Pregnancy Options

Ahoy Crew for this article I will need you to use you imagination. I would ask that everyone image they have fertile wombs and that this situation could happen to YOU. Imagine you just peed on a pregnancy test. Your Pregnancy Test was Positive! What do you do now? What feeling come up? Who do you first think of talking to? Can you think of 4 people who are safe to talk to who can help you? Where do you get information?

First you need to confirm the results. Note: Taking more than one pregnancy test

does not CONFIRM you are pregnant. It is important to have the results confirmed by a doctor. Most doctors recommend that you wait until the first day of your missed period before taking a urine pregnancy test (usually about two weeks after conception). It is possible to get both False Positives or False Negatives, that is why it is important to confirm urine-test results with a blood-test. While home-pregnancy tests (urine-tests) are helpful you need to have a blood-test done by a doctor to confirm the results. Pregnancy tests are designed to tell if your urine or blood contains a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Due to recent research, it is now believed that blood tests are more accurate than urine tests when it comes to accurately determining pregnancy. Additionally the doctor can tell you how far along your pregnancy is and help you start scheduling the medical care you will require. Even if you are terminating a pregnancy you need to see a doctor.

Next in our imagination excursion we will imagine that our Pregnancy Test was positive and you confirmed the Results with your Doctor. You are definitely pregnant. Now what? This is a loaded subjects. We are not here to discuss morality just facts. You have three options:

1. Abortion

2. Adoption

3. Parenting

Both Adoption and Parenting mean you will complete your pregnancy to full-term and give birth. This means you will require pre- and post-natal care, which can be costly and physically difficult. Most people find it helpful to talk through their decision with someone they can trust and lean on for support, like a parent or guardian but only you can decide what choice is right for you. It is important to consider all of your options and what resources you have available. But remember, some options (including certain types of pregnancy terminations) are only available at certain stages of pregnancy.

Every pregnancy is different, however there are regular stages: There are stages of development that the embryo and fetus go through There are regular symptoms that women experience during different stages of pregnancy.

Abortion

What is Abortion? Abortion is defined as the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. It is done by removing a fetus or embryo before it can survive outside the uterus. A miscarriage is a an abortion which occurs spontaneously or naturally. Modern abortion methods use medication or surgery.

“Abortion is safe, and serious complications are rare — but the risk to your health increases the longer a pregnancy continues. Abortions performed later in pregnancy may be more complicated but are still safer than labor and childbirth. So, even though it's important to take the time you need to make the decision that's best for you, it is important that you understand there may be greater health risks later in pregnancy.” -PlannedParenthood.org

In 1973 The US Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade which concluded that the “Right to Privacy” extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion This means that the legal decision to complete or terminate a pregnancy in the mother's.

“A majority of young adults who are pregnant and seek abortion care indicate that their parents are aware that they are doing so. Furthermore, in states without parental-involvement laws, 61 percent of parents knew of their daughter’s decision to terminate a pregnancy.” -NARAL

Currently Minors only count for 7% of American abortions. In California no parental involvement is required for you to seek medical treatment. In California if you are over 12 years old you do not need parental consent to get an abortion. California law says that any doctor or healthcare provider is not permitted to share information or records with a parent without YOUR WRITTEN CONSENT. INCLUDING information regarding the prevention or treatment of a minor’s pregnancy. Many health providers will even let you seek care anonymously. For example Planned parenthood offers confidential Pregnancy tests, Birth control, STD/I testing and treatment, Pre-natal care & Abortion services.

So if it isn’t “teen moms” who does get abortions? 1 in 3 women will have an Abortion in their life. 6 in 10 women seeking abortions are already parents. 90% of abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

There are different types of Abortions. The type is often decided by what stage in your pregnancy you are getting an abortion. The two main categories are:

1. Pill Abortions

2. In-Clinic Abortion

An “Abortion Pill” is the popular name for Mifepristone and Misoprostol. More than 60% of abortions are done this way. In general, it's used up to 63 days (9 weeks) after the first day of a woman's last period. Your healthcare provider will give you Mifepristone at the clinic. You will take a second medicine Misoprostol, it causes the uterus to empty (this includes cramps and bleeding). You will also be given some antibiotics. “More than half of women abort within four or five hours after taking the second medicine. For others, it takes longer. But most women abort within a few days” (PlannedParenthood.org).

This process is 97% effective, but you still need to follow up with your doctor (within two weeks) to confirm the termination of your pregnancy. There is some confusion regarding Emergency Contraception (also known as “Plan B”) and the “Abortion Pill”. “Plan B” does not cause an abortion, emergency Contraceptive pills release the same hormones made by a woman's body (progesterone) in a dose which keeps a woman's ovaries from releasing eggs. Most types of Emergency Contraception must be taken within 72 hours of sexual contact. Which means that if a pregnancy test is positive “Plan B” will not terminate the pregnancy.

