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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Bugger, I have indirectly supported a 'Christian abortion counselling service'

57 replies

ChinnyReckon · 01/06/2011 21:10

I feel conflicted and uneasy. Backstory; like other people, things are a bit tight for us at the moment. However me and DH are good at budgeting for food and bills etc and if things ever got really bad, we have family who could help us out a bit. I feel worried, though, about people who arent as fortunate as us and who are really struggling at the moment to support themselves.

So I looked online to see if I could donate food locally and I found somewhere and arranged to do this. But now I have had a proper look, I can see that apart from food donation, their other projects are pregnancy crisis counselling/Christian abortion counselling. I feel like a hypocrite. I am pro choice and I am not comfortable with 'pregnancy crisis counselling' as I feel like it misrepresents what is obviously an anti abortion stance. I feel that it tricks women into making decisions that are not neccessarily in their best interests.

I felt like I needed to write that down but given all the abortion threads recently, I feel it's better here. Do I just withdraw the offer of regular donations because I feel so uneasy or just think of the people it will help?

OP posts:
IvorHughJarrs · 01/06/2011 21:41

Chinny when my DS was younger he was invited to a barbecue via a youth group he belonged to. On investigation it turned out to be hosted by a group known for promoting no sex outside marriage to teenagers and some parents declined the invitation but we allowed DS to go and he found it a really positive experience to learn about a point of view that was different to that given in school, etc.

I know that pregnancy can make some women feel vulnerable but sometimes discussing a different viewpoint (IF that is what this group do) can be really valuable. Please don't panic and withdraw your support when you are unsure. I know some christian charities who provide fantastic services and support where it is very much needed

BooBooGlass · 01/06/2011 21:36

You know what? I don;t see there's a reason to be conflicted. I've had counsellign from a crisis pregnancy centre that I only realised later WAS affiliated with the church. Being on the premices of the YMCA should have given me a clue Blush but I was a student. alone, scared andthey offered me an invaluable service. There was no agenda pushing at all, it was all ME talking about MY feelings, much like any kind of counselling really. None of the literature I recieved was biased. I think tbh it's great that places like this exit. I badly needed the time and opportunity to talk through my decision. I did decide to keep dd, but have donated equipment there since. I don't doubt there ar eplaces that aren't quite so unbiased, but the one I went to was bloody brilliant.

K999 · 01/06/2011 21:31

And you only donated food, not £1m so can't see the issue. If you're not comfortable, don't donate again.

AMumInScotland · 01/06/2011 21:29

I'd be tempted to ask directly - they'll probably be very happy to share their viewpoint with you, whichever line they take!

K999 · 01/06/2011 21:29

I agree with AMumInScotland.

ChinnyReckon · 01/06/2011 21:24

Yes, you're probably right. I have read of that sort of thing but not specifically this group. I also posted without thinking it through, i had such an immediately strong feeling about it. I'm not sure if i should ask directly or not.

OP posts:
AMumInScotland · 01/06/2011 21:18

Why are you so sure that it is a cover for an anti-abortion stance? Not all Christians take that view. I think you should find out what their stance actually is before deciding how to react.