An abortion-minded woman called Option Line feeling pressured about her pregnancy decision, and after receiving care and compassion from Option Line consultant Sylvia* the woman was empowered to make the decision she wanted.
Option Line is the 24/7 bi-lingual pro-life contact center with professional consultants that provide round-the-clock human connection for women facing unplanned pregnancy, offering information, support, and compassion.
Each day, more than 1,100 people connect with Option Line for pregnancy help via phone, chat, email, text, and its online center locator. Option Line connects people to more than 3,000 pregnancy help organizations worldwide, resulting in Option Line connecting someone to pregnancy help every 84 seconds.
Millions access OptionLine.org each year for pregnancy help. More than seven million have contacted Option Line since its opening in 2003. Option Line connected almost 400,000 people to pregnancy help last year alone.
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Janet* reached out to Option Line for information about abortion options earlier this week, reaching consultant Sylvia.
Sylvia recounted her interaction with Janet.
“She said she did not want to take the pill because she had walked through that process with a friend and it was traumatizing,” Sylvia said.
Janet’s friend ended up having a severe infection after her abortion and Janet did not want that for herself.
Janet had taken a pregnancy test at home when she connected with Syvia at Option Line but had not yet had an ultrasound.
“She shared a heart wrenching story that was also laced with hope,” Sylvia said.
“Recently moving to a new state to escape an abusive relationship with her three children, she is preparing to purchase her own home (a first for her) as a single mom,” said Sylvia. “She was stunned to learn she is pregnant.”
Despite her courageous actions in leaving a hostile environment with her children, Janet’s biggest reason for considering abortion was fear of judgment from her family, Sylvia said.
“Janet felt certain they would be disappointed about her single motherhood, but in her heart, she wanted her family to accept her baby,” she said.
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Sylvia listened attentively and answered Janet’s questions about abortion.
“She said she had no idea what a surgical abortion is like or whether there were possible physical and emotional complications that could happen,” Sylvia recalled. “Even though this is her fourth pregnancy, Janet said she didn't know much about fetal development and was curious to understand what stage her baby may be at.”
Sylvia compassionately and factually answered Janet’s questions.
“I could tell she was troubled by idea of making such a final, permanent decision to end her child's life,” Sylvia said. “She cried while she processed her thoughts.”
Through active listening, Sylvia was able to share about local pregnancy centers that provide support, options consultation, verification of pregnancy, ultrasounds and more.
“We spoke for a very long time,” Sylvia said. “Janet changed through the conversation.”
“She shared that she does want to be a mom again, and she declared with confidence that she would not allow anyone else to make this decision for her,” said Sylvia.
Janet was going to reach out to her local center when it opened the following day to get help preparing for motherhood a fourth time and receive support and counseling. The two women ended the call in prayer.
Option Line is on track to serve more people this year, standing in the gap between isolation and despair for women and families in need by providing life-affirming support through pregnancy help.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages Option Line and Pregnancy Help News. *Names are pseudonyms.
