Adoption vs. Abortion

When speaking of unplanned pregnancies it seems many people want to discuss options through the lens of only ‘parenting vs. aborting’. Too often we focus on this battle for life (and yes, it is a battle) as a 50-50 toss of a coin while we lament, “She’s likely to abort.” Abortion seems like an invincible force that woos women to believe the lie “out of sight, out of mind.” Research has proven post abortion stress is seen not only within clinic walls but also in the pews on Sunday mornings.

Unfortunately many Christians have restricted their influence by choosing to focus on only two options: parenting and abortion. We want women to see the value of life, so what should we do? Push parenting? Tire of the battle and give in? Neither, but how can we as "pro-lifers" and especially pregnancy counselors gain an advantage for life in these circumstances?

Along with counselors, we gain an advantage for life when we introduce adoption to people within the framework of “parenting choices” right from the beginning. In our country it is true that there are three choices: abortion, parenting, and providing parents (through adoption). Every pregnancy counselor should be able to speak truth about each of these, yet statistics show us that too many counselors shy away from presenting adoption. There are a multitude of reasons why. Often adoption is omitted from the counseling room discussion because people make assumptions that a woman will not really consider adoption. While it is true that most birth mothers who have placed for adoption did so by considering adoption later in their pregnancy, we must assume nothing and intentionally plant a seed for adoption from the start.

When we exclude adoption we make it easier for some women to parent before they are prepared. Likewise, when we exclude adoption, we make it easier for women to abort. Please keep these two thoughts in mind while reading the following article.

Houston will be the site of the largest freestanding abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere
(taken from Houston Coalition for Life website)

As most of you are very well aware, our local Planned Parenthood is expanding and purchased a very large building at 4600 Gulf Freeway a little over a year ago. This expansion is being done to comply with Texas law stating that an abortion of a pregnancy of 16 weeks or more has to be done at an ambulatory surgical center or hospital licensed to perform the abortion.

What we didn't realize is that when this move takes place, which is projected for the fall of 2008, Houston will have the notoriety of having the largest freestanding abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere. Planned Parenthood of Houston & Southeast Texas plans to open a multimillion-dollar "flagship" abortion center just outside the gates of the University of Houston's main campus. This six-story building is 78,000 square feet, and the ambulatory surgical center will take up the entire third floor. This is where unborn babies up to 25 weeks will be aborted. This is more than half way through a woman's pregnancy! We know that babies born after 24 weeks have a very good chance of survival.

Planned Parenthood writes, "Our new building at 4600 Gulf Freeway is significantly larger and more secure than our current location. The new expanded campus will allow us to provide a safe and welcoming health care home for our current clients, and to meet the future needs of clients throughout the Houston area."
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Since Houston will soon be known for “having the largest freestanding abortion facility in the Western Hemisphere” where better a place for God to plant the ministry of Act of Life?

At Act of Life, we recognize that to truly love women and empower them to make the best decisions for themselves and their babies they must be allowed to consider adoption as a parenting choice. All of our educational programs are geared toward equipping people with tools and information to share the truth of adoption.

Partner with us to become the largest voice for the voiceless by defeating the evil of abortion by advancing the truth of adoption.

Adoption saves lives and creates families!

"Teach me, O Lord, the way of Thy statutes, and I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may observe Thy law, and keep it with all my heart."

Psalm 119:33-34

Life Facts: January 2008

Our latest edition of Life Facts is now available for viewing online.

Our website gets an overhaul!

It may not look much different right now, but we have moved the hosting of our website to new servers, which allow for greater control, reliability and the ability to add more features. In due course, you will see further changes that will include the addition of more useful information and the ability to subscribe and unsubscribe to our mailings, more options for financially supporting Act of Life and much more.

If there is something that you think might be useful to include on our website, email me and let me know!

Christmas Season Giving and Praying

It is that time of year when we reflect on the year's events and start planning on how we can further our mission in the following year. This is a crucial time of year for every ministry as budgets are planned and prayers are said for the Lord to provide, if that is His will.


Here, at Act of Life, prayer is a huge part of our ministry at all times and we ask that you might seek the Lord and ask how He would have you support Act of Life. Please take a moment to read our Holiday Appeal letter and then consider how you might be able to give.


Visit our "support us" page to see the many ways in which you might be able to support us.

Radio Interview with Terry Lowry

This morning I had a telephone interview with Terry Lowry, of the Whats Up radio program. The interview was titled "...the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” As well as adoption awareness, we talked about the desperate need for prayer in the adoption arena and ways that people can get involved. The interview was aired this afternoon and the mp3 can be heard at this link.

Julie has had several interviews with Terry in the past, all of which are linked under the radio section of our articles page.

Adoption Awareness Month

It's Adoption Awareness Month and we will be having information displays and representatives in the Missions booth at Sagemont Church. On Wednesday, 7th November, also at Sagemont Church, Stuart Rothberg will be interviewing a special couple with a wonderful adoption story, followed by a brief interview with myself to talk about our mission at Act of Life. Looking forward to seeing you there!

The Adoption Network by Laura Christianson

Laura Christianson was kind enough to send Act of Life a signed copy of her new book, "The Adoption Network: Your Guide to Starting a Support System", and I wasted no time in getting stuck in to read it. As a brand new Executive Director for a network resource center for adoption, I was very keen to learn as much as I could, as quickly as I could.

I quickly discovered that this was a perfect book for me to read. While I had a good picture of my responsibilities as a new E.D., Laura's book starts by identifying why there is a need for adoption support networks. A great start by focusing the mind on the mission. While I was already clear on the type of support network that I would be directing for Act of Life, there is a chapter on the types of support networks that are needed. Again, this was great for highlighting to me some of the areas that I am likely to come across when working in the adoption arena, and no doubt useful for those that do not have a defined mission statement and vision, as Act of Life does.

The next section, which is about organizing your network, was very well structured, containing great details, bullet points and worksheets. There was no room to misinterpret or not understand what needs to done. As an established network resource center, we had most of the suggestions in place, but this information certainly proved useful to myself to help understand why things are structured the way they are and perhaps where things could be improved upon.

For me, section four contained the meat and potatoes, with much sound advice on many crucial aspects of developing an effective adoption support network. There are many great suggestions on some essential elements, including, how to build your resources, network with other like-minded organizations and utilize the Internet in the best possible ways to increase your growth and outreach potential. The Internet suggestions being my personal favorites.

It was wonderful to read about the importance of prayer for the support networks, its workers, and the people that are touched by the ministry. This is such an important part of any ministry and yet is so often forgotten about. We all pray in our private times with the Lord, and we pray corporately when at church, but it is so important that we continue to do this outside of the physical church building. A great reminder from Laura.

The book is finished with a superb list of resources for launching your network. Laura really did her homework when writing this book and it felt like an insight into Laura's mind as she shares so many hints and tips that come from someone who has been there and done that. There is no point in reinventing the wheel and you really don't have to with such an insightful book as "The Adoption Network". A must read for anyone considering starting a support network for adoption. I will definitely read it again!

Lynda LeCompte
Executive Director
Act of Life