proactive, NOT reactive

I am still working on Part 2 to “New Feminists”, but I had a thought that I wanted to share sooner than later. So please be patient me with and let me jump topics for a bit here. I promise I will come back to tell you all about what New Feminists look like! And that is worth waiting for. 🙂
I hesitate as I begin this new post because I want to make sure that readers will understand that I am NOT opposed to crisis pregnancy centers. Quite the contrary actually. I think crisis pregnancy centers can be wonderful sources of support and comfort to young women in situations that feel scary and overwhelming. The people that run these centers work for little or no reimbursement to save women from making a decision that could potentially harm her and be something she would regret for the rest of her life. Crisis pregnancy centers do wonderful work. I have seen several of them in action and have witnessed first-hand the compassion and care that is shown to all women, no matter what their circumstance.
My issue is not with crisis pregnancy centers. My issue is with the pro-life movement thinking that crisis pregnancy centers are our best attempt at preventing abortions.
By their very nature, crisis pregnancy centers are REACTIVE to a situation that is already in “crisis”.  Women do not come to them before a crisis to learn how to prevent a crisis (they go elsewhere for that information). Crisis pregnancy centers are specialized in knowing how to meet the needs of a very specific group of women; those in crisis pregnancies, and for the most part, they do it very well. With most centers striving to provide ultrasound services and the latest in scientific knowledge of life in the womb, they help a woman to understand she is not the only one feeling endangered by the current situation.  They introduce a mother to her child and help her to embrace the greatest ally she will ever have in her current durress; her beautiful child.
As great as crisis pregnancy centers are though, they are NOT a PROACTIVE solution to what is happening all around us in our culture.  Our world is beginning to view humanity as a burden. To combat that we need centers that are comprehensively providing services (along with pregnancy support) to change our societies perception of pregnancy, fertility, childbearing, family life, & LIFE in general.  We need to have a place that is frequented throughout life for things other than crisis situations. A place that is comfortable and homey, a place where we can trust to be treated with respect, no matter why we are there.
In order to be PROACTIVE we need to be looking at the root causes of societal attitudes and work to change them in future generations. Guiding Star Centers will strive to be relevent to the youth and will encourage them to hang out in our facilities. They will be able to grab a smoothie in the organic coffee shop and check out the shops and other businesses there, with or without visiting their family practice doctor or going into any of the other organizations in the Center. And while they are there, hopefully they will realize that being pro-life is about more than opposing abortion and euthanasia. They will see joyful people who do not see others as inconvenient. They will see that caring for the environment, for their own bodies, for one another, and for their soul are all essential pro-life activities. And with the next generation of our youth being raised in an atmosphere of authentic appreciation for humanity, I think we stand a very good chance of them knowing they deserve better than the solutions currently offerred to them in our society.
Hopefully someday, an unplanned pregnancy will not even be seen as a crisis, but as simply an opportunity for unplanned joy; a thought that is almost absurd in today’s world! Until that day, thank you to all the crisis pregnancy centers for faithfully serving our world; but let us not lose sight that we can and must reach back further and address root causes in order to create a true Culture of Life.