August 2024
by Laura Lewis MD, CCFP
A Christ-centred approach to an unexpected pregnancy.
Pregnancy Care Canada’s vision is to provide every individual in Canada challenged by an unexpected pregnancy with access to accurate information and compassionate support.
We do this as a Christ-centred national best practice organization dedicated to affirming the value of every life by equipping pregnancy care centres and local communities with resources, education, and support to compassionately serve those challenged by an unexpected pregnancy.
You might wonder what it means to us to be Christ-centred.
As Christians, we seek to engage in our broken world in a manner that reflects the compassion of Jesus. An example of this is Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. He went out of His way to sit with her and listen to her. He acknowledged her challenging past, and instead of turning away, He leaned in to hear her story. He saw her value, and He helped her believe that she had value. He gave her hope and helped her envision a different future. This is the ethos of the pregnancy care work we do.
Pregnancy Care Canada and the centres in our network desire to meet people on their journey with an unexpected pregnancy – to walk with them and compassionately care for them, to provide information and support, and to help them envision alternative futures – because often their circumstances feel so overwhelming that they believe abortion is their only choice. We strive to ensure every woman and man has access to alternatives to abortion, is surrounded by care, and knows that they are not alone.
We all have free will. God has given us the ability to make good and bad choices and to experience the consequences. In that framework, we are equally as mindful of the women and men who have experienced grief and sorrow from a prior abortion. We want to meet them where they are, walk with them on their journey, and help them find peace and healing.
This is our lane, the pastoral, Christ-centred arm of the pro-life movement. We are for life. The life of the woman and the life of the unborn child.
What are the other arms of the pro-life movement?
The other arms include the political arm, which deals with changing and challenging laws, and the educational arm, which seeks to educate people about the realities of abortion.
We believe in maintaining a separation between these three important missions. However, there are times when they need to overlap. For instance, the church and those responsible for speaking God’s truth from the pulpit are positioned to be both an educational and pastoral voice conveying the truth about abortion and the value of the unborn while also communicating God’s redemptive mercy for those who have experienced a pregnancy termination.
Although each pregnancy care centre may differ in how it uniquely cares for its community, the overarching ethos of care is similar: to walk alongside individuals as they navigate the complex layers and challenges involved in an unexpected pregnancy and to care as Christ cared.
This is what we mean by a Christ-centred approach to an unexpected pregnancy.
If you need to talk to someone about an unexpected pregnancy and would like accurate information on your options, go to our website: https://pregnancycarecanada.ca/looking-for-help/. You can find a pregnancy care centre near you or you can connect with someone online who can help. We’re here for you.