I Don’t Want To Be Pregnant: Is Abortion My Only Option?

Have you just discovered that you’re unexpectedly pregnant?

Do you feel like you’re not ready to be a parent, yet abortion doesn’t feel quite right either?

Thankfully, you have other options, and there are caring experts who understand what it’s like to have questions about making such an important decision.

Keep reading to learn more about your pregnancy options.

I Don’t Want To Be Pregnant: Is Abortion My Only Option?

There is a difference between not wanting to be pregnant and not wanting to be a parent. If you feel sure that you don’t want to be pregnant, ask yourself the following questions and weigh your answers carefully before moving forward:

• Do I feel unprepared to be a parent? Or do I not want to be pregnant?
• Am I making my decision from a place of fear? Or from a confident mindset?
• Am I taking the time I need to make the best decision for me? Or do I feel pressured?
• Knowing myself, am I likely to still feel like I made the right decision in the future?
• Have I educated myself about medical abortion and surgical abortion, including the risks?
• Have I carefully considered all of my options?

You may not be able to put your finger on why, but trust your gut if abortion doesn’t feel right for you. You have other options. Next, we’ll discuss what those options are.

Adoption Option

“I could never have a baby and give it away!” It’s a declaration we hear regularly. But, for mothers who do choose adoption, we also hear, “It was so hard to do, but I’m really glad I chose adoption!”

Those who ultimately placed their children with loving adoptive families say that even though they needed to grieve, they’re happy that their children could be well cared for when they couldn’t do it.

There are three categories of adoption: open, semi-open, and closed.

1. Open adoption

Research reveals that 95% of U.S. domestic adoptions are open, and open adoption is best for birth mothers, adoptive families, and the children. In an open adoption, you can choose the adoptive family and get to know them while you’re still pregnant through calls, texts, and visits.

The adoption agency helps you and the adoptive family work out an agreement about your level of involvement in your child’s life as they grow up. Your desired amount of communication is personal and can include sending pictures, letters, and visits.

2. Semi-open adoption:

In a semi-open adoption, you can still choose the adoptive family from profiles provided to you by the adoption agency. However, communication, such as letters and photographs, is exchanged through an agency or lawyer between you and the adoptive family.

3. Closed adoption:

In a closed adoption, you have no contact at all with the adoptive family during your pregnancy or after giving birth. You also have no communication with your child as they grow up. Closed adoptions are typically reserved for situations where the birth mother wants to maintain her privacy or for the protection of the child.

Legal Guardianship Option

Are you unprepared to be a parent but also know neither abortion nor adoption feels like the right choice for you? Legal guardianship is an option that you may not realize you have. Women may consider legal guardianship if they want to finish school or establish themselves emotionally, physically, or financially before parenting their child.

Legal guardianship means placing your child in someone else’s care (often a friend or family member), yet you still maintain some of your parental rights. You also retain the possibility of regaining custody of your child when your situation allows.

Parenting Option

Parenting may feel like an impossible option while still reeling from the shock that you’re unexpectedly pregnant. Like adoption, the way parenting looks is unique to each family. You have other dreams and goals to pursue, and a good parenting plan can help you achieve them.

The different forms of parenting are spousal parenting, joint parenting, and single parenting.

1. Spousal Parenting

If you are in a committed, healthy marriage or partnership, spousal parenting may be the right option for you. You and your spouse or partner work together to provide a loving home for your child.

2. Co-Parenting

Co-parenting may be the right choice for you if you and the father of your child are not in a relationship but are willing to co-parent and put your child’s needs first.

3. Parallel Parenting

Parallel parenting is an option if you and your child’s father don’t communicate well for various reasons. Parallel parenting drastically reduces the amount of interaction you would have with your child’s father.

4. Single Parenting

Single parenting is very common, but it doesn’t mean you have to parent your child all alone. Single parents are eligible for community resources and sometimes live with parents, siblings, or friends offering support.

You probably have more questions about abortion, adoption, and parenting. The good news is that you can get the answers you deserve.

Get Your Questions Answered and Empower Yourself

Corbella Clinic is a medical facility specializing in pregnancy services – where you will be heard and cared for with compassion. We believe that you are brave, intelligent, and capable of making a wise decision about your unintended pregnancy.

You will never be pressured to make one decision over another. But instead, you can feel confident that you’ll receive accurate answers to all of your questions, which will assist you in making a decision that you can feel good about.

You don’t have to continue feeling confused. Instead, empower yourself and make an appointment with one of our licensed healthcare professionals today.

Resources

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, June 28). Unintended pregnancy. Centers for   Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/unintendedpregnancy/index.htm.

Child Welfare Information Gateway and the Office of Publication Affairs Clearinghouse. (n.d.). Open adoption – child welfare information gateway. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/openadoption.pdf.

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Openness in adoption: Building relationships between adoptive and birth families.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Folder3/Folder1/Folder2/Folder101/Folder1/Folder201/f_openadopt.pdf?rev=4a600a5fa28d41c4a8a47b1bc7efe350.