Monday, November 28, 2005

The Church's Stance on Pregnancy Outside of Wedlock

Last week, The Pro-Woman Pro-Lifer wrote about the concerns of a client she was pregnancy counseling. Was it her goals, dreams, and future? Her partner? Finances?  Nope. She did have some concerns about her future, but she was able to work around those things. Her primary concern was her church. She's Catholic and lives in a small town. She expressed that she was concerned what others in her church would think of her and if they'd ridicule her for becoming pregnant outside of marriage. Most of the more conservative church's, including the Catholic Church, often teach and discourage sex outside of marriage, but that's not the issue. It's how they respond to women who've become pregnant....
A woman pregnant outside of wedlock may be shunned by those around her. I can understand why they wouldn't want to come off as condoning sex outside of marriage, but at the same time, they are essentially ostracizing and condemning woman who become pregnant out of wedlock.  In the post, the PWPL pointed out to one of her pregnant clients, "how hypocritical it is for the church (Catholic or Protestant) to teach that abortion is murder and then shun women who decide not to have one." Eventhough the church teaches abortion is wrong, a woman may feel having an abortion is better than the shame and stigma of having the baby. It's no wonder that according to the Alan Guttmacher Institue, a large percentage of women who've had an abortion are Christian. According to the Pro-Woman Pro-Lifer, "The main focus should be to show them how helping pregnant women remain pregnant makes you feel good and does the work of Christ. That way, should she become pregnant, she'll know you won't ostracize her or judge her (or fire her). Preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words. Teach them that children are a blessing that can be brought out of a bad decision, but abortion is a bad decision brought out of another bad decision."

Related Links of Interest:
U.S. and International Crisis Hotlines
If You Have An Adverse Pregnancy or Prenatal Diagnosis
If You're Facing an Unplanned or Unwanted Pregnancy
Various Religious Groups Beliefs on Abortion


Related Stories:
An unmarried Catholic school teacher named Michelle McCusker was fired after she told her employers that she was pregnant.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-teacher26nov26,0,1503042.story?coll=la-home-nation

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