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Overwhelming pressures both internal and external can prevent a woman from exploring other options and they can make a hasty decision to terminate a pregnancy. In the Equipped to Serve Manual written by Cynthia Philkill she identifies external pressure as:
1. People: People, such as a woman’s parents, boyfriend, husband or friends may pressure her. Everyone in her life will have an opinion and, most often, will not hesitate to express that opinion. Some people pull a woman in one direction while others pull her in another direction. A woman facing a crisis pregnancy often find she is being torn apart by the wishes of the people she cares about the most.
2. Circumstances: Circumstances such as school, work, finances, or illness can also put pressure on a woman. For example, a woman who is single and supports herself may not feel she could support herself if she were to have a baby. Likewise, a woman who is married with two children and cares for her elderly mother may not feel she has the emotional energy or physical strength to care for another baby.
3. Culture: We live in a society that encourages a woman to have an abortion if she perceives her life to be less than perfect in any way. For example, if she isn’t married, happily married, financially secure, hasn’t finished with school, or just happens to like the life the way it is, she is told it is her constitutional right to choose to have an abortion. In the context of such cultural pressure, it is difficult for a woman who wants to carry to term to make a choice for life.
4. Church: Often women say, “I’d rather face God with an abortion than face the people in my church with an unplanned pregnancy.” Some perceive the people in their church to be unforgiving and judgmental when it comes to a single woman getting pregnant.
During a crisis it is much easier for a woman to focus on her weaknesses and forget about her strengths. We must listen, look for and highlight a woman’s strengths. This is where hope begins: her hope in herself, the situation and what God is doing in her life.
Excerpt from Equipped to Serve by Cynthia Philkill
Used with permission
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