How One Person Can Make a Difference for Those Experiencing an Unplanned Pregnancy

I am pro-life.  I have been deeply saddened by all of the recent videos released regarding the disgusting activities going on at Planned Parenthood of selling aborted babies' body parts for research.  

I feel for everyone involved in an abortion decision: the woman choosing to get an abortion, the misguided employees and doctors who work at these clinics, and the family members surrounding all those involved.  There is pain and heartache in a decision like this, whether the parties realize it right away or not.  Some people do not believe they are doing anything wrong, others feel they have no choice or feel pressured into the decision, and yet others who perform these abortions feel they are doing something good for society.  I hurt for the babies who will never be given a chance to live their lives.  

When discussing these videos with a family member recently, they asked, "How much can one person really do though?"  Meaning, we might feel saddened by abortion, but if it's legal, what can we do to change it?  It's so easy to feel this way.  There is so much hurt in the world, and one person can't change it all, or even very much of it.  But, I do believe one person can make a small difference in some way wherever they are at.  At the time, I answered the question by saying we could call our representatives in government to voice our opinions, and while that is a good option, I came across another option today that is so easy to do, and can make a big difference too: supporting pregnancy resource centers.

Pregnant women who need help navigating the other options besides abortion can find help at pregnancy resource centers all across the country.  These are great organizations helping women everyday to choose life for their babies.  

Support Pregnancy Resource Centers

Volunteering or donating items or money to these centers is a great way to help out with immediate needs to support them in the work they do.  One very easy way to donate money is through automatic donation programs such as Amazon Smile or Kroger Community Rewards.  These programs donate a percentage of your purchase to the charitable organization you choose, at no extra cost to you. 

Let's look at the Amazon Smile program first.

Amazon Smile

I actually found out about this program from a local pregnancy resource center's donation page on their website.  

1. Go to smile.amazon.com and log in to your amazon account if not already logged in.

2. Search by name, location or keyword to find a center near you, and select that as your charity to support.

Once you have designated a charity, just be sure to shop through the smile.amazon.com link, and check each item to see if it is eligible for a donation through the Smile program.  The current rate for donation is 0.5%.  Here is a breakdown of a shopping screen so you know how it should look once you've completed theses steps.

I chose a charity at random for this example; I am not personally familiar with this particular center and I'm not suggesting they are better than any other center.  I simply picked one based off a keyword search for "pregnancy."

So that's it!  A donation of 0.5% might seem small, but added together with lots of others doing 0.5%, it can really add up, plus it doesn't cost you anything extra when purchasing your item.  It's an automatic way to give without having to think about it too much.

Any additional questions you have can probably be answered by checking out the AmazonSmile Program Details.

Kroger Community Rewards

1. To activate participation in Kroger's Community Rewards program, sign in to your Kroger.com account linked to your Kroger Plus Card.  

2. Once signed in, click on the Community tab, then click on Community Rewards.

3. Here you will click on Enroll Now.

4. This will take you to a search box where you can search by name to find an organization to select.  I suggest searching "pregnancy" if you don't know a specific charity you'd like to support.

5. On the results page, just select which charity you'd like to support and click "Enroll."

Again, this option is automatic, donating a % to your selected charity without you having to even think about it!

These are just two options I've discovered recently that I think are really easy to do to support those experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, but these are by no means the only ways.

Prayer

We can pray daily for those facing unplanned pregnancies to have wisdom and courage to carry their pregnancy to term.  

We can pray for those working in abortion clinics, that they would become convicted and leave that profession.  

We can pray for those who are making the laws in our country, that they would have the courage to end abortion.  

We can pray for those working in pregnancy resource centers to have strength and wisdom to help those they interact with.

What are some ways you can help those facing an unplanned pregnancy?