After 9 weeks of pregnancy the “Abortion Pill” is no longer an abortion option, you must turn to in-clinic abortions.

There is more than one kind of in-clinic abortion procedure:

1. Aspiration (Vacuum Aspiration): The most common is called aspiration. Aspiration is usually used up to 16 weeks after a woman’s last period. A tube is inserted vaginally through the cervix into the uterus. The contents of the uterus are then removed.

2. Dilation and Suction Curettage (D&C): The cervix is stretched with a series of dilators or medications. The contents of the uterus are then removed with a tube attached to a suction machine, and walls of the uterus are cleaned using a narrow loop called a curette. D&C is usually performed up to 13 weeks after a woman's last period.

3. Dilation and Evacuation (D&E): The procedures are similar to those used in a D&C, but a larger suction tube must be used because more material must be removed. D&E is usually performed later than 16 weeks after a woman's last period.

Gloria Steinem’s book My Life on the Road opens with a dedication to Dr. John Sharpe (the doctor who helped Steinem end a pregnancy in London in 1957): “Knowing that she had broken an engagement at home to seek an unknown fate, he said, “You must promise me two things. First, you will not tell anyone my name. Second, you will do what you want to do with your life.” Dear Dr. Sharpe, I believe you, who knew the law was unjust, would not mind if I say this so long after your death: I’ve done the best I could with my life. This book is for you.”

Adoption

Adoption is a permanent, legal agreement (approved by a judge in a family or surrogate court) in which the birth parent agrees to place their child in the care of another person or family by signing official 'relinquishment papers' after the baby is born. Adoption is legal and binding whether it is open or closed, and no matter how it is arranged. It only legally requires the involvement of the mother. Approximately seventy percent of birth-mothers move through the adoption process without the involvement of a birth-father.

So what rights does a biological father have? If a pregnancy is brought to term a father can claim parentage on the birth certificate or via paternity test. Once a person is legally established as the father of a child they will have all the rights and responsibilities of a parent. “If a person is established as a legal parent of a child, that person MUST financially support the child. It is a crime for a legal parent to fail to support his or her child. A legal parent also has the right to get custody or visitation rights related to the child” (Courts.ca.gov).

There are two different types of Adoption: “Open” and “Closed”. In an open adoption the adopting parents are aware of the identity of the birthparent(s). The birth-parent(s) often have a hand in deciding the adopting parents. The birth-parent(s) may have regular contact with the child or even have rights related to the child (like visitation). In a closed adoption the identity of the birth parents is autonomous. The birth parents do not know the identity of the adopting parents.

There are three ways to arrange an Adoption: Agency, Independent, or Kinship Adoptions. In an Agency Adoptions a state-licensed agency connects the birth parent with the adopting family and adoptions can be open or closed. Independent Adoptions are handled through a lawyer (or adoption attorneys) who may connect the birthparent with the adopting family or can facilitate the process, these two can be open or closed adoptions. Kinship Adoptions involve someone in the birthparent's family (even extended family) adopts the child. Relative can work with an adoption agency, lawyer, or your state department of human services to arrange the adoption, and by definition Kinship adoptions are open because the birthparent and adoptive family are already acquainted. There are also types of adoption based more on child-need than parental decision. Such as Children in the public child welfare system are placed in permanent homes by public, government-operated agencies, or by private agencies contracted by a public agency to place waiting children. Or Intercountry/International adoption where children who are citizens of a foreign nation are adopted by U.S. families and brought to the United States.

“Adoption has the dimension of connection — not only to your own tribe, but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties and family. It is a larger embrace. By adopting, we stretch past our immediate circles and, by reaching out, find an unexpected sense of belonging with others.” – Isabella Rossellini

Parenting

What is the AVERAGE age of American first-time-child-birth-givers? “In 2000 the average American woman having her first baby was almost 25 years old. In 1970 the average age was 21.4 years for a first birth” (CDC). What is the average cost? The average cost of an infant is $10,000 in the first year.

Parenting is not something to be entered into lightly. Is takes a lot of emotional support and financial stability to be able to even consider the option of becoming a parent. But many people are able to do it, even without planning. “About half of all women in the U.S. have an unplanned pregnancy at some point in their lives. About 6 out of 10 women with unplanned pregnancies decide to continue their pregnancies. Every woman's situation is different, and only you can decide what is best in your case” (PlannedParenthood.org).

We are now reaching the end of our imagination excursion. You are pregnant. You know your options: Abortion, Adoption or Parenting. Now it is time to think outside of yourself and where you live. What if you lived somewhere where abortion was not an option? What would you do? It is important to consider what you would do in these situations before you are confronted with them. I hope this imagination excursion has helped you think about not only what you would do but helped you consider why someone may choose another option. I hope you also better understand why the government has no place making these decisions for its citizens.

#pregnancy #sex #abortion #adoption #sexuality #riskreduction