What do you do when you don’t want to be pregnant, but when abortion isn’t available?
The new Texas abortion law makes pregnancy termination procedures available only to those who know they are pregnant within two weeks of missing a period— or just to those with the financial resources to seek abortion services out-of-state.
So while pregnant women here have 40 weeks to evaluate whether to parent, to legally abandon a child at a hospital or firehouse, or to complete a voluntary adoption plan, most effectively get only 14 days or less to decide whether to seek abortion in Texas.
(And it’s a dilemma more and more expectant females in Texas are facing, lately.)
Yet where do you turn when your state requires that abortion decisions be completed earlier than most girls and women even know for sure that they’re pregnant?
And when you do know you don’t want to give birth but when abortion isn’t available anymore… then what?
That was the quandary one young Texas couple found themselves facing last year.
A Dollar Short, A Day Late
You can be in a committed telationship and take every precaution. But you still can be unready for parenthood. For reasons that were totally valid but aren’t ours to share, pregnancy was a prospect one South Texas couple had dutifully avoided.
They knew, given their own circumstances and their family histories, that they should not raise a child at this point and could not rely on their relatives for help.
They’re wise beyond their years, and faithfully nurture their many cats, but they knew raising a baby was beyond their means at this stage in life.
Upon learning she’d missed her period, she went to a local clinic to confirm her pregnancy. They referred her to a San Antonio center for abortion services, upon her request. But after driving all the way here, the cash price of the termination was more than they had on hand.
They went back home to raise more money, but when she went back, the abortion clinic told her Texas law now prohibited them from providing her an abortion. She was devastated, scared and overwhelmed.
Only one of the partners was working. But the mother-to-be didn’t have insurance and couldn’t get coverage on his plan. She couldn’t expect to qualify for Medicaid, so she sought no prenatal care, as a result. They kept the unwanted pregnancy a secret, hoped for the best, and braced themselves to leave the baby at a hospital after the birth.
A last minute change of plans
It was only when the terrified couple presented at the hospital in labor and asked how to do a safe haven abandonment that a caring hospital employee suggested they contact Abrazo, instead.
That hospital staffer had seen plenty of adoption agencies come and go, in their time. But only one impressed them like Abrazo did. The employee said they had witnessed Abrazo’s professionalism, empathy and concern for and birthparents, babies and adoptive parents, and wanted the same fine care for these patients, too.
Abrazo made immediate plans to travel out of town, to provide compassionate options counseling and to make sure both birthparents were getting the support they deserved.
In a matter of days, a qualified home was chosen, the baby was carefully placed, one couple was deeply relieved and another couple was utterly overjoyed. That much-loved adoptee was spared the lifelong shame of being a mere foundling, and the lives of both families was forever changed, as well.
When abortion isn’t available, other solutions still exist
Abortion is a complex and conflicted choice, of course. Yet undesired parenthood, Baby Moses abandonments and/or adoption are never one-size-fits-all solutions, either. And nobody should be forced into any of those alternatives on a politician’s timetable.
Abrazo cannot guarantee that adoption can always be the right choice for every girl or woman who is denied the right to pursue abortion services in Texas. Yet we can (and will) promise to be there to offer the best of adoption alternatives to any parent who has a baby or child in need of a loving adoptive home. Abrazo’s post-adoption services are free and confidential to every placing parent, before and after any adoption done here.
Whether a prospective birthparent is pregnant, in the hospital, already home with a child they’re unprepared for, or on their way to abandon a baby at a fire state, they can always call Abrazo at any hour at 1-800-454-5683 to talk to a qualified adoption professional, or text HELPME to 210-860-5683 to reach a licensed therapist for immediate assistance.
Abrazo can provide safe and nurturing cradle care for babies and toddlers in need, right away. The agency offers confidential counseling for those considering surrendering a child, plus temporary shelter, transportation, legal placement consultations &/or other aid, if needed. Open adoption options are available, and waiting parent profiles can even be viewed online here.
Help spread the word: when abortion isn’t available, Abrazo still is… and while we can’t resolve the ideological abortion debates raging across the nation these days, we always stand ready to offer a positive and ethical abortion alternative.
