Six Years of Hope

Amanda was only 19 when she came into Alternatives six years ago. Single and pregnant, she believed abortion was her only option. After being presented with a supportive parenting program and encouraged by a loving client advocate, Amanda chose life, and gave birth to her daughter. Her relationship with the client advocate continued long after the program ended.

However, when the pressures of life became overwhelming, Amanda found herself pregnant again and this time, she chose abortion.

Amanda recently came back to Alternatives and joined our weekend abortion recovery weekend group, aptly named "Hope Encounter." I was able to witness to the Godly healing she received as she acknowledged the pain, shame and guilt from her abortion decision.

Amanda was joined by her client advocate who has walked with her through the past six years: through her crisis pregnancy, the birth of her baby girl, and now, her journey of abortion recovery.

Will you please continue to give and pray so that women like Amanda can come in our doors for hope, help and healing? As you can see from this story, we are here to love them ALL along the way of their victory and challenges.

Written By: Kathy Hoover, Volunteer Training Coordinator

More Than People Think

There are various tools and educational materials that we use in the counseling room to present medically accurate facts to a young woman facing an unplanned pregnancy. What can be a more powerful tool than ‘Truth’? Recently, a young girl came into the counseling room. She was determined to get an abortion. We began to discuss her circumstances and her options. With her permission we discussed fetal development information, she kept saying: “Its so big, wow - its so big, I didn’t know that.” She was fascinated with the heart beating at only 21 days after conception. She said she could not get an abortion now that she knows how developed the baby is already. Seeing her child during the ultrasound confirmed that decision. She was overwhelmed with emotion, and I was fascinated to see a mother bond with her unborn child, before my eyes. She couldn’t thank us enough, and was hugging everyone she passed by on her way out the door. This is what she wrote on her evaluation: “They have a lot of information, and help you more than people think.”

by Natasha Kosachevich, Client Services Director