproductive choice, then we must make room to support these other options as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every year pregnancy care centres across Canada respond to thousands of clients who seek out support. This support may be a visit to talk through pregnancy options and the challenges that often accompany an unintended pregnancy. It may be to participate in parenting programs or to receive material supplies for those who choose to parent. Or others may seek a safe place to work through self-identified negative emotions after an abortion. Pregnancy care centres provide a place for all these forms of support, and in doing so, are an important and needed part of the safety net in many communities.<\/p>\n

As a physician, I understand the need for regulated care, clarity of service provision, and the importance of standards. I can also see through the crafted attempts by abortion lobbyists to invalidate pregnancy care centres. After working as a family doctor for 22 years, I have witnessed and know the important role local pregnancy care centres have in helping to empower women to make their own well-informed reproductive choice.<\/p>\n

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I now serve as the Executive Director of Pregnancy Care Canada (PCC). We are a registered, Christian charity serving as a national best-practice affiliation of pregnancy care centres, providing support to 70+ centres across Canada. We continue to look for ways to assist our affiliated centres to do their work with excellence. This includes training and education, and standards which uphold our belief that women have the right to make their own well-informed pregnancy decision. The primary pregnancy options tool that is recommended for use by centres has been reviewed by 45 healthcare professionals. It covers abortion, adoption, and parenting. Our affiliated pregnancy care centres that provide healthcare services are also regulated by their provincial medical and nursing colleges. We care that our information is medically accurate. <\/strong>PCC\u00a0continues to look at new ways to standardize the care provided and to develop tools to facilitate this care.<\/p>\n

While we are discussing regulations<\/strong>, I have concerns about what regulations are in place for the provision of abortion. Research underscores the importance of a well-informed pregnancy decision to help mitigate negative emotional outcomes. Women who enter an abortion decision with uncertainty or coercion have a greater risk of experiencing negative emotions after their abortion.\u00a0<\/strong>A point which is cited in the National Abortion Federation textbook for abortion providers.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

In an article posted in theJournal of American Physicians and Surgeons entitled, Women Who Suffered Emotionally from Abortion: A Qualitative Synthesis of Their Experiences<\/a>.<\/u>2 <\/sup>The authors surveyed 987 women who contacted crisis pregnancy centers for post-abortion care. Some of the findings are noted below:<\/p>\n