Ah, the college years. These are supposed to be the best days of our lives, right? Every now and then, we’ll make decisions (or mistakes) which will impact us for the rest of our lives. Some situations are worse than others, but that can be left up to the opinion of the individual.
In some situations, there arises the issue of pregnancy. While this is a touchy subject to begin with, the choice of whether or not to bear the child is, and should remain, completely up to the individual.
Lucky for us uterus-carrying folk—you know, the ones capable of becoming pregnant—a Supreme Court case called Roe v. Wade happened in 1973. To this day, Roe v. Wade upholds a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion.
For some reason (cough, patriarchy, cough) some individuals refuse to accept that Roe v. Wade was passed, has been supported for years and continues to be upheld. Despite support from various organizations, the government and plenty of people, abortion is still one of the most controversial issues in the U.S.
Here is the really scary part: there are organizations called crisis pregnancy centers all over the country. From the name it sounds like a good thing, right? Wrong. For a young woman seeking an abortion or counsel on how to deal with her situation, a crisis pregnancy center is one of the worst possible places to go.
Rather than supplying information or access to the procedure, crisis pregnancy centers offer faith-based (and oftentimes guilt-based) counsel to women inquiring about abortion. This advice generally consists of “you’ll regret this decision later in life”-type counsel, followed by some religiously-biased judgment.
In a 2002 public-policy report, the Guttmacher Institute, an organization working to advance worldwide sexual and reproductive health, reported on the conditions women face inside of a crisis pregnancy center.
While what these centers are doing is not illegal, it is largely seen as unethical. They pretend to be resource centers for women seeking advice or information on abortions and other methods of birth control, much like Planned Parenthood. In reality, they use religious biases to convince women and couples to keep unwanted pregnancies to term. Not to mention they often inform women that abortion will sterilize them and cause long-term psychological damage. While this is true in very rare cases, it does not happen to everyone.
Upon providing an abortion, most legitimate clinics will provide follow-up counseling to women and couples to ensure that there will be little or no psychological damage.
Many resources exist for all the women and men who might find themselves in a situation involving pregnancy. While I would advocate Planned Parenthood over any other resource center, other options are available.
For Portland State students (here’s to you, PSU) the Student Health and Counseling Center exists to provide affordable student healthcare. There are various resources available from SHAC, including general health appointments, gynecological exams and access to birth control/contraceptives.
The PSU Women’s Resource Center, located on campus at Southwest 10th and Montgomery, also works to provide various resources on sex, birth control and sexual assault for students and staff.
There is a wonderful organization called Crisis Pregnancy Center Watch. CPCW exists to inform the public about what crisis pregnancy centers are and what services they provide. Their website, cpcwatch.org, provides facts about crisis pregnancy centers, warning signs to look for when seeking a center that provides information on abortion and a list that breaks down known crisis pregnancy centers by state, city and zip code.
According to CPCW, there are at least seven known crisis pregnancy centers in Portland alone. Use caution when deciding where to go. Planned Parenthood has two Portland locations, one in Northeast and one in Southeast, so it may be wise to go there before you go anywhere else.
Whether you identify as liberal or conservative, religious or not, what happens to someone else’s body is their business, and their business alone. Before bashing on “baby killers” and attacking physicians willing to provide abortions, think about all the women (and men) you can support by helping expose these crisis pregnancy centers for what they really are.
Rather than aiding these organizations in taking away an individual’s reproductive rights, support Planned Parenthood and PSU’s student healthcare services. The right to govern one’s own body is a beautiful thing and should always, ALWAYS remain in the hand of the individual.
NUMBERS TO CALL:
Oregon Rejection Hotline: 503-207-0299
Pregnancy Resource Center, Portland: 503-777-7097
Portland State Women’s Resource Center: 503-725-5672
PSU Student Health and Counseling Center: 503-725-2800
QUESTIONS TO ASK:
What kind of services do you provide?
Can you provide me with a form of birth control so I don’t have to go through this again?
Are you privately or publicly funded?
What are your religious affiliations?
Do you perform any procedures on site?