Banquet for Life

So I went to the Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC) Banquet for Life tonight. It was the third time I've been, with the first being while I was a volunteer counselor for one of their centers. The second time I went, I really didn't get too much out of the speakers, so while I appreciated the opportunity to contribute to their organization and see a couple of people I don't see too often - I wasn't necessarily looking forward to going tonight.

I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did I enjoy the keynote speaker, Michael Reagan (son of former president Ronald Reagan), much more than I had the speaker at the last one I went to (I won't name any names), but I found that different speakers at the banquet triggered different thoughts in me - lots of different thoughts about my life.

One of the speakers, Jennifer O'Neill, brought back thoughts of why I started volunteering at CPC in the first place. I am pro-life, and I do believe that life begins at conception and that it's not just a "glob of tissue" (especially in light of fact that there's a heartbeat at 3 weeks along - but that's another discussion). But there are other, more personal reasons that I'm not so fond of abortion.

Jennifer told her own story - about how she'd had an abortion and later on had ended up having 9 miscarriages. I thought of my own family... my older brother is adopted, with his birth mother being a young mom who could've easily chosen to abort her baby rather than carry him to term and then give him up. But she didn't. And I have a brother because of her choice, because of her strength and willingness to give him up to a couple that wasn't having any luck having children of their own.

Another of the speakers was a CPC client named Pam. Pam was 39 years old when she became pregnant, and was encouraged by several to have an abortion because her pregnancy was high-risk due to her age. This really hit home - my mom was 37 when she became pregnant with me. She'd had several miscarriages before me. What if my parents had just decided that they had one child, my brother, and didn't want to risk another miscarriage or even more problems with another pregnancy? What if they decided to just get an abortion instead of taking the risk of trying to carry another pregnancy to term at my mom's age? Hmm... let's not think about that.

Listening to the clients that spoke also made me think of my days as a volunteer counselor. You know, I know that some people think that the counselors are really just there to save babies and talk women into not having an abortion. While yes, the counselors are all pro-life and ultimately would like to see the women that come in have their babies instead of abort them, that is not all they care about or are there for. Most of the counselors that I've gotten to know really care about each woman that walks in the door of their center. And those counselors are there to love those women, befriend them, and educate them about their options. A lot of times that's exactly what the women that come into the centers need - especially the love.

I have a feeling that a lot of church people are under the impression that the women that are having abortions are women or young girls that are sexually active, not in church, and just want an easy out. Honestly - I don't see that as being the case at all. I think one of the statistics I heard tonight was that either 70 or 80% of the women that get abortions claim to be either Catholic or Protestant.

These women aren't getting abortions because it's an easy out. They're getting abortions because they think it will be easier to do that than to face those around them - the church. The church has put such an outcast license on "sinners" that no one wants to have to admit that they are one. Well, here's a news flash - WE ALL DO IT. More than likely, the people that women considering abortions are afraid to tell about their pregnancy, have done something just as "bad" or worse, even. It's sad that the church's reputation really should be one of love, yet a lot of the time we seek love in the form of authenticity more in those outside the church, because we know we won't be judged or looked down on.

CPC's a good organization. Maybe a bit too right-wing conservative for my taste, but I've seen it from the inside and know that deep down, there are some great intentions and some really great, genuine people involved in it. People that show the love and authenticity that these women that come in could stand to see a bit more of in their lives. Shouldn't we all be seeing (and maybe showing) a little more of that...