Abortion Counseling Services

We offer abortion counseling services to every woman

Heritage Clinic For Women’s Counselors provide unbiased, non-judgmental counseling and information.

All of our counselors have a degree in one of the human services fields such as psychology, social work, family and human sexuality, or sociology.

All have empathic listening training as well as crisis intervention training.

Our counselors’ investment is not so much what you choose but rather how you choose.

Our counselors provide individual counseling to focus on the your concerns and provide a safe environment for you to ask questions and explore all of your feelings regarding  your current reproductive issues.

Occasionally, parents and partners are invited into a segment of the counseling session.

We believe reproductive decisions such as when, with whom and under which circumstances to have a child are extremely personal and crucial to our abilities to be good parents and to make a positive impact in our lives. Equally important are decisions regarding when and with whom to be sexually intimate and methods chosen to prevent unplanned pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Therefore our counselors are prepared to answer questions regarding:

• Current contraception methods
• Morning after pill also known as emergency contraception
• Crisis pregnancy decision-making
• Abortion options
• Adoption options
• Pregnancy and childbirth
• Social assistance agencies
• Sexually transmitted diseases and their prevention

Our counseling services can be broken down to the following areas:

• Pregnancy options counseling: All options are discussed and specific gains and losses are explored, support systems are identified. Physical procedures and risks are explained.
• Abortion counseling: Medical history is taken, decision process and certainty of choice are discussed, support systems are identified, contraception information and access are offered, abortion procedure is explained, possible risks and aftercare instructions are reviewed, consents are signed.
• Post Abortion Counseling: Unresolved feelings regarding abortion decision, circumstance or experience are addressed. Decision process is re-visited identifying gains and losses of choice. Coping mechanisms and support systems are identified. Referrals for spiritual, relationship, or personal crisis counseling might be given.
• Parental Consent/Judicial Bypass counseling:  Existing and potential support systems are identified. Assistance in approaching parents or other support persons is offered. Judicial bypass process is explained. Questions regarding pregnancy options are answered.
• Contraception counseling: Information regarding potential benefits and risks and costs of preferred methods are discussed.

Decision Making Process

Once your suspicions have been confirmed with a positive pregnancy test, you must decide many things. This can be an overwhelming process, complicated by the fact that it is very much an emotional process. We encourage you to find at least one person who will give you support without passing judgment.

This section provides you with a decision making structure and questions geared toward helping you sort out your rational and emotional feelings about the options available to you. Every option has emotional, social, spiritual and physical considerations. When a pregnancy is unplanned there is no such thing as an easy way out. Each choice represents gains and losses. Each woman must weigh her perceived gains and losses in her particular situation to make her own best decision.

DECISION MAKING STRUCTURE

To make a wise, responsible decision, you must be:

COMPREHENSIVE

Examine the options of adoption, parenting and abortion as thoroughly as you feel is necessary for you to understand their consequences. Examine the impact of each option on your life as well as your ability to accept the responsibilities and commitments involved.

REALISTIC

Examine each option and resource of support realistically without using “wishful thinking”.  Accept what others say as truth without assuming they will change later. Accept what each option offers you even though it may not be the way you “want” it to be. Focus on what is true rather than what you fear.

HONEST

Be honest with yourself about how you feel and what you believe. Recognize that it is normal to need support and ask for help, it is responsible to understand your limitations and strengths, and it is healthy to own and express your feelings regardless of what they are.

CARING

Trust that whatever choice you make, you are making it because you care, not because you don’t care. How you make your decision and what is in your heart will make your choice one which will honor your pregnancy and yourself.

Decision Format

Consider using the following format when making your decision:

Parenthood

• How do you feel about being totally responsible for someone else for at least 18 years?
• Is is moral to take on the responsibilities of parenting if you are emotionally, financially or educationally unready?
• Have you  proven your ability to take care of yourself  financially and emotionally?
• How do you feel about giving up much of your personal freedom and your privacy?
• Will you work, go to school or stay at home?
• Who will care for your child if you go to work or to school?  Will you have to pay for daycare?  How much?
• Can you afford the costs of food, clothing, housing, childcare and medical care?  If not, how do you feel about government assistance?
• If you already have children, how would having another child impact your ability to meet their needs?
• What support would you have from your partner, your parents, your friends, your community?
• Do you know the physical risks of both pregnancy and childbirth?
• What would you lose from making a parenting decision?  What would you gain from making a parenting decision?
• How would your partner, your parents, your family and those you would turn to for support feel about you choosing to parent?

Marriage

• Are you prepared to become adult, life partners as well as becoming parents?
• How do you feel about living with your partner on a daily basis and making decisions together?
• Do you believe marriage is necessary or are you comfortable committing to becoming parents without getting married?
• How do you think this pregnancy would affect a marriage?
• How do you feel about mutual responsibility and commitment to each other which will likely diminish your individual freedom and privacy.
• If either of you already have children, how would this marriage and another child impact those children and your ability to meet their needs?
• What kind of marriage have your parents had?   Do you believe your marriage would be similar or different?
• What do you expect from your partner?   What do you expect marriage will be like?
• How does your partner answer the above questions?    Are your answers similar or different?
• What would you gain from a marriage under these circumstances?   What would you lose from marriage under these circumstances?
• How do your parents or your family feel about your partner?    Do they feel you both are ready to commit to marriage?

Adoption

• How do you feel about going through 9 months of pregnancy and delivery and then giving your child to someone else to raise?
• Is it moral to bring a child into the world when you are unable or unwilling to care for this child?
• Do you know the difference between open and closed adoption?  How do you feel about each option?
• Do you know the difference between private and agency adoption?
• Would it make a difference to you if you had a boy or a girl?
• Do you know the physical risks of pregnancy and childbirth?
• What do you envision your life to be like in 5 yrs and 10 yrs if you chose adoption?
• What would you gain from an adoption decision?    What would you lose from an adoption decision?
• How would you feel if the child you released for adoption wanted to contact you in the future?
• Are you aware of the legal rights of your partner if you were to choose adoption?   Does he agree with adoption or would he want to exercise his parental rights?
• How would your parents feel about you choosing adoption?

Abortion

• How do you feel about being pregnant?
• How do you feel about being a parent?   How do you feel about adoption?
• How did you feel about abortion before this pregnancy occurred?   How has your perspective or understanding of this issue changed?   How do you feel now?
• When do you believe personhood begins?    Is it moral to stop a pregnancy that has already started?
• How far along is your pregnancy?   Does that impact your decision?
• Do you know what would happen during an abortion appointment?   Do you understand what to expect after the abortion and what the risks of abortion are?
• Have you had an abortion before?   How is this decision impacted by your previous decision?   How do your current circumstances compare with your circumstances before?
• What might your life be like in 5 yrs and 10 yrs if you chose to have an abortion?
• What would you gain from an abortion decision?    What would you lose from an abortion decision?
• How would your parents and partner feel about you choosing abortion?
• How would you expect to feel after an abortion?   Who would you feel comfortable talking with about your experience?   What are other ways you might express your feelings or find support?